Kia Carens comes with a spacious cabin, luxurious dashboard design, multiple engines and transmission options, along with advanced safety features as standard right from the base trim
Kia has become quite a well-known automobile brand in India now. About three years ago, the South Korean carmaker began its Indian innings with Seltos, and since then, it has launched three more brilliant and successful products. After Seltos, Carnival and Sonet, Kia recently launched a stylish family car named Carens in the Indian market with 6 and 7 seating options.
After the first drive in February, I recently got the opportunity to drive this car again, and this time, I took it for a family outing. Of course, extra safety is a prerequisite when the whole family goes on a long drive together. Thankfully, Kia Carens is packed to the gills with many safety features, thus putting my mind at ease. It feels like Kia has given safety the utmost priority for this family car!
The base variant of Kia Carens comes in at just Rs. 9.59 lakh, that too with a 1,500cc petrol engine. At the same time, some of the features offered on the base variant of the vehicle do not even come in the top variants of some of its rivals. As standard on all variants, you get ABS, Brake Force Assist, Electronic Stability Control, Hill Start Assist, Vehicle Stability Management, Downhill Brake Control, 6 Airbags, TPMS, Rear Parking Sensors, Speed-Sensing Locks, and ISOFIX child seat anchors.
The HSA and HHA features would help even inexperienced drivers manoeuvre the vehicle up and down the hills confidently. The TPMS further enhances safety by assisting in maintaining proper tyre pressure on each wheel, ensuring improved tyre lifecycle and better traction regardless of the surface conditions you drive in.
Disc brakes are available on all four wheels, ensuring that there’s enough bite on offer, even with 7 passengers on board. Impact-sensing door auto-unlock feature has also been given, while central door locking is kept as standard in the Carens. With so many features on offer, even in the base variant of Carens, I can confidently say that prospective customers will have no worries about their family’s safety concerns. However, the one I got to drive was the top-spec diesel automatic variant.
As expected, there are a lot more features on offer here, including rain-sensing wipers, cruise control with speed limiting feature, and GPS-based road sign alerts on the MID. You can check out a detailed video of the GPS-based sign recognition system of Kia Carens on our YouTube channel and the interior space review. Safety should be the primary concern in a family car checklist, followed by interior space (ideally speaking!), so these two videos should help you know if this RV is a good fit for you.
Kia Connect offers 66 smart features, including safety features like stolen vehicle notification, stolen vehicle tracking, stolen vehicle immobilization, geo-fencing, time fence alert, speed alert, idle alert, valet alert, valet mode and so on. Another highlighting safety technology in the Kia Carens is the presence of advanced auto collision notification. It sends a notification to emergency contacts whenever an airbag is deployed.
The Kia’s call centre also extends quick support to your location with emergency services such as ambulance and police. The IRVM of the car has an SOS button, which helps the passengers reach the Kia call centre for emergency assistance and a dedicated roadside assistance button for quick support on location-based RSA.
With smartwatch connectivity, OTA updates and vehicle management alerts/reports, the Kia Carens offers an abundance of modern tech at a highly accessible price bracket that you would grow to appreciate.
Along with the practical third row, the spacious first and second row put it ahead in comfort compared to its rivals. Kia has also done a brilliant job in design; the rear design is my favourite part of Kia Carens, followed by the beautiful dashboard. The rest of the car is also a treat to the eyes.
There is a long list when it comes to the features of this car. Apart from standard safety features, Kia Carens also offers a SkyLight sunroof, roof AC vents for 2nd and 3rd-row occupants and a one-touch tumble function for easy ingress and egress for the last row passengers. What’s more is an all-digital instrument cluster, a neatly integrated 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and UVO Connect, a wireless mobile charger and an Air purifier with Virus and Bacteria protection, to name a few.
As for the performance, the 1.5-litre petrol engine kicks out 115 PS and 144 Nm while the 1.5-litre four-pot diesel generates 115 PS and 250 Nm. The turbo petrol unit churns out 140 PS and 242 Nm. A six-speed manual, a six-speed torque converter automatic and a seven-speed DCT are transmission options. All the powertrain options are good with mileage and practicality; however, the turbo petrol satisfies driving enthusiasts too.
Overall, Kia has launched a great combo of good looks, a practical cabin, and excellent safety features, making the Carens a perfect choice for a family car. With 3 engine choices, mated with 3 transmission options, I can say it offers something for pretty much everybody in the family.