Since taking over the helm of Kia distributorship in the country, Kia Sales Malaysia (KSM) first action is to launch the facelifted 2026 Kia Carnival. Despite being assembled locally at the Inokom plant in Kulim, Kedah, our norther neighbours Thailand received the model three months before us. Nonetheless, it is here now and comes in
Since taking over the helm of Kia distributorship in the country, Kia Sales Malaysia (KSM) first action is to launch the facelifted 2026 Kia Carnival.
Despite being assembled locally at the Inokom plant in Kulim, Kedah, our norther neighbours Thailand received the model three months before us. Nonetheless, it is here now and comes in two variants with KSM’s updated five-year/150,000 km warranty:
- 2026 Kia Carnival 11-seater (2+3+3+3) – RM189,849
- 2026 Kia Carnival 7-seater (2+2+3) – RM249,849
The Carnival here soldiers on with the tried-and-tested 2.2-litre Smartstream turbodiesel engine, even though the Thai version assembled here can be had with the 1.6-litre hybrid mill.
That’s 202 PS and 440 Nm of torque from paired to the same eight-speed automatic driving the front wheels. Kia claims it will return 6.5 litres per 100 km.
Leading the list of upgrades is the new front fascia with Kia’s ‘tiger nose’ grille with L-shaped LED headlights on either side that also house four cube-shaped projectors stacked vertically as Kia’s Star Map LED DRLs.
For the rear, it sports full-width LED taillights with the Star Map graphics. The rear bumper gets refreshed with a silver bar to complement the front bumper.
Equipment wise, the 11-seater rolls on 18-inch turbine-inspired wheels while the 7-seater rocks up with some 19-inch pieces in an eye-catching cubic design. Both do get roof rails and a hands-free powered tailgate as well as the sliding doors. It might not seem obvious but the 11-seater’s side-view mirrors are actually taller and more squarish than the 7-seater.
Not much has changed on the inside. The 11-seater now gets a digital instrument cluster as well, previously running on an analogue unit. Both the cluster and infotainment displays are now integrated into a single curved display.
The infotainment runs on a faster software and supports wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Below the full-width air-conditioning vents sit the controls that are now integrated with the audio into a single switchable touch panel. This frees up space for larger cubby holes. Finally, the seven USB ports are now updated to the newer USB-C type.
Exclusive to the seven-seater is a Bose 12-speaker system. Both variants get eight airbags and a suite of ADAS features.
In the seven-seater, the middle row gets power-adjustable captain’s chairs with a one-touch Premium Relaxation recline function. The pair can be slid fore and aft or even side to side. Both variants get eight-way power adjustable front seats with lumbar adjustment but the more premium seven-seater adds on driver’s side four-way lumbar adjustment, memory, heating and ventilation as well.