Kia Carens Gets New Higher-spec Luxury (O) Trim, Makes Sunroof More Accessible

• Carens Luxury (O) slots between Luxury and top-spec Luxury Plus trim levels. 

• Luxury (O) is only offered as a seven-seater; six-seater option limited to Luxury Plus trim. 

• Offered with 1.5-litre turbo-petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engines paired with automatic transmissions as standard. 

• Prices for the Luxury (O) start at Rs 17 lakh (ex-showroom). 

Kia has added a new second-from-top trim level to the Carens MPV’s variant lineup. The Carens Luxury (O, or option) variant slots between the mid-spec Luxury and top-spec Luxury Plus trims. It makes some of the top-spec variant’s features more accessible and offers powerful petrol and diesel engines with automatic transmissions. 

How affordable is the Carens Luxury (O)? 

The Kia Carens is offered in six trim levels: Premium (base), Prestige, Prestige Plus, Luxury, Luxury (O) and Luxury Plus. For brevity, we’ve only compared the prices of the Luxury trim level upwards. 

All prices are ex-showroom, pan-India. iMT = clutchless manual transmission

The new Luxury (O) trim level is over Rs 1 lakh more affordable than the top-spec variant, more so for the enthusiast-friendly, turbo-petrol engine. The Carens Luxury (O) does cost up to Rs 90,000 over the mid-spec Luxury trim level, but for the premium it gets you a proper, fully automatic transmission with paddle shifters instead of an iMT clutchless-manual gearbox. 

The Carens range starts at the Premium trim level that’s priced from Rs 10.45 lakh onwards (ex-showroom). 

New variant makes key features more accessible 

Previously, you had to buy the top-spec Carens to get an MPV with a sunroof, but the Luxury (O) trim makes this feature more accessible. But the sunroof isn’t the only highlight of this new variant. The Carens Luxury (O) also gets driving modes, previously limited to the top model. The Eco, Normal and Sport modes change the engine’s characteristics and response and even the colour of the ambient lighting in the cabin.

Other feature highlights of the Luxury (O) trim level are: 

• Alloy wheels

• LED headlights 

• Leather seats and dual-tone interiors

• Cruise control

• 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay

• Kia Connect connected car tech

• Auto-dimming interior rearview mirror (IRVM) 

• 64-colour ambient lighting

The Carens offers an impressive list of safety features on all variants: six airbags, stability control, hill-start assist, downhill brake control (DBC, or hill-descent control), rear disc brakes, tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) and rear parking sensors. The Luxury (O) variant also adds front parking sensors, a rear-view camera and a driver rear-view monitor. 

Automatic-only, RDE-compliant drivetrains 

The Kia Carens is offered with three RDE-compliant engine options, a 115PS, naturally aspirated (NA) 1.5-litre petrol engine, 116PS 1.5-litre diesel unit and the new 160PS 1.5-litre turbo-petrol powerplant. The Luxury (O) trim level gets the turbo-petrol and diesel engine options, only available with fully automatic transmissions – a seven-speed DCT and six-speed torque converter, respectively. 

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The Kia Carens presents a more premium alternative to the Maruti Ertiga and a relatively more affordable people mover than the Toyota Innova Hycross and Innova Crysta.