Kia Grand Carnival MPV to be Toyota Innova Crysta rival; SPIED in India

The Kia Grand Carnival MPV has just been spotted in Gurgaon, even as reports about the vehicle being launched in India as a Toyota Innova Crysta rival has started doing the rounds on the internet. The Grand Carnival is much larger than the Toyota Innova Crysta, with dimensions of 5,11 meters in length, 1,98 meters in width, 1,75 meters in height and a wheelbase of 3,06 meters. Internationally, the Grand Carnival is sold with 7, 8 and 11 seat options. It’s both spacious and premium. If sold in India, Kia is likely to position and price the Grand Carnival above the Toyota Innova Crysta.

The Kia Grand Carnival is powered by a 2.2 litre-4 cylinder turbocharged diesel engine that outputs 199 Bhp of peak at 3,800 rpm and 441 Nm of peak torque between 1,750-2,750 rpm. A 6 speed automatic gearbox is standard on the Grand Carnival. The MPV also gets a 3.3 litre petrol engine option in international markets.

With the Innova Crysta also offering a petrol engine option, Kia does have engines ready to deploy on the Grand Carnival. Currently, Kia is in the process of evaluating the Grand Carnival MPV for the Indian market, along with another vehicle – the Stonic compact SUV.

While the Grand Carnival is large, premium and powerful, it’ll have a very formidable challenger in the form of the Toyota Innova Crysta. The Innova Crysta has become a super hit for Toyota, and buyers blindly trust the MPV. Known for reliability, comfort and low maintenance costs, the Innova Crysta is extensively localized. To take on the Toyota MPV, Kia will need to heavily localize the Grand Carnival. A CKD approach may not work in the MPV segment, which mainly caters to the cab operator market, where vehicles run for lakhs of kilometers. Only localization will allow Kia to reduce the maintenance costs of the Grand Carnival. Will the South Korean automaker bite the bullet? Time shall tell.

Via GaadiWaadi