Kia Carnival Hybrid Facelift Review: Long Live the Petrol Engine

What we like:

Plenty of space for passengers and luggage

Good fuel consumption for its size

Thoughtful features

What we dislike:

Not much more fuel-efficient versus its diesel predecessor

The pre-facelift Carnival was unique in offering a turbo-diesel engine. At least to this writer, this made a lot of sense as its high torque is well matched to power a heavy, big vehicle. Fuel efficiency, at least as the theory goes, should be better than a comparable turbocharged petrol engine.

But what if you combine hybrid technology with a turbo petrol? With ever-increasing innovation, Kia (and by extension Hyundai) has now rolled out this hybrid turbo petrol drivetrain in slew. The facelifted Carnival gets this, which makes for an interesting comparison with a turbo-diesel engine - long known for being an efficiency champion and for its effortless pulling power. At least, until Dieselgate marred the whole story forever.

In terms of output, the hybrid turbo petrol actually puts out 241 bhp and 366 Nm - 43 bhp more but 74 Nm less than the turbo-diesel predecessor. Torque, in my view, matters more for city driving conditions, but the additional horsepower is definitely welcome for higher speeds at the North-South Highway, for example. Driving around in Singapore, there is definitely a perceptible lag from the get-go but once the turbo is fully boosted the car is plenty fast enough.

Interestingly, while the pre-facelift Carnival had a 8-speed gearbox, the Carnival Hybrid makes do with 6 speeds, two less than before. Kia says that the instant torque of the hybrid’s electric motor reduces the need for more gears. Like the previous Carnival, it chose to employ a torque converter instead of a quick-shifting dual-clutch gearbox, but that’s no bad thing - the result is buttery smooth shifts befitting of the family hauler. It doesn’t seem to affect the fuel efficiency either, with the car returning around 11-12 km/l on average, coming pretty close to its official 15 km/l figure. It is roughly similar to what the turbo-diesel managed.

The Carnival has always been known to be an excellent people carrier and it is not different here. There is plenty of space in all rows, it is superbly comfortable and boot space is terrific even with all seats occupied. There are ventilated seats, individual air-con vents for each passenger, plenty of USB-C charging ports and even window shades for the third row. Second row passengers have it the best with reclinable captain seats with leg rests. Despite its length, the car feels quite manoeuvrable and doesn’t feel its size at all. It feels quite car-like to drive, perhaps thanks to its road-hugging stance.

While the hybrid turbo petrol engine lacks the low-end surfeit of torque of the turbodiesel, it more than makes up for it when it can idle in silence, helping you feel almost guilt-free while doing so. Most importantly, it gives the car a new lease of life with the eventual phase-out of pure ICE engines, which includes the Carnival’s former diesel engine. Long live the petrol engine - thanks to hybrid technology.

Photos by James Wong

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