[neeraj08]

Originally Posted by achintatri

Hi Neeraj, if you don't mind, could you please let us know when did you do the booking?

Hi! I had made the booking on 17-01-22 via the Kia website.

[pandabear]

Originally Posted by Meph1st0

Yes it is the case when 5 seater cars are extended to become 7 seaters - Safari, Alcazar, Carens. Third-row passengers are short-changed. The company can still claim 6 airbags and most people won't realize this.

Thanks, I did not know that. Here is where the regulator needs to step in. Misleading advertising should not be allowed. Basics like 3 point seat belt for the middle row passenger, full coverage of curtain airbags for all rows, mandatory rear wipers for SUVs, structural safety, headlights with auto dippers etc should be made mandatory. Our highways are getting as fast as the ones in developed countries and safety should go hand in hand.

[sou_3749]

I have booked online for 1.5 P prestige. And guess what the tentative waiting is 48-49 weeks as shown in the docket. I believe this is model which will have the maximum waiting period. By the time I get my hands on it, the prices will surely be revised.

Has anybody else booked the same model? What's the waiting period?
Is it wise to switch to other models say 1.5D prestige or 1.4 prestige plus DCT?
If anybody have booked these models plaese share waiting periods, that will help me to take a decision.

[autoweirdo]

Originally Posted by sou_3749

Is it wise to switch to other models say 1.5D prestige or 1.4 prestige plus DCT?
If anybody have booked these models plaese share waiting periods, that will help me to take a decision.

I had booked 1.5D Prestige on 15 Feb and waiting period mentioned is 12-13 weeks but SA said it might be delivered before that. Given that there is sudden rush I expect timelines to change for new bookings. Do check with SA what is current waiting period before switching, I guess higher trims non auto might have lesser waiting period.

[achintatri]

The waiting period is directly proportional to the number of bookings however the formula seems to be turning from linear to exponential due to a lot of factors some of which I can think are:

1. Huge waiting for Ertiga as well as XUV700
2. More and more reviews for Carens pouring in at a lot of forums and channels
3. Word of mouth

However from the manufacturer point of view, it would be easy to line up manufacturing for considerable number as compared to small bookings which doesn't seem to be the case. However I feel that every manufacturer takes a huge buffer and that adds up to the huge numbers for waiting period.

There doesn't seem to be any thumb rule because of lack of data but considering Kia's aggressive strategy and refined planning, the deliveries should happen in 30-45 days from the date of booking. Now it all depends upon how the dealers handle the deliveries.

[Rambo-RS]

Originally Posted by sou_3749

I have booked online for 1.5 P prestige. And guess what the tentative waiting is 48-49 weeks as shown in the docket.

Has anybody else booked the same model? What's the waiting period?
If anybody have booked these models plaese share waiting periods, that will help me to take a decision.

I booked the same variant online (Kia website) on 15th February and the waiting period mentioned on the docket is 9-10 weeks for me.

Cheers!

[kmadhok]

Originally Posted by sou_3749

I have booked online for 1.5 P prestige. And guess what the tentative waiting is 48-49 weeks as shown in the docket. I believe this is model which will have the maximum waiting period. By the time I get my hands on it, the prices will surely be revised.

Has anybody else booked the same model? What's the waiting period?
Is it wise to switch to other models say 1.5D prestige or 1.4 prestige plus DCT?
If anybody have booked these models plaese share waiting periods, that will help me to take a decision.

In Bangalore, booked on 16h Feb 1.5D AT Luxury shows a waiting period of 13-14 weeks.

The pricing of diesel and petrol the same though attractive adds more confusion. Any folks have suggestions on what automatic variant to book for low usage? Take a gamble with DCT and get mileage advantages of diesel or enjoy higher power of petrol with at higher fuel cost.

[Transmission]

Originally Posted by kmadhok

Take a gamble with DCT and get mileage advantages of diesel or enjoy higher power of petrol with at higher fuel cost.

The Diesel AT is a torque converter. Only the turbo petrol has to make do with the DCT.

[luvDriving]

I visited the Kia showroom today here in Pune to check out the Carens. It does feel like a solid car - certainly more than the XL6.

I tried out all three rows seating. The front seats are comfortable. Second row is good for 2 adults and 1 child. 3 small size adults can seat with shoulders rubbing. Surprisingly, the third row seat was also ok for me (I am 5'10 large build). The only point was that the second row seat had to be pushed a little forward but still had a good amount of space.

The boot is usable with all three rows up. The middle seat is 60-40 in the 7 seater and although the one touch tumble is available only on the left side, the 60 part also tumbles forward fully to allow easy access to the third row.

