The seven-seat Kia Carens has come of age. Two-litre petrol or diesel power means the mid-sized MPV has very decent performance. The European-styled car now feels more like a Toyota and is clearly the Korean manufacturer’s best car yet.
The exterior is completely new and bigger than the outgoing car. Generally styling is there or thereabouts when compared to any other MPV on the market today. Carens front end is curvy and friendly while the rear tailgate treatment is more contemporary looking.
Inside the cabin the driver gets a simple and well laid out dash. The gear lever is mounted within easy reach of the tilt adjustable steering wheel (a style that most newer MPVs follow) and the seating position is high and fully adjustable.
For now there is just one specification level; namely EX but you do get a lot of standard kit like alloys, air con with cabin filter, four electric windows, integrated cd/mp3 stereo (but sadly no wheel mounted controls), roof rails, front fogs etc. and plenty of 12 volt sockets. On the safety side there are airbags everywhere plus active head restraints and Isofix anchor points on the outer two middle-row seats etc.
Prices start at €26,995 for the 145bhp 2-litre petrol Carens. It comes with a five-speed manual gearbox as standard but the best unit if you are going to do any sort of mileage is the 2-litre turbo-diesel at €29,995. It has a six-speed manual gearbox as standard. Both units are ‘Euro 4’ emissions compliant. The four-cylinder diesel engine produces 140bhp! Pulling power is impressive too; with 305nm on tap there should be no real performance penalty when the car is fully loaded. Automatic is an option with both engines.
My automatic test car was very easy to live with. When you pilot a car on the school run there are enough distractions to try a saint so a car with a ‘Go’ pedal and ‘Stop’ pedal is heaven sent. Diesel power ensures that there isn’t too much of a fuel penalty from using the self-shifter. DSG would be the ideal gearbox (automated manual gearbox) but it will be a few years before most manufacturers offer versions of the VW patented box.
Carens has good seating for seven and access is not an issue. With all seven seats in place the boot vanishes to a tiny 74 litres. When Carnes is used as a five-seater there is 414 litres of boot space available and of course when you are clearing out the garden shed there is a whopping 2,106 litres of cargo space to be had with the middle row of seats folded.
On the go Carens is set up for a comfortable, quiet and pliant ride. The suspension set up is conventional with a multi-link rear end, McPerson struts up front and an anti=roll bar. At 1.6 tonnes Caren’s average fuel consumption is a healthy 6.1 litres per 100km travelled or 46.3mpg in old money.
Kia Ireland is one of the fastest growing car distributors and Carens will help continue this trend.
Michael Sheridan
