Check out our comprehensive spec-sheet comparison between the soon-to-launch Kia Carens and its SUV sibling, Kia Seltos
Kia India will be launching its fourth product – Carens – in the Indian market in the coming days. The MPV has already started arriving at dealerships, and upon launch, it will compete directly with Mahindra Marazzo, while Maruti Ertiga and XL6 will be its indirect rivals. Kia Carens offers a brilliant combo of good looks, great features, and frugal engine options, which are expected to make it a success in India.
Kia Carens is based on the same platform as Kia Seltos, and there are plenty of differences and similarities between them. Here, we have compared these two vehicles to see how they stack up against each other on paper.
Kia Carens vs Seltos – Exterior styling and dimensions
Kia Carens is a futuristic-looking vehicle, with split LED headlights, a large grille on the front bumper, and sleek LED taillights. It also gets a few crossover-style elements, like roof rails and black cladding all around. It has a large cabin and a relatively short bonnet, in typical MPV fashion.
Kia Seltos has a more traditional design, with large LED headlights, a wide front grille, a huge airdam on the front fender, big alloy wheels, and bulbous LED taillights. It also gets faux roof rails, black plastic cladding, and silver-finished bash plates, to look more rugged than it actually is.
| Dimensions | Kia Carens | Kia Seltos |
| Length | 4,540mm | 4,315mm |
| Width | 1,800mm | 1,800mm |
| Height | 1,708mm | 1,645mm |
| Wheelbase | 2,780mm | 2,610mm |
Kia Carens is significantly longer and taller than Seltos, with a much longer wheelbase as well. While both vehicles are sure to attract a lot of attention on the road, the Carens would grab a lot more eyeballs because of its newer design.
Kia Carens vs Seltos – Interior design and features
Kia Carens has an extremely premium and upmarket cabin design, with a flat dashboard and a flat-bottom steering wheel (multi-functional). The AC vents are smartly integrated into the dash, which is quite a clever design choice, and the dual-tone interior theme looks brilliant.
There are a lot of features available on this MPV, like all-LED lighting, a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), digitised instrument cluster, electric sunroof, ambient cabin lighting, air-purifier, ventilated seats, one-touch-tumble feature for second row, power-adjustable ORVMs (auto-folding), etc. Carens is available in 7-seat and 6-seat configurations.
The interior of Kia Seltos is also quite premium in design, but it looks much sportier. The instrument cluster consists of analogue dials with an MID in the centre, and its housing merges into the infotainment touchscreen housing. The steering wheel is the same as Carens, but the AC vents are big and noticeable. There are dual-tone and all-black interior colour themes available here, and the seating capacity is five.
The features on offer on Seltos include automatic climate control, keyless entry and go, cruise control, power-adjustable driver seat, ventilated seats, air-purifier, ambient cabin lighting, power-adjustable ORVMs (auto-folding), electric sunroof, all-LED lighting, 360-degree camera, 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), etc.
Kia Carens vs Seltos – Powertrains
Both the Carens and Seltos are available with the same three engine options. The first one is a 1.5-litre NA petrol motor, with 115 PS and 144 Nm on tap. It comes mated to a 6-speed manual transmission, and a CVT option is available with this engine on Seltos. The second one is a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol mill, with 140 PS and 242 Nm. Transmission options here consist of a 6-speed manual and a 7-speed DCT.
| Kia Carens & Seltos petrol specs (common) | ||
| Engine size | 1.5 litres | 1.4 litres |
| Engine type | Naturally aspirated, inline-4 | Turbocharged, inline-4 |
| Max. power | 115 PS | 140 PS |
| Max. torque | 144 Nm | 242 Nm |
| Transmission | 6-speed MT (both)/CVT (Seltos only) | 6-speed MT/7-speed DCT |
The third option is a 1.5-litre turbo-diesel unit, with 115 PS and 250 Nm on tap. It can be had with a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed torque-converter automatic gearbox. Although the specs are identical on the two cars, the Carens is less sporty to drive between the two.
| Kia Carens & Seltos diesel specs (common) | |
| Engine size | 1.5 litres |
| Engine type | Turbocharged, inline-4 |
| Max. power | 115 PS |
| Max. torque | 250 Nm |
| Transmission | 6-speed MT/6-speed AT |
Kia Carens vs Seltos – Price
Kia Carens is expected to have a starting price of around Rs. 15 lakh. As for Kia Seltos, its price currently ranges from Rs. 9.95 lakh to Rs. 18.19 lakh. The latter is significantly more affordable, but can only seat up to five people. The Carens can seat more people, and it has plenty more features on offer as well, making it significantly more practical.
All prices mentioned are ex-showroom, New Delhi