Kia opens new Carnival as South Africa bound Sedona

After releasing a single teaser sketch last week, Kia has taken the wraps off of the all-new Sedona in South Korea. Still carrying the Carnival moniker in its home market, the fourth generation Sedona rates as the first iteration to be classified as a ‘Grand Utility Vehicle’ instead of a MPV/minivan, with the newcomer boasting Kia’s latest Tiger Nose, certain Skoda models and even the Range Rover.

Sporting what Kia refers to as an ‘island roof’ in that the blacked-out A and B-pillars provides for a floating roof effect, the Sedona comes with an SUV inspired skidplates and a thin LED rear light bar that runs the width of the tailgate. Rumoured to be sharing the same platform as the Sorento, details regarding dimensions have been withheld.

Somewhat oddly, the lack of the mentioned measures extends to the interior as no details or images were revealed. However, it is expected that the same design will be carried over from the Sorento, meaning the same assortment of features plus safety and driver assistance tech.

Kia has also been coy about the Sedona’s technical specifications, but expect the 210kW/420Nm 2.5 T-GDI petrol to feature along with the reworked 2.2-litre turbodiesel that produces 148kW/440Nm and the hybrid whose 1.6 T-GDI has been combined with an electric motor for a total system output of 162kW/350Nm. A 3.5-litre normally aspirated V6 outputting 206kW/336Nm will be offered in some markets.

In its South Korea, sales of the Sedona will commence during the third quarter of this year, but South Africa will only receive the newcomer next year once again badged as the Grand Sedona.

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