The Kia Carens is back! The model disappeared from the market in 2018, but is now being followed by a completely new model. It will be in the showroom at the beginning of next year, only in the Netherlands you will not find it at the Kia dealer.
Highlights
- Seven-seater especially for the Indian market
- Cross between MPV and SUV, with design influences from the EV6
- No (plug-in) hybrid
The news was already known: the Kia Carens was developed specifically for the Indian market. That means that we will not see him in our country. Nevertheless, the arrival of the Carens is interesting, because the introduction of the model shows that the concept of the MPV is still quite alive in other parts of the world. However, the new Carens is not a pure MPV, as we already saw on the sketches of the model. Partly thanks to the plastic panels on the bumpers, the flanks and around the fenders, the Carens can rather be characterized as a cross between an SUV and MPV. The model is also higher on its wheels. This means that Kia with the new Carens seems to be mainly in the waters of the Toyota Highlander. It is now available in Europe.
Kia Carens
With its design, the Carens fits well within the current line-up of the Koreans. The model is designed according to the ‘Opposites United’ design philosophy, which means, among other things, that the headlamps are divided over two layers and are sharply lined, while the boomerang-shaped rear lights are optically connected by a horizontal strip across the width of the boot lid. In terms of design, you can park the Carens next to the EV6 and the Sportage without it looking out of place. The silhouette of the Carens shows the practical side again: where many SUVs today have an angled rear window, that of the Carens is almost straight.
Buttons
Of course, the latter benefits the practicality. The Carens has three rows of seats with a total of seven seats. Furthermore, the interior of the Carens is characterized by practical features such as folding tables, 5 USB-C ports and air conditioning for the passengers in the third row of seats. In the front, Kia mounts a 10.25-inch touchscreen for multimedia and navigation, which is seamlessly integrated into the dashboard. However, a row of buttons can still be seen under that screen and the climate control is also operated via a separate module. The instrumentation, on the other hand, only contains a color screen in the middle. On both sides of that screen, the speed and rotational speed are digitally displayed via fixed numbers. Other treats include ventilated front seats, a Bose audio system and a panoramic roof. It goes without saying that at least some of these items are only available for an additional fee.
Kia Carens
All variants of the Carens do have the ‘Hi-Secure Safety Package’ on board as standard. This includes six airbags, ESC, Hill-Assist and Downhill Brake Control and the Brake Assist System. Kia also reports that the Carens has disc brakes all around. This doesn’t seem so earth-shattering to us Europeans, but by Indian standards the Carens has quite a few safety systems as standard. In that country, the safety standards are considerably lower than here.
The Kia Carens comes on the market with petrol and diesel engines, but Kia does not specifically mention which power sources will be located in the front of the MPV/SUV. In any case, the Indian market does not seem to be ready for a (plug-in) hybrid yet, because the Koreans do not say a word about this in the press release. Not that it matters to us, because as already mentioned the Carens only comes to India and ‘selected markets’. Kia will start delivering the new Carens in the first quarter of next year. The prices are not yet known.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl