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There’s a debate about the Kia Carnival. Is it a minivan? A crossover? An MPV? Well, regardless of what you call it, the 2022 Kia Carnival MPV has been named Family Vehicle of the Year in the Top Ten Vehicles for Hispanic Car Buyers by the Hispanic Motor Press.The Kia Carnival is on a roll. It’s making a run on automotive awards across North America, a few of those include:

  • Best minivan: The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada
  • IIHS Top Safety Pick
  • Best New Cars for 2022 by Autotrader
  • Best Minivan: Newsweek Autos
  • Family Vehicle of the Year by AutoGuide
  • 2021 Good Design Award

So whatever you (or Kia) want to call it, reviewers like the Carnival.

Is the 2022 Kia Carnival worth buying?

A turquoise 2022 Kia Carnival driving down a city road
The 2022 Kia Carnival in action | Kia

As with any vehicle, it’s only worth it if it fits your needs. But if your needs include hauling a lot of people in comfort, it’s worth it. It also looks pretty good.

To keep all of those back-seat passengers entertained the 2022 Kia Carnival offers dual rear-seat screens that can connect to an Apple or Android device. It also features an intercom so the front seat can talk to the second and third-row passengers with ease. The Carnival MPV EX offers a host of additional driver assistance technologies that include a navigation system with a large 12.3-inch display, auto braking, a smart power tailgate, and more.

A few things stand out for reviewers of the Carnival. It’s big inside. It’s flexible, too. The second and third-row seats can slide forward to make a cavernous storage area in the back that rivals many full-sized vans. It’s too new for rating agencies like J.D. Power to give it a reliability rating yet.

Is the 2022 Kia Carnival an 11-seater?

Th back of a Kia Carnival
2022 Carnival

The Kia Carnival can be ordered as an 11-seater, but they’re rare. The Carnival has Slide-Flex seating, where the second-row middle seat can slide forward, or flip to be used as a table with cup holders. Also, the 2022 Kia Carnival can be ordered as a school-bus-rivaling 11-passenger van. The Carnival has 40.2 cubic feet of room behind the back row.

With the third row folded into the floor, and the second-row seats removed, it can swallow up to 145.1 cubic feet of stuff.  The Carnival can hold more stuff than a full-sized 2022 GMC Yukon XL. Really. The Yukon holds 144.7 cubic feet of stuff. And, the 2022 Kia Carnival is two feet shorter than the giant Yukon.

Kia knows that you’ll also want to keep tabs on those in the back, so it offers the Rear Passenger View, which is a camera that shows what’s going on through the center display. It also has an intercom so the back seat and front-seat passengers can talk to each other.

How much are Kia Carnivals?

The 2022 Kia Carnival is a vehicle that offers several features ideal for family transportation.
2022 Kia Carnival | Kia

The base 2022 Carnival MPV starts at $32,300. The LX Seat Package starts at $34,300 and adds seating for eight, some extra leather and heated front seats. The EX starts at $37,800 and adds the intercom and rear-sear cameras, as well as wireless charging and more. The SX starts at $41,300 and adds a 360-degree camera, as well ventilated front seats, 115-volt power outlets, power outlets and parking assistance. The top-of-the-line SX Prestige has everything for $46,300. The Prestige, however, only comes as a seven seater because the second row is a pair of heated lounge seats.

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Writer - Sedans & Coupes

Dan Mayfield

Dan joined MotorBiscuit in 2022 with over 20 years of experience in journalism and a lifelong passion for anything related to the automotive industry. He grew up wrenching a 1949 Ford pickup truck and an MGB with his dad, learning how not to wire a fuel pump (he inadvertently set the MGB on fire).

After earning a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from the University of New Mexico, Dan has contributed his expertise to a range of local outlets, including the City of Albuquerque, US Eagle, and the Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity.

On weekends, Dan spends Saturdays enjoying “cars and coffee” chats and, on Sundays, he’s watching the Route 66 Cruise roll through town. He also races motorcycles, and it’s not unusual to find him elbows-deep in his latest cafe racer build.

Taking advantage of the local desert terrain, Dan also enjoys exploring and driving off-road in his trusty Ram Rebel pickup truck, which provides personal insights into his contributions to our Trucks, SUVs, & Crossovers coverage. Dan strives to give our readers unique information about the dynamic automotive market, reading anything that has to do with cars, trucks, bikes, 4X4s, and, in his words, “everything with a motor.”

Dan has earned a number of accolades from the Public Relations Society of America, and is a University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism Fellow.