Last year, Kia introduced the Carnival Hi Limousine in its home market of South Korea, adding an awkward high-roof design, plenty of extra headroom (291 mm of it, to be precise) and a hint of luxury. Now, the MPV gets a whole heaping of the latter with the introduction of the Premium Lounge variant, a four-seater model in the vein of the Toyota Alphard Royal Lounge and the million-ringgit Lexus LM.
As with those Japanese cars, the elimination of the third row has allowed the rear seats to be pushed rearward, granting near-infinite levels of legroom. The pews have also grown to become proper first-class items with full electric adjustment, high-quality foam and a Premium Relaxation Seat function that helps distribute the load on the hips and waist.
Adding to the air of plushness is the Nappa leather upholstery with three-dimensional quilting on the rear seats. Meanwhile, a large console has sprouted in between, providing foldaway tables and an integrated seven-inch touchscreen to control the seat adjustment, climate control, cabin lights, the 21.5-inch overhead monitor and a foot massager.
Yes, the Premium Lounge model even comes with a foot massager, developed in collaboration with Korean healthcare company Hu-Tech and located oddly on the driver’s side. To the right of it sit a heated and chilled drinks holder and a storage bin for stowing shoes and other odds and ends.
And that’s not all – the boot also features a full-width clothes hanger rack with integrated LED lighting, plus stowage boxes at the bottom. About the only thing missing compared to the Lexus is a limousine-style cabin divider separating the front and rear sections. The super high-end model doesn’t come cheap, costing an extra 24.12 million won (RM88,000) over the seven-seater version at 86.83 million won (RM317,000).
The addition of the Premium Lounge model coincides with a 2022 model year refresh for the greater Carnival lineup, which throws in the new Kia logo, a remote parking assistant, low-speed reverse autonomous emergency braking, a remote 360-degree camera view, automatic wipers and a mould-suppressing after-blow function for the air-conditioning system.
Also new is a Noblesse Outdoor variant, ditching the power adjustment and increasing the slide length of the second-row seats. This enables the chairs to be pushed further forwards, allowing adults up to 180 cm in height to lie down in the boot – perfect for the air mattress that is part of the revised accessories package, which also includes a tent and curtains.
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I believe if KIA bring in this car, will be very popular among certain religious function.
This is 2 to 3 units of Hyundai Staria price.
Hyundai has launched the all-new Hyundai Staria, a spacious MPV with a price range of 27 million won (RM 99,547) to 41 million won (RM 151,165), depending on options.
Why oh why does Kia see it fit to do this with a black car?
Looks like a bloody hearse. especially with those curtains…….
Why these luxury vans never comes factory fitted with pneumatic suspension or magneto fluid suspension for truly comfort magic carpet ride?
If Kia is doing a Hyundai Starria pricing convention this hilimousine easily hit over ½ millio mark pricetag