Kia Carnival vs Toyota Innova Crysta: Which One Fares Better?

1. Kia Carnival vs Toyota Innova Crysta: First Words

Toyota Innova Crysta has been dominating the premium MPV segment with almost no direct competition in India for quite a long time. In fact, there are some other multi-purpose vehicles of smaller or similar sizes but none could pose a major threat to the Innova Crysta’s strong foothold in the show.

However, with the Kia Carnival is around the corner, we expect that the upcoming MPV could well challenge the Innova Crysta in its segment. Still, the Kia Carnival will not be an immediate rival to the Innova Crysta, given its price is estimated to start at where the Innova Crysta range tops off. But considering the ever-growing demands of Indian car buyers who now seems to be willing to pay more money for a better drive, the Kia Carnival is a worthy competitor. How does the Kia Carnival fare against the indisputable king of MPVs, Innova Crysta in the Indian auto space? We put the Kia Carnival vs Toyota Innova Crysta on a comparison to see how they line up against each other the spec sheet. Check it out now!

2. Kia Carnival vs Toyota Innova Crysta Dimensions: Which Is Bigger?

As far as the dimensions go, the Kia Carnival is far bigger than the Innova Crysta, be it the length, width, wheelbase or even boot space. For your information, the Carnival, as it is known as Sedona globally, is a monocoque-bodied multi-purpose vehicle while the Toyota Innova Crysta is built on the ladder-on-frame construction.

At a massive length and wheelbase of 5,115 mm and 3,060 mm, respectively, the all-new Kia Carnival is put in a whole different size category. Specifically, the Kia Carnival is exactly 180 mm longer and 155 mm wider than the Innova Crysta but is 55 mm shorter than the Japanese offering.

The Carnival comes with a wheelbase of 3,060 mm that is 310 mm longer than the Innova Crysta. The greater sizes would certainly translate into bigger boot space. The Carnival offers up to 540 litres of the luggage space while the Innova Crysta makes do with only 300 litres with all three rows in position.

3. Kia Carnival vs Toyota Innova Crysta Design: Which Is Better Looking?

Exterior Comparison

Entering the country with a statement of luxury, the Kia Carnival comes off as a luxury alternative to the Innova Crysta. The upcoming MPV looks more premium from many directions when compared to the Innova Crysta counterpart that is understandable as the Carnival is placed higher than the Innova in the price string.

The Carnival comes with a massive footprint thanks to the greater dimensions along with more premium fitments on its exterior package. Visually, the Carnival looks very promising to become a solid contender to the vehicle it would take on. It features an unmistakable mini-van-like silhouette which is well-executed by high-end fits and finishes.

The butch-looking front end of the car is dominated by Kia’s signature “Tiger-nose” front grille flanked by a set of angular headlamps. The Carnival looks stately on its side profile and its sliding doors make it unique.

While the current Toyota Innova Crysta looks far better than the outgoing Innova model, it lacks a fair bit of sophistication to compare with the Kia car in terms of styling. The Innova Crysta follows the same sharp styling design to other Toyota cars available in the international market. The front fascia of the Innova Crysta sports a hexagonal front grille which neatly connects with the chrome strip inside the headlights, like what we’ve seen in the Toyota Corolla.

The fog lamps housings are less angular than that of the Kia Carnival. The hood is much higher and sculpted more aggressively in comparison with the Carnival’s elegant hood. Due to the price incentives, the Toyota Innova Crysta does not offer sliding rear doors. It comes with 17-inch wheels that are smaller than  Kia’s 18-inch units. The rear end of the Innova looks a bit abrupt while it turns out to be well-balanced in Kia's offering.

In the MPV segment, the look might not be the prime concern of the automobile companies. However, Kia is set to blow a breath of fresh air to the premium MUVs with the Carnival on the table. While people are so familiar with the same old design of the Innova Crysta, the Kia Carnival is a looker that would surely turn every head on the Indian road.