I was looking at the 1.5 D MT version and the SA told me that it will be a 5 month wait. Two days ago the wait was 3 months for the same version. The 1.5 P has a wait of 12 months already as of today. The colour most in demand is white followed by the grey, silver and red. People are giving less preference to the black colour. The OTR price for the Luxury Plus model 1.5 D MT is 19.78L in Pune.

There was a heavy rush and people were doing spot bookings. A couple of people booked this to cancel their XL6 bookings. All in all Kia has hit a jackpot.

[sou_3749]

Originally Posted by kmadhok

In Bangalore, booked on 16h Feb 1.5D AT Luxury shows a waiting period of 13-14 weeks.

The pricing of diesel and petrol the same though attractive adds more confusion. Any folks have suggestions on what automatic variant to book for low usage? Take a gamble with DCT and get mileage advantages of diesel or enjoy higher power of petrol with at higher fuel cost.

Exactly my thoughts. The price gap between prestige 1.5p and 1.4/1.5D is close to 3 lahks on road. I can't justify the price difference just for turbo engine(s) and 16 inch wheels. However prestige plus dct makes a lot of sence with a loaded feature list, but again the premium it demands is huge. I am not sure why KIA has given only halogen head lights till prestige plus.

I am inclined to stick to my booking even if the price increase after introductory prices may be around 50 thousand.

[tht'snotME]

I have seen many members pointing to Carens 1.5 Diesel whether it will pull with full load in hilly terrains.

Is this a real concern?
can some learned member throw some light on it?

PS: I have booked 1.5 Diesel Prestige variant

[achintatri]

Originally Posted by tht'snotME

I have seen many members pointing to Carens 1.5 Diesel whether it will pull with full load in hilly terrains.

Is this a real concern?
can some learned member throw some light on it?

PS: I have booked 1.5 Diesel Prestige variant

If you see the Torque figures of both 1.4 dct P and 1.5 AT D, they are neck to neck. The only difference being power figures where dct excels. That means that both the engines will pull equally under same load conditions however dct transforms that power into more 'fun driving'. For normal family trips, Diesel 1.5 AT is expected to pull good. Now I have test driven both with minimum 3 adults and one kid 9 yrs young and the experience with both the vehicles were almost equal. With full load i.e. say 6/7 adults and some luggage, the fun part might provide a different experience in Diesel AT as compared to Petrol dct just because of the power. Moreover gearboxes behave different in both the motors and I am assuming that for full load as well, both are expected to maintain the family car status.

[neeraj08]

Being on the lookout for a 3-row car with a petrol engine and an automatic transmission, I had closely tracked the launch of Alcazar, XUV700 and now the Carens. The requirement was to have a VFM car with decent safety, efficiency and comfort under 15-17 lacs of budget. Importantly, the car should justify the value it serves for it's commanding price. IMHO, the XL6 is the VFM king of the segment. Hence, trying to be prudent, I compared any new car in this segment with the XL6.

On Alcazar - The base petrol-automatic variant Prestige(O) AT was priced at 16.8 lacs (ex.sh) and has now been discontinued by Hyundai. While this variant was into the consideration, the biggest let down was only 2 airbags in a car asking for this price. The cheapest petrol-automatic variant now on offer is Platinum(O) AT priced at 19.56 lacs (ex.sh).

On XUV700 - Acknowledging all the efforts M&M has put into XUV700 to make it a top class product loaded with both power and tech, I still can't come to terms with it's variant spread. There are no automatic options in petrol AX3 and AX5 variants and the cheapest petrol-automatic variant is AX7 AT which costs 19.6 lacs (ex.sh), similar to the Alcazar.

On Carens - When Kia unveiled the features and variants of Carens in January, it was quite clear that they will position it below the Alcazar while overlapping their own product Seltos. Now that the pricing is out and Kia has thrown a surprise, I compared the Carens Petrol-auto with the XL6 to gauge the VFM factor.
Posting this here in case any fellow member is on the same lookout.

Kia Carens Prestige Plus 1.4T 7DCT - 14.59 lacs (ex.sh)
vs.
Maruti Suzuki XL6 Alpha 4AT - 12.02 lacs (ex.sh)

What Carens offers over XL6?
+ Turbo engine with more power and torque
+ 4 more airbags
+ Rear disc brakes
+ Bigger tyres
+ Tire Pressure Monitoring System
+ Higher ground clearance
+ Front Parking sensors
+ Electric seat tumble
+ Rear window sunshades
+ Modern automatic gearbox (Dual-clutch)

What Carens loses over XL6?
- Fuel efficiency
- LED Headlamps
- Fog Lamps
- Leather Seats & Steering wheel

I hope this gives an idea to make a decision on whether it is logical to plonk extra money (almost 3 lacs) for the Carens while considering the above trade-offs.
IMHO, Carens is worth the extra money. But the rumours of XL6 F/L with 6 airbags and 6AT are doing rounds and it won't be too bad to wait for its unveil in the summer this year.

