Kia had trademarked the name ‘Carens’ in India a little while back, and we suspect that this could be the name of its upcoming MPV
Kia is currently working on a new MPV for the Indian market, and the vehicle has been spotted multiple times during road testing. Codenamed ‘KY’, this upcoming MPV is expected to share its architecture with the Seltos, altered a little to accommodate an extra row of seats. Kia has trademarked the name ‘Carens’ in India, which will likely be the name of this new MPV.
Carens is not a new nameplate for the South Korean manufacturer. Kia Carens was first introduced in 1999 and was on sale in select international markets. The India-spec version will be different from the current-gen Carens available internationally, as revealed by plenty of spy pictures doing rounds on the internet.
Kia’s upcoming MPV for India will have sharp but boxy styling. It will get LED headlamps (with integrated LED DRLs) and LED taillights, along with beautiful machine-cut alloy wheels. It will also have a few crossover-inspired design details, like black plastic cladding all around and faux roof rails. The test models also had long rear doors, which should ease ingress and egress into the third row.
As per speculations, Kia will likely offer two engine options on this forthcoming MPV. The first one would be a 1.5-litre, naturally aspirated, inline-4 petrol mill, which belts out 115 PS of peak power and 144 Nm of maximum torque. The second one would be a 1.5-litre, turbocharged, inline-4 diesel motor, which can generate 115 PS and 250 Nm.
Some reports also suggest that a 2.0-litre petrol engine (159 PS/191 Nm), which also does duty on Hyundai Alcazar, could be offered here. Both manual and automatic transmission choices will be available on the MPV. The interior is a complete mystery at the moment, but like all other Kia cars, we expect it to have premium styling with a long list of equipment on offer.
Kia is expected to launch this new MPV in India early next year. Upon arrival, it will be a rival to Mahindra Marazzo and even Maruti Ertiga/XL6. Also, Hyundai is planning to introduce a new MPV in our market as well, which will likely use the same platform and powertrain options as Kia’s upcoming model.