Interior Comparison

Once stepping inside the Innova Crysta, you would be impressed by the whole different world. Seems like Toyota’s designers have chosen to burn the mid-night lamps to build the inside rather than outside of the MPV. The interior of the Toyota Innova Crysta is well-appointed. Given its look or the material qualities, the Innova Crysta does better than the South Korean offering.

The dashboard design of the car is more sophisticated. The top models even feature faux-wood trims and gloss black colour treatments that look umber-cool with the aluminium-finished plastic bits. The curvy dashboard looks really upmarket and is a highlight on the inside of the segment-leading MPV. The air vents design is slim. The touchscreen looks prominent at the centre section of the dash while the leather-wrapped steering wheel also lends a good visual appeal with glossy faux wood treatment in the upper section.

Kia Carnival, on the other hands, may not be as radical as the Innova Crysta regarding the interior design. Yet it ends up looking far more utilitarian when putting the interiors of Kia Carnival vs Toyota Innova Crysta in a comparison. Though it seems to lack some “high-tone” design cues to impress us over the Toyota Innova Crysta, the Carnival’s interior still looks very premium that is convertible with the decent price sticker that it is expected to bring on.

Its cabin makes good use of high-quality materials with piano black inserts on some parts like dashboard, steering and door pads. The multifunctional three-spoke steering wheel looks identical to the Kia Seltos. Further, do note that the Kia Carnival’s hallmarks should be the super-large and super-luxurious cabin for up to 8 – 9 people on the go along with a wide range of high-end utility features that we’re going to figure out in the next part of the comparison.

4. Kia Carnival vs Toyota Innova Crysta Features: Which Is More Convenient?

Kia Seltos manages to set the sales SUV sales chart on fire with a nice design and a premium, well-connected cabin. Kia Motors is now giving this formula into the Carnival MPV which is marketed to be a car for “Elite Class”. So whether it pits against the Toyota Innova Crysta which has been highly appreciated for its practicality and user-friendliness?

Available in three trim levels including Premium, Prestige and Limousine, the Kia Carnival is loaded with a range of comfort-focused features that works well to make the cabin comfortable and luxurious the most. As standard, the base Premium trim comes up with a touchscreen infotainment system compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a premium audio system with four speakers and two tweeters, smart key with engine push-button start, steering-mounted audio controls, tilt and telescopic steering and more.

The Prestige trims, in the meantime, inherits all the features from the Premium variants and offer some additions. The dual-panel power sunroof with all interior LED lights, 220V charger, USB charger, chrome door handles along with pop-up sinking and sliding seats are some of the added comfort features that the trim has on offer.

The top-spec Limousine trim is topped up with Luxury VIP seats at the second row, premium wood garnish, leather-wrapped gear knob and steering wheel. Also, it offers a massive touchscreen infotainment system with in-built navigation, UVO connected car tech, Harman/Kardon 8-speaker Sound System and 10.1-inch dual touchscreen for the rear passenger’s entertainment. What’s more, the Smart Pure Air Purifier combined with perfume diffuser, 10-way power driver seat with ventilation, front wireless charger, auto anti-glare inside rearview mirror with Smartwatch connect and UVO controls are some major outstanding features of the Carnival that no other rivals have to offer. From these, the Carnival looks no

The Innova Crysta offers a good deal of creature-comforts, especially in the top-spec version. Nevertheless, to compare the equivalent base trim of the Kia Carnival vs Toyota Innova Crysta, you’ll agree with us that you get what you pay for. Still, considering the top-on-the-line variant of the Innova Crysta, the Japanese car succeeded in proving to be a nice place to be in with a quite feature-rich cabin replete with leatherette upholstery, power-adjustable driver seat, centre armrests for the first two rows, keyless entry, cruise control, automatic climate control along with a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

It also offers captain seats in the second row like the Carnival MPV. There’s no dual touchscreen for the rear seats in the Innova Crysta, of course, but given the price range it falls into, the Innova Crysta shows up with a more value-for-money quotient.

