You Can Finally Check Out The Carens In Person, Courtesy Your Nearest Kia Dealer

• Kia Carens test drive is expected to begin soon.
• Pre-launch bookings underway for Rs 25,000.
• Will come in five trims: Premium, Prestige, Prestige Plus, Luxury, and Luxury Plus.
• To come with 1.5-litre petrol and diesel, and 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engines.
• Prices are likely to start from Rs 14 lakh (ex-showroom).

The Carens, whose series production has just begun, has started reaching select Kia dealerships across the country. Pre-launch bookings are already underway and test drives are expected to begin soon as well. Prices of the people-mover will be announced later this month.

The Carens will be offered in five trim levels: Premium, Prestige, Prestige Plus, Luxury, and Luxury Plus. As standard, all of them are 7-seaters, though the top-spec Luxury Plus comes in a 6-seater trim option. 

In terms of design, the Carens, which debuts Kia’s Opposite United design language, looks distinctive from the Seltos and Sonet. The Tiger Nose grille is now replaced by a sleeker motif, flanked by a pair of split LED headlights. In profile, the taller roofline and longer rear doors are distinct giveaway facts that this is a MPV. It also rolls on 16-inch alloys, which do aid in its ride quality. And at the rear, the LED tail lamps connected by a red plastic strip round off the design. 

Inside, the dashboard design is neat and minimalistic, with a blue and beige theme in the top-spec model. But the thing that caught our fancy was the space on offer as three six-footers can sit behind each other in decent comfort. Our boss man Kartikeya Singhee has compiled the review for the Carens, and you can read his impressions here. 

Under the hood, the Carens gets the Seltos’ 115PS 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol, 140PS 1.4-litre turbo-petrol, and 115PS 1.5-litre diesel engines. A 6-speed manual is offered as standard while the turbo-petrol can only be had with a 7-speed DCT and the diesel gets a 6-speed torque converter automatic. 

The Kia Carens is likely to be priced from Rs 14 lakh (ex-showroom, pan-India) onwards, putting it in contention with the Maruti Suzuki XL6, Mahindra Marazzo, and select trims of the Hyundai Alcazar, Mahindra XUV700, and Tata Safari.