KIA Carens - Exactly What You Are Looking For Now!

Vivek Venugopal is one of India’s top automotive writers with over a decade’s experience in road-testing and reviewing cars. He is currently the Editor of Quarter Mile magazine and a columnist in several leading magazines and newspapers. He is also a highly sought after consulting engineer and market analyst for many automobile manufacturers.

- Vivek Venugopal

Well, it could have been the shortest review if we just said ‘Prices start at Rs.8.99 for this big, spacious, comfortable, well equipped seven-seater car. The end’. That’s enough information for most people to queue up at their nearest Kia showroom to book one. And that’s what most have already done. The Carens gathered about 7700 bookings on the day of its launch and as of writing this, there is an eleven-month waiting list on certain models. So instead of penning down the shortest review, let’s dig deeper into how they have done it.

The Carens is a stretched version of the Seltos with a third-row seat, much like the Alcazar is a blown-up version of the Creta. While Hyundai went on the SUV route giving it a massive presence, more equipment, bigger 18-inch wheels, etc making it costlier in the process, Kia went the other direction to make it look more like an MPV and crucially, more affordable. How they made it longer, fitted two extra seats, and still managed to make it cheaper than the Seltos they started with, is beyond us. The headlamps are connected by a knurled finish trim in gloss black that also becomes the applique for the headlamps. The side and rear profile are much more tame in comparison but the 16-inch wheels and the SUV-like cladding look neat. The Carens is a fairly big vehicle at 4540mm long and has a wheelbase of 2780mm. It is 225mm longer than a Seltos, 80mm taller, and has a wheelbase that’s 160mm longer. You can have it in 6/7 seater configurations where the middle row is two individual bucket seats or a bench.