5. Kia Carnival vs Toyota Innova Crysta Engine Specs: Which Car Is Better In Terms Of Performance?

Coming to what propels the India-spec Kia Carnival vs Toyota Innova Crysta, the upcoming MPV by Kia employs a single BSVI-compliant 2.2-litre diesel engine that churns out 200 HP of power at 3,800 rpm and 440 Nm of torque at 1.500 – 2,750 rpm. That’s to say, that’s a bit more than what you’ve always wanted. There’s no manual transmission on the table. The transmission duty is taken over by an 8-speed automatic transmission. Considering the higher demand for diesel-powered models in the segment in recent years, Kia’s decision makes really good senses.

Toyota equipped the Innova Crysta with both petrol and diesel engine options but as stated earlier, the diesel-powered Innova Crysta sees higher demands from the Indian buyers months after months. The current-gen Toyota Innova Crysta opted for a 2.4-litre diesel engine that has been upgraded to the BSVI compliance. This motor can put out 150 HP of power at 3,400 rpm and 343 Nm of torque at 1,400 – 2,800 rpm.

6. Kia Carnival vs Toyota Innova Crysta Top Speed: Which Is Faster?

It would be quite difficult to give any conclusion as it’s been a while away from the launch of the Kia Carnival in India. In the global market, the Kia Sedona can reach the top speed of around 177 kmph. The Toyota Innova Crysta hits the maximum speed of 179 kmph (for the petrol version) and 149 kmph (for the diesel model).

It takes the Toyota Innova Crysta around 12.8 seconds to cross from 0 – 100 kph which is quite fast for an MPV. The acceleration of the Kia Carnival remains under the wrap so let’s wait until our Kia Carnival- First Drive Review coming soon.

7. Kia Carnival vs Toyota Innova Crysta Mileage: Which Is More Fuel Efficient?

Toyota Innova Crysta turns out to be a fuel-efficient car which delivers ARAI-rated mileage figures of 11 – 13 kmpl. The fuel mileage varies on the transmission and fuel type so please check out the table of specs below:

8. Kia Carnival vs Toyota Innova Crysta Price: Which Is Cheaper?

We know that the Kia Carnival will never come cheap. The Toyota Innova Crysta is priced at around Rs 15.36 – 23.02 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). As you see, it’s rather a long way from the Toyota Innova Crysta to the Mercedes-Benz V-Class which is hugely priced at around Rs 68.4 Lakh to Rs 1.1 Crore (ex-showroom, Delhi). Kia gets a really smart choice to fit in the vacant space above the Innova while people are trying to compete for a segment below it. The estimated price for the Carnival is at Rs 24 – 35 Lakh (ex-showroom), making it a worthy opponent to other premium MPVs in the Indian competition.

9. Kia Carnival: Other Competitors

Kia Carnival sees no direct rivals in its segment, considering the expected price that it will sit on. However, the Carnival will become a solid contender to the Innova Crysta, XL6 and even some SUVs like Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour, even though it’s an MPV.

10. Toyota Innova Crysta: Other Competitors

Before the arrival of Kia Carnival, the Innova Crysta also sees no immediate adversaries in India, that’s one of the reasons why the car rules over the MPV roost. The car competes indirectly with some models such as Maruti XL6, Ertiga, Mahindra Marazzo, Tata Harrier, etc.

In times to come, the Innova Crysta is set to face the rivalries from models like Kia Carnival, Tata Gravitas, MG Hector 7 Seater and more.

10. Verdict: Which Model Is Worth Buying Between Kia Carnival and Toyota Innova Crysta?

From the perspectives of number, the Kia Carnival turns out to be an enticing option and completely worth the extra premium that you may spend over the Toyota Innova Crysta. If you are in the market for a real luxurious people mover that is better looking, spacious, comfortable and good at features and good at entertainment, smooth and refine at performance and of course, do not mind paying some extra money over the Innova Crysta, just go for the Kia Carnival. And if Kia can put the Carnival in the price range of 24- 35 Lakh as we expected, with this kind of money, the Carnival would certainly be a game changer. Very well-done! Do you think the Kia Carnival would be the next segment leader? Let discuss with IndianAuto on the comment section below.