Which Kia Has Three Rows? A Seating and Space Guide

Most seats: a tie at 8, between the Carnival (LXS, EX, SX, and SX Prestige) and the Telluride (LX and EX). Neither one beats the other on headcount.

The catch on the Telluride: the 8-seat bench lives on the two lowest trims. Move up to the S, the SX, the SX Prestige, any X-Line, or either X-Pro, and you are down to 7 seats. The more you spend, the fewer people you carry.

Most cargo: the Carnival, by a wide margin, at 145.1 cu ft with the rows folded. Nothing else in the Kia lineup comes close.

Most room behind a third row in use: the Telluride, at 22.3 cu ft, against the Sorento’s 12.6 cu ft. That number settles a lot of three-row purchases, because it is the only cargo figure that still applies on the day you need all three rows.

Smallest of the three: the Sorento, and on the EX and above it seats only 6. A family of seven shopping the Sorento wants the LX or the S.

The Carnival’s 40.2 cu ft is its stated minimum cargo volume, so even at its smallest it clears what either SUV holds behind its own third row. The Telluride also holds 48.7 cu ft behind the second row and 89.3 cu ft behind the first, for 180.6 cu ft of total interior volume. The Sorento holds 38.5 to 45.0 cu ft behind the second row depending on configuration, and 75.5 cu ft behind the first.

Start with the Telluride if you want a full-size three-row SUV. It runs 199.2 in long and 78.3 in wide on a 116.9 in wheelbase. Every trim uses the same 2.5L turbocharged engine, rated at 274 hp and 311 lb-ft through an 8-speed automatic, with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive available. The 2027 Telluride listed at $39,190 at launch for the LX with front-wheel drive, before destination.

The seating quirk matters more here than anything else. The LX and the EX seat 8. The S, the SX, the SX Prestige, and all five X-Line and X-Pro trims seat 7. If the eighth seat is a requirement, your shopping list is two trims long.

Behind the third row is where the Telluride wins outright. Its 22.3 cu ft nearly doubles what the Sorento leaves there, and that gap is the difference between a weekend trip with seven people and the same trip with their luggage along.

See what is on the lot under Telluride inventory, or read the full trim walk on the 2027 Telluride overview.

The Sorento is the smallest of the three at 189.6 in long and 74.8 in wide, on a 110.8 in wheelbase. That is roughly 10 in shorter and 3.5 in narrower than the Telluride, and that is the whole point of it. An older garage, a tight driveway off a Butler County side street, or a parking deck in the North Hills all get easier.

You pay for it in the third row. Cargo behind it is 12.6 cu ft, and the seat count depends entirely on trim. The LX and the S seat 7. The EX, the SX, and the SX Prestige seat 6 on second-row captain’s chairs, with seven-passenger seating available on the Premium Package.

The engines split by trim too. The LX and S use a 2.5L rated at 191 hp and 181 lb-ft. The EX, SX, and SX Prestige use a 2.5L turbocharged rated at 281 hp and 311 lb-ft. Both run an 8-speed automatic. The 2026 Sorento listed at $32,390 at launch, before destination, the lowest entry price of the three.

Browse Sorento inventory to compare trims in person.

The Carnival is the minivan of the group, and it is the reason the seat-count question ends in a tie. It seats 8 standard on the LXS, EX, SX, and SX Prestige, and 7 on the LX, with 7 also available on the SX Prestige. It is the longest of the three at 203.0 in on a 121.7 in wheelbase, and it carries 145.1 cu ft at maximum, more than 55 cu ft beyond the Telluride’s best figure.

Every Carnival uses a 3.5L V6 with an 8-speed automatic and front-wheel drive. It is rated to tow 3,500 lbs with trailer brakes, or 1,000 lbs without. The 2026 Carnival listed at $37,390 at launch, before destination.

If you have already ruled out a minivan on principle, run the numbers anyway. Against other three-row SUVs, the sliding doors are the thing parents notice in a full parking lot.

Current Carnival stock is at Carnival search results.

The three split cleanly by what a household actually needs in a given week, not by anything in the trim name.

If you need 8 seats, period: the list is short. Telluride LX or EX, or Carnival LXS, EX, SX, or SX Prestige. Step past the Telluride EX and you are down to 7 seats, so if eight is the requirement, shop those trims and no others.

If seven people are non-negotiable and so is the gear they bring: take the Telluride. Its 22.3 cu ft behind the third row is nearly double the Sorento’s, and that is the cargo figure that survives once every seat is filled. On the day of a real trip, that counts for more than any spec-sheet total.

If you want the most cargo the lineup offers, full stop: the Carnival runs away with it at 145.1 cu ft once the rows are folded. Even at its stated minimum of 40.2 cu ft, it out-carries either SUV’s own third-row space. If you are hauling strollers, sports equipment, or a full grocery run alongside the kids, you have more room to work with here than in either SUV.

If it has to fit a shorter driveway or a tighter Butler County street: the Sorento is nearly 10 in shorter and 3.5 in narrower than the Telluride, built around a compact footprint rather than maximum interior space. You feel that on the turn into an older garage or a Cranberry Township parking deck, and you see it again in the lowest starting price of the three, $32,390 at launch. The trade is third-row cargo, at 12.6 cu ft, and seating. The LX and S seat 7, while the EX, SX, and SX Prestige drop to 6 unless the Premium Package restores the seventh seat.

If towing is part of the plan: the Telluride leads the three. It is rated to pull 5,000 lbs, ahead of the Carnival at 3,500 lbs with trailer brakes and the Sorento at 2,000 lbs (or 3,500 lbs on the EX and SX with the Towing Package). So a trailer, a small boat, or a camper points you toward the Telluride first, with the Carnival and a properly equipped Sorento close behind. Bring the weight of what you plan to pull and we will match it to the right trim and setup.

If Butler County hills and winters are your daily reality: the Telluride is the one to look at, because it is offered with all-wheel drive as well as front-wheel drive. The Carnival is front-wheel drive across the lineup. So if you want AWD as a hedge against a Western PA winter, the Telluride is where to start.

Whichever of the three you land on, every new Kia carries a 5-year/60,000-mile limited basic warranty and a 10-year/100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty.

Mike Kelly Kia has been Butler County’s Kia dealer since 2005, an easy run up I-79 from Cranberry Township and the north Pittsburgh suburbs. The three-row question is one worth settling in the seats rather than on a spec sheet, so sit in the second and third rows of all three before you decide. You can schedule a test drive, start with our finance department, read what comes with every purchase under Kelly Confidence, or look at current new specials, since the mix changes month to month and it is worth seeing what currently applies.