Kia Carens Breaks Cover As A Sleek Three-Row People Mover

• Gets a sleek design with a new Tiger Nose grille, snazzy LED DRLs, 16-inch alloy wheels, body cladding, and connected tail lamps.

• Cabin gets a two-tone theme and a wraparound dashboard setup with funky patterns extending to the door trims.

• Features include a 10.25-inch touchscreen, digital drivers display, 8-speaker Bose audio, 64-color ambient lighting and air purifier.

• Will likely be powered by 1.4-litre turbo-petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engines.

• Rivals include Hyundai Alcazar, Mahindra Marazzo, Mahindra XUV700, Tata Safari, and MG Hector Plus.

After leaving a breadcrumb trail of teasers, Kia India has unveiled the Carens, termed as a three-row ‘Recreational Vehicle (RV)’ from the carmaker. It is Kia’s fourth offering in India, and is based on the Hyundai Alcazar’s platform.

 

Compared to its siblings, the Carens looks a bit different as it debuts Kia’s new ‘Opposites United’ design language in India. The ‘Tiger Nose’ grille is sleeker, with  LED headlamps and snazzy LED DRLs around it. Body cladding gives it a rugged look, while the rear is upright featuring connected LED tail lamps, chunky cladding and a splash of chrome around the bumpers. Good news, the swirly alloy wheels from the design sketches are there in the real thing, but they’re smaller 16-inch units. Kia has revealed three body shades for the MPV so far: Sparkling Silver, Moss Brown, and Imperial Blue.

Head inside, and the Carens has its own identity unlike the Alcazar which is essentially a three-row Creta. Aside from the two-tone theme, what really stands out is a wraparound dashboard with cool patterns that extend all the way to the door trims. The 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system is nicely integrated in the dashboard rather than a floating unit.  

The MPV will be offered as a 6-seater with captain seats and 7-seater with bench seats for middle row occupants. Kia’s also given a bit of love to the rear seat occupants with separate air purifier controls, as well as a seat back table with a tablet and cup holder. Getting to the third row is also easier thanks to electric one-touch folding second row seats.

Like its peers, the Carens comes packed with features such as a Hyundai i20-like digitised driver’s display, connected car tech, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, wireless phone charger, an 8-speaker Bose sound system, 64 color ambient lighting, an electric sunroof, and ventilated front seats.  

Passenger safety is taken care of by six airbags as standard,  ABS, electronic stability control, hill start assist, all-wheel disc brakes,and a tyre pressure monitoring system. 

While Kia has kept its lips sealed on what’s under the hood, they have confirmed a 7-speed DCT gearbox being paired to a turbo-petrol engine. We think it’ll be from the Seltos in a different state of tune. For the diesel motor, it’ll likely be a 115PS 1.5-litre unit. It will also come with Eco, Normal, and Sport drive modes.

The Kia Carens will likely go on sale in early-2022, at prices starting from Rs 15 lakh (ex-showroom, India). The MPV will lock horns with the Hyundai Alcazar, Mahindra XUV700, Tata Safari, and MG Hector Plus.