How Do Car Seats Fit in a 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid?
The verdict: Kia added a hybrid variant to its Carnival lineup for the 2025 model year, making its people mover much more fuel-efficient. For this Car Seat Check, we tested a Prestige trim with a second-row bench seat and found ample room for three car seats in the second row and accessible Latch anchors that eased installation.
Does it fit three car seats? Yes; our test model was equipped with a three-seat second-row bench seat.
Take a look at how the Latch system and each car seat scored below in our Car Seat Check of the 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid.
Related: Search Car Seat Checks
Latch: Grade A
The three sets of lower Latch anchors are easy to find and use. The outboard anchors are exposed, and the middle seat’s set of lower anchors sit just within the seat bight, where the back and bottom cushions meet. Three top tether anchors sit on the base of the seatback; they have good clearance around the anchor for easy connection. The outboard anchors are clearly marked and easy to find, but the middle one is not marked.
Infant Seat: Grade A
This seat was easy to install, and our 5-foot-6-inch front passenger had loads of legroom.
Rear-Facing Convertible: Grade A
Again, this seat was easy to install, and our front passenger fit fine in front of it.
Forward-Facing Convertible: Grade A
Installation was easy via Latch, and the convertible in forward mode fit well; we raised the head restraint to situate it flush against the seatback.
Booster: Grade A
After raising the head restraint, the booster fit well. The outboard buckles are on stable stalks and should be easy for kids to grab. The middle buckle is floppy, however, and could be tough for kids to grasp and use.
Third-Row Access: Grade B
The outboard seats easily slide and collapse forward, though not when a car seat is installed. The opening to the third row is big, but the step-in is pretty tall.
Third-Row Latch: Grade B
The third row has two sets of lower Latch anchors in the outboard seats. They’re crowded next to the middle spot’s buckle, which prevents someone from using the middle spot while a car seat is installed next to it. If you have a car seat installed using the anchor in one of the outboard spots, the car seat will sit on top of the buckle, so no one can use the middle spot safely. The lower anchors are visible but sink into pockets in the upholstery, so a bit of muscle is required to connect to them. Three top tether anchors sit all the way down the seatback; they’re not clearly marked, and you have to dig around a bit to connect as they’re buried in the carpet.
Third-Row Forward-Facing Convertible: Grade C
We needed to remove the head restraint to situate the convertible flush against the seatback. Latch connection was just OK with the convertible’s skinny connectors. Hooking on to the lower anchors was easy, but removing the connectors required some digging when uninstalling the car seat. Digging was also required to access the top tether anchor.
Third-Row Booster: Grade B
After removing the head restraint, the booster fit well. Depending on the seating position, the buckles are recessed or floppy; either will likely be tough for kids to grasp and use independently. The middle spot’s buckle strap comes from the ceiling and will block visibility when in use.
Grading Scale
A: Plenty of room for the car seat and the child; doesn’t impact driver or front-passenger legroom. Easy to find and connect to Latch and tether anchors. No fit issues involving head restraint or seat contouring. Easy access to the third row.
B: One room, fit or connection issue. Some problems accessing the third row when available.
C: Marginal room plus one fit or connection issue. Difficult to access the third row when available.
D: Insufficient room, plus multiple fit or connection issues.
F: Does not fit or is unsafe.
About Cars.com’s Car Seat Checks
Editors Jennifer Geiger and Jennifer Newman are certified child safety seat installation technicians.
For the Car Seat Check, we use a Chicco KeyFit 30 infant-safety seat, a Graco Contender 65 convertible seat and Graco TurboBooster seat. The front seats are adjusted for a 6-foot driver and a shorter passenger. The three child seats are installed in the second row. The booster seat sits behind the driver’s seat, and the infant and convertible seats are installed behind the front passenger seat.
We also install the forward-facing convertible in the second row’s middle seat with the booster and infant seat in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit; a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. If there’s a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible. Learn more about how we conduct our Car Seat Checks.
Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat, and that Latch anchors have a weight limit of 65 pounds, including the weight of the child and the weight of the seat itself.
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