Kia Carens

About Kia Carens

The Kia Carens is a popular MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle) manufactured by the South Korean automaker Kia Motors. It offers a perfect blend of comfort, practicality, and style, making it an ideal family car for Indian customers. It has a sleek and stylish exterior design that will turn heads on the road. It features a bold front grille, sharp headlights, and a sporty front bumper, giving it a dynamic and aggressive stance.

The Kia Carens is available with a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol, a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel engine options. The transmission options include a 6-speed manual, a 6-speed iMT, a 6-speed automatic and a 7-speed DCT gearbox. 

The MPV also comes equipped with a range of advanced features and technologies, such as automatic climate control, a touchscreen infotainment system, and multiple airbags, which make it a safe and comfortable ride for both the driver and passengers. Additionally, the Carens boasts a spacious and versatile cabin that can comfortably seat up to seven passengers, making it an excellent choice for large families or groups.

Kia Carens: Quick Review

The following sections throw light on the exterior design, interior, features, performance and safety of the Kia Carens.

Exterior Design

The Kia Carens features a unique design language which moves away from the traditional Kia design philosophy. The front fascia features a bold grille, sleek LED DRLs, LED headlamps, a large air intake with chrome accents and a sporty bumper. When viewed from the front, the sloping bonnet renders a sporty stance to the MPV.

The side profile of the Kia Carens reveals its long wheelbase, which helps accommodate up to seven passengers. Other highlights include stylish alloy wheels, plastic body cladding, chrome door handles, blacked-out pillars and sharp cuts and cease. The slightly sloping roofline adds to the sportiness of the MPV.

The rear profile of the Kia Carens features split LED tail lights with a reflector connecting strip. The MPV also gets a roof-mounted spoiler, a shark fin antenna and a blacked-out bumper with chrome treatment. The Carens looks futuristic when viewed from the rear fascia. Overall, the Kia Carens sports an elegant, premium and sporty exterior design, which will appeal to buyers looking for a premium MPV.

Interior and Features

The Kia Carens features a spacious cabin and premium interior that matches the sophistication of the exterior. The interior gets a dual-tone dashboard dominated by a centrally-mounted large touchscreen infotainment system. Other highlights include a digital instrument cluster, a flat-bottom steering wheel, premium leather upholstery for the seats, and silver accents on the steering wheel, dashboard and door panels.

The Kia Carens comes with two seating configurations, a 6-seater and a 7-seater. The former layout gets two captain seats in the second row, while the latter features a bench seat in the middle row. The seats are comfortable, offer good support, and are suitable for long drives. The second and third-row seats also fold down to enhance the boot space. The second-row seat also gets an easy one-touch electric tumble function to access the third-row seats.

The Kia Carens gets a host of creature comfort features. It includes an electric sunroof, ventilated front seats, roof flushed 2nd and 3rd row diffused AC vents, automatic climate control, an air purifier, connected car features, ambient lighting, a wireless charger, seat back table, etc. Note that some of these features may be limited to the top-spec variants.

Engine Performance

The Kia Carens is available with three engine options: a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol, a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel engine. The turbo-petrol engine produces 157.8 bhp and 253 Nm of torque. The engine is mated to a 6-speed iMT or a 7-speed DCT gearbox.

The naturally aspirated petrol engine is good for 113.4 bhp and 144 Nm of torque. The engine is coupled with a 6-speed manual transmission.

The 1.5-litre diesel engine produces 114.4 bhp and 250 Nm of torque. The diesel engine is coupled with a 6-speed iMT and 6-speed automatic gearbox. If you need a fun-to-drive MPV, opting for the turbo-petrol engine is a wise option, as it offers an engaging driving experience.

The Kia Carens delivers fuel efficiency in the range of 16.2 kmpl to 21.3 kmpl, depending on the engine and gearbox combination. Note that the mileage figures are as per the ARAI (Automotive Research Association of India) rating.

Safety

The Kia Carens gets standard safety features like six airbags, ABS, brake assist, disc brakes on all four wheels, TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System), rear parking sensors, Electronic Stability Control, Vehicle Stability Management, hill-start assist, hill-descent control, ISOFIX child seat mounts, etc.

Pros and Cons of Kia Carens

Pros

• Unique exterior design in its segment.

• A spacious interior with practical features.

• Flexible seating configurations.

• It is available with petrol and diesel engine options.

• Advanced safety features are standard across all the variants.

Cons

• It is expensive compared to some of its competitors.

• The huge body proportions can be a challenge in urban environments.

• Lack of high-speed stability, especially with a full load.