New 7-passenger vehicles: Carnival, Palisade, Pathfinder or QX60

In brief: the four, in numbers

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Getting in the back: access to the third row

It is the move you repeat twice a day for years, and the one you forget to try at the dealership. Three of the four have swing-out doors. The Kia CarnivalFR has power sliding doors: in a tight grocery-store parking lot, a child opens up without banging the car next to you, and you reach the second row as well as the third standing up.

Among the SUVs, the mechanism matters. The Nissan PathfinderFR tips its second row forward, and its LATCH AND GLIDE system lets it tip and slide even with a child seat installed, on both sides of the vehicle. The INFINITI QX60 advertises a second row with one-touch access to the third.

If a child seat occupies the second row and someone climbs into the back every day, that is the point to test yourself, with the seat in place, before you sign.

Can an adult really fit in the back?

Third-row legroom runs from 903 mm in the Carnival to 712 mm in the Pathfinder and the QX60. That is a 191 mm gap, close to twenty centimetres: the difference between a teenager sitting normally and an adult with knees up.

The Hyundai PalisadeFR sits between the two at 815 mm, which fits its size: 5,060 to 5,090 mm long depending on the trim, on a 2,970 mm wheelbase.

A useful point: in the Carnival, the seven-seat version with captain’s chairs even gains a little room at the back, 913 mm instead of 903. The second-row captain’s chairs don’t cost the third-row passengers any space; they cost one seat in the total count.

Cargo space behind the third row

It is the figure that surprises the most, and the one people look at the least. When all seven or eight seats are occupied, what is left is:

• 1,139 L in the Kia Carnival;
• 540 L in the Hyundai Palisade;
• 470 L in the Nissan Pathfinder;
• 411 L in the INFINITI QX60.

The Carnival offers more than double the Palisade’s, nearly 2.8 times the QX60’s. In practice: with eight on board, the minivan still swallows the luggage for a vacation departure, where the three SUVs force a roof box or a choice between the bags and the eighth passenger.

The gap narrows once the seats are folded (4,110 L against 2,455, 2,280 and 2,135 L) without disappearing. The deep well behind a minivan’s third row is an advantage of architecture, not of equipment.

Child seats, anchors and booster seats

Three of the four manufacturers publish the anchor information. Kia advertises lower and upper child-seat anchors in the second and third rows of the Carnival. INFINITI advertises lower anchors and tether straps in the second and third rows of the QX60. Nissan stresses something else: the ability to slide the second row with the seat in place.

For the Palisade, the Hyundai Canada specifications sheet doesn’t specify third-row anchors. It is a question to ask the advisor: depending on your children’s ages and number, anchors in the back change the whole possible configuration.

A practical detail: the Carnival folds its third row into the floor, in two 60/40 sections. Nothing to remove, nothing to store in the garage.

All-wheel drive and fuel consumption

This is the central trade-off of this comparison. The Palisade, the Pathfinder and the QX60 have standard all-wheel drive. Hyundai fits every Palisade trim with its HTRAC system with terrain modes; Natural Resources Canada rates the Pathfinder only in four-wheel drive; the QX60 is all-wheel drive on its three trims.

The Carnival is not offered with all-wheel drive: neither Kia Canada nor Natural Resources Canada lists an all-wheel-drive version. On good winter tires, a front-wheel-drive vehicle gets through a Quebec winter without drama, but it is a fact to weigh if you climb an unplowed country-road hill every morning.

On fuel consumption, Natural Resources Canada’s official ratings for the 2026 model year give, in combined use:

Two nuances. The QX60 posts the best rating of the group with its 2.0 L VC-Turbo four-cylinder, but Natural Resources Canada classifies it on premium gas, which cancels part of the saving per litre. And the biggest gap is not between the four vehicles: it is between a V6 and its own hybrid, 3.8 L/100 km on the Palisade, 4.1 on the Carnival.

What they cost

The prices below are those checked in the network on September 23, 2026. They are set by the manufacturers and subject to change without notice: each model’s page always carries the current amount.

The price shown includes freight and pre-delivery inspection (PDI). Taxes and registration are extra. Nissan doesn’t publish a price with freight and PDI included on its model pages: for the Pathfinder, the amount has to be requested directly from the dealership.

Which one for which family

You carry people and luggage at the same time. The Carnival. It wins on access, room in the back and cargo space, and its hybrid drops to 7.2 L/100 km. The price to pay: no all-wheel drive, and the minivan image.

You want standard all-wheel drive and a real cargo area. The Palisade. It offers 103 mm more than those two at the back, keeps 540 L behind the third row when the Pathfinder keeps 470 and the QX60 411, and comes as a hybrid at 8.1 L/100 km.

You tow. The Pathfinder, at 6,000 lb, with its 284-horsepower 3.5 L V6. The QX60 advertises the same capacity.

You are looking for luxury and low consumption. The QX60, with the best rating of the group. In return: the tightest third row, the smallest cargo area and premium gas.

If you are still torn between three rows and two, our comparison of the network’s 7-passenger hybrids and plug-in hybrids covers six other models, including a compact SUV with three rows.

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Frequently asked questions

Which one has the most room in the third row?

The 2026 Kia Carnival, with 903 mm of legroom, or 913 mm in the seven-seat configuration. Next comes the 2026 Hyundai Palisade at 815 mm. The 2026 Nissan Pathfinder and the INFINITI QX60 both list 712 mm.

Which one keeps the most cargo space with every seat occupied?

The Carnival, with 1,139 L behind the third row. The Palisade offers 540 L, the Pathfinder 470 L and the QX60 411 L.

Is there an all-wheel-drive version of the Kia Carnival?

No. Neither Kia Canada nor Natural Resources Canada lists an all-wheel-drive Carnival for the 2026 model year. The three SUVs in this comparison, on the other hand, are all-wheel drive as standard.

How many people can sit in each?

Eight in the Carnival, the Palisade and the Pathfinder, or seven when you choose the second-row captain’s chairs. The QX60 seats seven, or six in its AUTOGRAPH trim with captain’s chairs.

Are these prices still current?

They were checked in the network on September 23, 2026. Manufacturers change them without notice, and a new vehicle’s price can change from one model year to the next. If you are reading this later, the model’s page at the dealership carries the current amount.

Where do these figures come from?

The dimensions come from the specifications sheets of Kia Canada, Hyundai Canada, Nissan Canada and INFINITI Canada; the fuel consumption ratings, from Natural Resources Canada, which applies the same test procedure to all vehicles. Checked on September 23, 2026.