Kia Carens will be launched in the early parts of 2022 and it will likely be powered by a 1.5-litre petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel engine
Kia India announced at the debut of the 2021 MY Sonet and Seltos that a brand new three-row UV is in the works for early 2022. Sticking by its words, the Utility Vehicle will make its global premiere on December 16 before going on sale in the early parts of next year. As suspected, Kia has christened the upcoming model ‘Carens’ and it has also been teased revealing some details.
The Kia Carens, known by the internal codename KY, has a forward dipping bonnet structure confirming what we have already known from the spy pictures. Targetting family audiences, the upcoming Carens gets a large greenhouse with tall pillars that should ensure a spacious cabin for as many as seven occupants.
The shadowed teaser image reveals the silhouette of the Kia Carens with a slightly sloping roofline and prominent roof rails. Other design details we can decipher from the teaser are sharp-looking LED Daytime Running Lights, an upright front fascia with a thin horizontal lighting bar, raked front windshield, chromed door handles, and wraparound LED tail lamps.
The Kia Carens is expected to compete in the tightly contested midsize three-row space that has already spawned seven-seater SUVs like MG Hector Plus, Mahindra XUV700, and Tata Safari. It will be slotted between the Maruti Suzuki XL6 and Toyota Innova Crysta in the whereabouts of Mahindra Marazzo as it could try to lure in MPV preferring consumers.
The Hyundai Creta gave rise to the Alcazar a few months ago and in a similar fashion, the Kia Seltos is expected to have several commonalities with the Carens mainly on the mechanical side. It will likely be powered by the same 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol producing 115 PS and 144 Nm and the 1.5-litre four-pot diesel kicking out 115 PS and 250 Nm.
Both manual and automatic transmissions are expected to be on offer. Kia says the name, Carens, is based on the concept of ‘Car + Renaissance’, indicating the beginning of a new era of cars and we will have to wait and see how it really pans out.