[achintatri]

Originally Posted by neeraj08

Being on the lookout for a 3-row car with a petrol engine and an automatic transmission, I had closely tracked the launch of Alcazar, XUV700 and now the Carens. The requirement was to have a VFM car with decent safety, efficiency and comfort under 15-17 lacs of budget. Importantly, the car should justify the value it serves for it's commanding price. IMHO, the XL6 is the VFM king of the segment. Hence, trying to be prudent, I compared any new car in this segment with the XL6.

On Alcazar - The base petrol-automatic variant Prestige(O) AT was priced at 16.8 lacs (ex.sh) and has now been discontinued by Hyundai. While this variant was into the consideration, the biggest let down was only 2 airbags in a car asking for this price. The cheapest petrol-automatic variant now on offer is Platinum(O) AT priced at 19.56 lacs (ex.sh).

On XUV700 - Acknowledging all the efforts M&M has put into XUV700 to make it a top class product loaded with both power and tech, I still can't come to terms with it's variant spread. There are no automatic options in petrol AX3 and AX5 variants and the cheapest petrol-automatic variant is AX7 AT which costs 19.6 lacs (ex.sh), similar to the Alcazar.

On Carens - When Kia unveiled the features and variants of Carens in January, it was quite clear that they will position it below the Alcazar while overlapping their own product Seltos. Now that the pricing is out and Kia has thrown a surprise, I compared the Carens Petrol-auto with the XL6 to gauge the VFM factor.
Posting this here in case any fellow member is on the same lookout.

Kia Carens Prestige Plus 1.4T 7DCT - 14.59 lacs (ex.sh)
vs.
Maruti Suzuki XL6 Alpha 4AT - 12.02 lacs (ex.sh)

What Carens offers over XL6?
+ Turbo engine with more power and torque
+ 4 more airbags
+ Rear disc brakes
+ Bigger tyres
+ Tire Pressure Monitoring System
+ Higher ground clearance
+ Front Parking sensors
+ Electric seat tumble
+ Rear window sunshades
+ Modern automatic gearbox (Dual-clutch)

What Carens loses over XL6?
- Fuel efficiency
- LED Headlamps
- Fog Lamps
- Leather Seats & Steering wheel

I hope this gives an idea to make a decision on whether it is logical to plonk extra money (almost 3 lacs) for the Carens while considering the above trade-offs.
IMHO, Carens is worth the extra money. But the rumours of XL6 F/L with 6 airbags and 6AT are doing rounds and it won't be too bad to wait for its unveil in the summer this year.

Hi Neeraj, Carens has already beaten XL6 at a lot of places. People will accept the price difference between the two for the essential as well as contemporary features that Carens has to offer. Also VFM = quality/cost so if we make a list of all the attributes of both the cars and put them in the formula, the VFM ratio for Carens will be higher. Moreover, Fuel efficiency has a lot of variables, driving style being one of them, another one is the wedding of engine and the gearbox. And as far as 'accessory features' like LEDs, leather stuffs are concerned, after market has many competitive options that will still maintain the VFM factor for the car. So, no offenses to any owners as well as the prospective buyers here but Carens on paper and through some TD reviews has already beaten Ertiga, XL6, XUV700, Safari, Innova Alcazar on the 'VFM' front. Now as per individual preferences, the choice can move from VFM to a lot of factors such as:

1 Type of ownership- long term or short term
2 Need - Performance versus Safety ( people choosing more airbags as opposed to higher bhp)
3 Driving dynamics versus Space

There can be any number of examples.

Few days back I almost concluded that you need 2 cars to satisfy your needs for commuting/travel: A city car and a highway/weekend family getaways car and so I was looking at used car market to keep purchase within my budget however Carens seem to take care of both the needs in a single car. VFM works at 3 levels: Which Car and then Which Fuel type and lastly Which variant. These are some factors that I think make Carens the most VFM car in the market at least on the paper right now.

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by RaceHorse

Though I have a budget for Kodiaq, I waited for checking the third row space personally before booking, and even before doing that, the bookings were closed.

If you have the budget for a Kodiaq and really need a 7 seater, there is only one car you should buy - the Kia Carnival. It is the only “reasonably priced” car which seats 7 in comfort with enough space for all their luggage. Yes, it is 5.2 m long, and hence parking will be a challenge - which is why we did not pick it up, but it drives brilliantly.