After a refresh for 2025 that added a hybrid powertrain to the lineup in addition to updated interior and exterior styling, Kia is leaving its Carnival minivan alone for 2026. While the automaker charged almost $3,000 more for the 2025 model than the 2024, its ask for the 2026 model increases less than $600 over 2025.
Related: 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid Review: Excellence in Efficiency
Availability and Pricing
The 2026 Kia Carnival will go on sale later in the year. Full pricing (including the $1,435 destination charge) is as follows:
Carnival
- LX: $38,425
- LXS: $40,425
- EX: $42,625
- SX: $47,525
- SX Prestige: $52,525
Carnival Hybrid
- LXS: $42,425
- EX: $44,625
- SX: $49,525
- SX Prestige: $54,525
What Are the 2026 Kia Carnival’s Trim Levels?
Other than their powertrains, the regular and hybrid Carnivals are identically equipped. Riding on 17-inch wheels and sporting cloth seats for seven, the entry-level Carnival LX is a basic family hauler, but it does include niceties like LED headlights, hands-free power sliding rear doors, keyless entry and starting, and tri-zone automatic climate control. The standard infotainment system consists of an 8-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and six speakers.
The LXS upgrades to synthetic leather upholstery and eight-occupant seating. Its front seats are heated, and the driver gets power adjustment.
Buyers who step up to the EX receive 19-inch wheels, a hands-free power liftgate, wireless phone charging and faux-wood interior trim. Both of the EX’s front seats are power-adjustable and gain memory settings, and the touchscreen grows to 12.3 inches and includes navigation and voice control. The EX gains two more speakers, bringing the count to eight, with a Quiet Mode that plays audio only through the fronts.
The SX replaces lesser Carnivals’ bright-silver exterior trim with dark chrome, including the pieces on the C-pillar and surrounding the grille. It also adds LED foglights, rain-sensing windshield wipers and dual moonroofs. Its interior is upgraded with ventilated front seats and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster.
At the top of the lineup, the SX Prestige sports black 19-inch wheels and exterior trim, LED taillights and upgraded LED headlights. Inside, it gets real leather upholstery, a heated steering wheel and a 12-speaker Bose sound system. The available VIP Lounge Seats swap out the second-row bench for individually reclining captain’s chairs with heating, ventilation and ottomans and can be upgraded to include dual rear-seat entertainment screens with streaming through embedded apps. The SX Prestige’s darkened interior and exterior pieces are also available on the SX as the Dark Edition Package.
More From Cars.com:
- Kia Adds Hybrid, Price Hike to 2025 Carnival
- How Do Car Seats Fit in a 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid?
- 10 Car Features That Will Keep Pets Safe and Comfy
- 2025 Kia Carnival Up Close: Now Hybrid in Another Way
- Shop for a Kia Carnival
Standard and Available Safety Features
True to form, Kia fits even the basic Carnival LX with an extensive list of advanced safety technologies. Standard features include forward collision warning with pedestrian and bicyclist detection, automatic emergency braking, blind spot intervention, rear cross-traffic alert with automatic braking, lane following assist, a driver-attention monitor, automatic high beams, rear-occupant alert, safe-exit assist, and front and rear parking sensors.
The EX adds an in-cabin camera monitoring the second and third rows (the feed can be displayed on the central touchscreen). Both SX trims gain an upgraded forward-collision system that watches for oncoming and crossing traffic during turns, as well as a 360-degree camera system, blind spot cameras, Kia’s Highway Driving Assist 2 hands-on semi-autonomous tech, side parking sensors and rear sensors with automatic braking.
What Are the 2026 Kia Carnival’s Powertrain Specs and MPG?
A 3.5-liter V-6 engine with 287 horsepower and 260 pounds-feet of torque paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission powers the basic Carnival. The hybrid upgrades to a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder with two electric motors and a six-speed automatic to generate a combined 242 hp and 271 pounds-feet. The hybrid powertrain is a $2,000 option on every trim level except the base LX.
Front-wheel drive is the only configuration available with either powertrain. Kia says the gas-only Carnival returns 18/26/21 mpg city/highway/combined, while the hybrid is rated at 34/31/32 mpg; those numbers aren’t official yet, but they do carry over from 2025.
Related Video:
We cannot generate a video preview.
Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.
