Kia Carens

Now into its third generation, the Kia Carens is the versatile 7-seat car that’s flexible enough for your family needs. Matching dynamic style with multi-functionality, it’s not hard to see why the Carens is one of the most popular MPVs in the UK.

Kia is not claiming to have re-invented the MPV with the new Carens. But it provides all the room and versatility of its competitors while offering something they all lack: style. MPVs exist to meet the varied needs of families rather than turn heads.

However, the new Carens has been designed to do both. It exhibits yet another interpretation of the Kia design language masterminded by Schreyer…dynamic, elegant, prestigious, strong and distinctive. In customer clinics conducted in Europe, the new Carens came out ahead of its major European competitors for its all-round appearance.

Like the latest Sportage crossover – another radical departure from the model it replaced, and one that has been at the forefront of Kia’s rocketing sales – the new Carens is a car people will want to own rather than one bought out of necessity.

The new Carens maintains the leap in quality with every successive new model from Kia, thanks to the classy materials and sophisticated detailing. The wide fascia and crash pad have been split into an upper information area and a lower control area for ease of use, with all switches placed exactly where the driver would expect them to be.

COMPARE CARENS ENGINES

The new Carens is available with a choice of three direct-injection engines – one petrol and two turbodiesels – which share the common characteristics of strong performance, outstanding fuel efficiency and excellent driveability and refinement.

The petrol engine is the 1.6-litre Gamma GDi direct-injection unit that, with 133bhp and 165Nm of torque, ensures relaxed motorway performance and easy-to-drive, flexible responses in stop-start driving. Combined fuel economy is 44.1mpg, with comfortably more than 53mpg possible when cruising, while CO2 emissions are an impressively low 149g/km.

The MacPherson strut front and torsion bar rear suspension has been tuned to ensure precise handling and taut body control. This minimises undesirable lateral movement which can make passengers travelling in the middle and rear rows queasy. At the same time the suspension is supple enough to prevent the effects of bumpy and uneven roads from being felt in the cabin.

Kia’s Motor Driven Power Steering (MDPS) now has a quicker ratio for more direct responses and includes as standard the triple-mode Flex Steer function. It allows drivers to select a greater level of assistance (Comfort) to make parking easier, or reduced assistance (Sport) for improved high-speed stability. There is also a default Normal setting.