With the Carens, Kia has delivered a vehicle that is nothing short of a blockbuster on wheels! It ticks all the right boxes, delivers on style, comfort, performance and offers a secure safety package as well. The added glitz of all the features on board ensures you get the perfect family vehicle that offers you the style of an SUV with the functionality of an MPV. I don’t think I can say these lines enough, for I have stated these words when I first reviewed the Carens out on a drive in Bangalore and I feel the same way, now that I have my hands on this machine in Kodaikanal, which is a beautiful hill station in South India and the place that I like to call home.
While I do review cars and bikes for a living, the other side to my life is that of an entrepreneur who is running a herbal wellness business based out of Kodaikanal. I, along with my brother have a farm that we grow our herbal plants on and eventually have them packaged and shipped to markets across the globe. Between the farm, my life as a journalist and keeping the family happy, I tend to put on a ton of kilometres every month with close to 90 per cent of all my driving being between my house in Kodaikanal down to my farm at the foothills of the mountain. This is a 48km ghat road which is extremely scenic, yet quite testing on both man and machine. For me, this is the ultimate testing ground for any vehicle that must win me over and getting to put the Carens through the paces on the hill really proved to be an eye opener as I got to realise just how right a product it is.
A premium 7-seater
Now, the Carens has been conceptualized as a proper seven-seater and this has ensured that every row is well-appointed, and passengers get ample space on board no matter where they are seated. The ventilated front row seats are a boon during the summer months, and they have been crafted to ensure you have a comfortable journey. The second row offers ample leg room, and the contoured seats ensure that passengers do not get jostled around, even when the road is less than ideal. Having said that, Kia has paid a lot of attention to the third row as well. Starting with the ease of getting in with the simple push-button electric tumble seat on the second row. With the seat flipping up, it makes it easy for adults to get into the third row. All this has been put to the test as I continuously ferry my family and extended family around between the farm and Kodaikanal. We are a total of seven people which includes four adults, two teenage boys and my eight-year-old daughter. It goes without saying that the two boys love the last row as they get push that button to get in! The cool factor of that feature is something I would have missed out on, but seeing the delight it gives the kids, is a winning touch! The ladies in the family love being in the front seats. Not because of anything else, but solely for the ventilated seats as it gets hot in the lower hills and this feature ensures that they travel in utmost comfort. What has impressed me the most though is the fact that the third row can accommodate two adults with ease. The Carens is a full-blown seven-seater and I find it to be extremely practical.
However, getting seven family members on board is not the ‘be all and end all’ of the story. Keeping them safe is my top priority and Kia has not disappointed on this front at all. To start with, Kia has rolled out the hi-safety package which is standard across all variants. In fact, Kia is probably the first manufacturer in the country to deliver a mass market product that comes with so many features as standard. The list includes six airbags, ESC, VSM, BAS, HAC, downhill brake control, all-wheel disc brakes, a tyre pressure monitoring system, ABS, and rear parking sensors! In addition to this, the ISO-Fix child anchor, front seatbelts with pretensioners and load limiters, a speed sensing door lock and impact sensing door unlock are also part of the package. All these features give me that peace of mind while on board and I cannot elaborate enough on how confidence inspiring it is to be in a vehicle that is built safe and comes with such features.
As far as driving the Carens around is concerned, the 48-kilometre ghat road is what I like to call my personal hill climb test. Being the road, I travel the most on, any vehicle that I have is measured against how it performs on the drive up and down the ghat. I always say, that getting a set of wheels that will cruise down a highway is easy, but a ghat is so much more demanding and getting a vehicle that does that right is what really impresses me. With the Carens, I can safely say that this has been tick marked too! At my disposal was the 1.5 litre CRDi VGT variant that delivers 115 PS of power and a solid 250 Nm of torque paired with the six-speed manual transmission. The refined unit is a boon on many counts. To start with, it powers up the mountain seamlessly. I never feel like I am running out of power, and I also do not find the need to constantly shift gears. I love how meaty the engine feels and even with the entire family and a few bags on board, I found the ride zippy and peppy. The set up is absolutely perfect and I would not have asked for more from a vehicle designed to carry seven people around. The icing on the cake is that the Carens remains extremely easy on the pocket. My overall drive cycle of going up and down the mountain as well as a few short runs down the highway towards Dindigul and Madurai resulted in an average of 17.6 kmpl! When you consider that the ARAI tested figure is 21.3 kmpl, you can see that even with the Carens being driven under less-than-ideal conditions, it still delivers an astonishing level of efficiency.
The ride quality is right up there with an entry level luxury sedan, and on numerous occasions, I have had family members commenting on how much more they have liked the Carens in comparison to a few German cars as well as my old Innova! No doubt, Kia has done a splendid job in the overall vehicle set up to ensure that the passengers get that pampered feeling while on board and with the feedback that I have gotten from family and friends who have had the chance to drive around with me, they all vouch for the same. The steering feels great and is nice and light at low speeds, however it firms up at higher speeds to ensure you have maximum control. It is nice and easy in the hills, and I always felt in control. The suspension set up on the Carens includes the McPherson strut with coil springs up front while the rear benefits from having a coupled torsion beam axle with coil springs. This has ensured that the Carens soaks up road undulations and minimizes vibrations to the cabin to deliver that quality ride feel without taking away from the handling too much. Yes, the Carens is a big vehicle, and it has a long wheelbase, so I do not expect it to handle like a hatch but given the driving conditions and on the few occasions that I did push it a bit, it still held its line, which is way more than I could ever ask for from an MPV. The result is a controlled ride that is confidence inspiring, yet extremely comfortable. Kia has managed to deliver the best of both worlds in the ride and handling department, and this too is a winning factor for me, as I love to drive and a vehicle that handles well makes the experience special.
With the Carens, Kia has ticked all the right boxes. It is effortless to drive, feels extremely premium on all counts and you will be hard-pressed to find fault with it. It is a vehicle that has been built keeping the Indian customer in mind and clearly Kia has gone above and beyond to ensure that the Carens comes with everything one could ask for and more. I know that I have my family convinced on what ought to be our next family car!