Kia Carens: Long-Term Review

There is an old idiom, “the more the merrier.” That being said, it should be safe to say that that idiom can be applied to an MUV like the Kia Carens. Plus, it’s the only MUV in the Indian market that ticks all the boxes in terms of design, features, after-sales, and more importantly, the price. 

Just so you know, I drove the seven-seater iteration of the Kia Carens Luxury Plus Diesel MT and covered roughly 5000 km. Therefore, the overall experience formed mixed opinions in my head, which is why I thought of sharing my personal experience through this article. So, let’s begin. 

The ‘Inside’ Story

As mentioned above, I had the seven-seater Kia Carens and it did fit all the adult occupants comfortably with ample legroom, good under-thigh support, and surprisingly good lumbar support in all rows. The Korean seven-seater MUV also has a good usage of glass. Those big windows did the job very well except in the summers. However, I found the HVAC to be struggling a couple of times. 

Further, my friends and family members made mixed comments about Carens’ exterior look, all of them loved the interior design, the beige and navy blue leather upholstery, ambient lights, and digital instrument cluster make the cabin a really nice place to be in.

A 10.25-inch infotainment screen is mounted on the dashboard with wired Android Auto and Apple Carplay, accompanied by an 8-speaker Bose surround sound system. I must say, the audio system kept us mentally active. 

There also is a single-pane sunroof, which feels disproportionate to the size of the car. A dual-pane sunroof would have been a better offering here

Speaking of HVAC, the driver and co-driver had an advantage with ventilated seats, which kept those occupants relaxed during the hot days with temperatures going up to 45 degrees Celsius.

More on comfort, the Korean car manufacturer tuned the Kia Carens’ suspension very well. It soaked the bumps and undulations with ease, hence it did what an MUV is supposed to. But, keep in mind, that the MUVs are supposed to be comfort-oriented, which is why they have a soft suspension setup. And, with this setup, the car will tend to have body rolls, especially around the corners. All-in-all, the Kia Carens’ rideability favoured my expectations.

Under the Hood

The 1.5-litre turbo-diesel engine felt proportionate to the size of the vehicle. That said, it pumped out 114 hp of peak power and 250 Nm of peak torque. The front wheels were powered via a six-speed manual transmission. This engine was doing an impressive job on plain terrains, unlike on hilly areas. 

Having said that, I took the Kia Carens to Nainital and the car constantly shuffled between second and third gears to go uphill comfortably. That’s not it. On the way, I used to feel turbo lags, and as a result, I used to get chills. 

However, I expect better tuning in the successor(s) of the Kia Carens, especially keeping the hill drivers in mind. On the flipside, this Korean MUV is an excellent highway cruiser, which is why, I personally prefer calling it an ‘Urban MUV.’ 

Another thing that needs to be better is the steering feel and feedback, it should have a little more weight to it for better feedback at high speeds.

As far as the mileage is concerned, our Kia Carens diesel returned an average of 18 kmpl (in the city) and on the long highway runs, it returned 22 kmpl, which was really impressive for a 7-seater MPV.

Closing Words

Kia created a magnificent vehicle for Indian buyers who wanted to buy an affordable fully-loaded MPV. It seems the Korean carmaker understood the Indian market very well. Other alternatives, such as the Mahindra Marrazzo, Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, Toyota Innova, etc., should get some cues from the Kia Carens. However, after the inception of Kia Carens, the potential MUV buyers increased.