[chirag08]

Originally Posted by achintatri

I feel that if you have booked Diesel AT you should stick with it, if You haven't and you are convinced with its performance based on your research and TD, you can always go ahead and make a new booking.

In modern diesel vehicles it doesn't matter whether your usage is high or low, both petrol as well as diesel (especially Hyundai/Kia) perform equally well.

Hey Achint, thank you for your reply, actually I have booked the Petrol DCT Luxury Plus, even I saw Bunny Punia's video today and am tempted to buy the diesel especially with the mileage he got, no adblue requirement and the general favourable perception of Hyundia diesels is a bonus.

I have already told the SA that I would take the Diesel AT in case anyone backs out, not making a fresh booking as the new delivery period will apply. Hopefully the SA is able to get me a diesel AT, otherwise I think I can handle the learning curve with the DCT.

[Meph1st0]

I had a very short test drive of Carens 1.4 petrol DCT at Taapasi today. The showroom experience was good and so was the ambiance. Being a weekday, the crowd was less, there were just two other families checking Carens.
I currently drive a Zest XTA, so some of my observations will be in comparison to it.

• It looks much bigger and better than it looks in the photos. Not a deal-breaker for me.
• Interior space is very good in all the rows. For my driving postion (am 5'9""), there was a lot of legroom in the second row.
• The front seats felt good, a bit harder which should be better and supportive for long drives.
• The sunroof is very small and not useful. Kia could have skipped it.
• Steering felt a size or two small.
• Steering is very very light. Hope it weighs better at higher speeds. But it makes city driving a breeze.
• The seating position is good. You get a good view of the bonnet and the road ahead.
• Doors did not feel tinny but not close to the heft of the doors on Zest.
• Drive was very short approximately 3 km, mainly in second and third gear in slow-moving traffic. In the end, mileage on mid was close to 10 kmpl.
• Prestige plus has only one bulb for high and low beams. Even my Zest has two separate bulbs.
• 1.4 petrol and DCT combo is very good. Never felt any lag. The creep function seems to be mild, not jerky at all. Clear distinction in sports mode, the engine becomes very eager. Suspension is not hard. Need a longer test drive to better check steering and suspension.

Kia could have provided a proper 3-point seatbelt for everyone in the bench seat. Safety is still a concern for me without the crash test ratings (considering the performance of Seltos).
I am looking for Prestige plus DCT, the waiting period seems to be 3 months.

[DImPo]

I had booked a Kia Carens (Prestige 1.5 Petrol) and last Sunday went for a test drive. Though the test drive went well, I observed one strange phenomena ie., the Carens display vehicle inside the showroom had its Driver side door open with windows half rolled up. When I closed the door, I could observe that the door window glass was shaking terribly during the impact. I also realised that the glass appeared to be very thin. Today, just for comparison, I did the same thing with my 10.5 year old Etios Liva. There was not even a slight shake.
I would request others who go for TD of Kia Carens to observe this (by shutting the door with glass window half rolled down) and offer your comments.

[praveenkkr]

Originally Posted by DImPo

When I closed the door, I could observe that the door window glass was shaking terribly during the impact.

I observed this and also told the same to the sales exec. These are the places where Kia is cutting costs.
We were considering Alcazar before and we can clearly see such compromises. Even the door is thin and doesn't close with solid thud. My jazz is better in these aspect.

This is just a bit better product compared to XL6. Hope Maruti will up the ante with upcoming Ertiga/XL6 facelift.

[NAVREVV]

Originally Posted by chirag08

Hey Achint, thank you for your reply, actually I have booked the Petrol DCT Luxury Plus, even I saw Bunny Punia's video today and am tempted to buy the diesel especially with the mileage he got, no adblue requirement and the general favourable perception of Hyundia diesels is a bonus.

I saw Bunny’s video with full load and that literally gave me good confidence that Diesel AT will be able to pull effectively on steep inclines albeit with an engine grunt and with a bit of throttle push.

Query to fellow BHP’ians :- Is Noida (UP-16) registration for diesel vehicles for 10 years or 15 years and how much impact it will have on resale considering diesel life is 10 years in Delhi/NCR?

[furyrider]

I’ve attached the owner’s manual for Carens. The document is pretty exhaustive and has many tiny details covered in detail. Not sure if someone uploaded this before. I’ve uploaded here since I thought this might be helpful.

[MarutiGuy1977]

Just back from JSP KIA Hosur road.
Quite a bit of crowd there. But well attended to by the sales staff.
There were quite a few serious discussions going on and I saw a few PAN cards being dished out as well (could be for other KIA models though too).
Waiting period is around 32+ weeks for lower trims and 22+ weeks for higher trims.
It's a very thoughtfully made car. Has all the features one would expect. But it doesn't take ones breath away.
3 points which stuck out for me:
1. Model distribution for the AT doesn't seem to be good, with the AT on both P and D available on the higher trims only.
2. The 3rd row is actually decently comfortable even for an adult. It is not cramped. It has USB port, mobile holder, cup holder on both sides. And a common AC vent.
3. Doors seem to be heavy. But the heaviness seems to come from tight hinges rather than weight of th metal in the door.

KIA really have done a great job of developing a car which caters to all kinds of users.
Haven't taken a test drive, but visually / feature-wise, very little to fault.

[achintatri]

Originally Posted by chirag08

Hey Achint, thank you for your reply, actually I have booked the Petrol DCT Luxury Plus, even I saw Bunny Punia's video today and am tempted to buy the diesel especially with the mileage he got, no adblue requirement and the general favourable perception of Hyundia diesels is a bonus.

I have already told the SA that I would take the Diesel AT in case anyone backs out, not making a fresh booking as the new delivery period will apply. Hopefully the SA is able to get me a diesel AT, otherwise I think I can handle the learning curve with the DCT.

Hi Chirag, I am in a fix too now having researched about the DPF issues in Diesel Engine. So if you go for petrol dct, you need to change your driving habits and or live in the fear of dct issues and if you go for diesel you need to change your driving habits or be ready to manually take care of degeneration. Now this thing is not acceptable after spending hard earned money on the family car or any vehicle for that reason.

We have been driving cars that only needs regular services at the predefined intervals without the need of changing the 'driving style'. If manual intervention is required whether in dct or in diesel to support the running of a car, that defeats the very purpose of owning an automatic car and I don't think I am ready for that.

Now need to understand how Kia Carens is going to handle these dct/dpf issues by talking to the Service advisors as well as to the current owners of these engines in Kia and Hyundai cars.

I definitely am not convinced as of now to put my hard earned money on a car that already has concerns in long term running based on the related siblings reports.

Peace of mind comes at a higher cost than the product itself

[NAVREVV]

Went ahead and booked 1.4 DCT Luxury Plus 7 seater at Lohia Kia, Noida. Guys at the dealership spent 4 hours with us fully explaining each and every query on the car. 10/10 on this to the dealership and attention given.

Took back to back TD of Diesel AT and Petrol AT. Diesel felt dull at low rpm and engine clutter clearly noticeable in the cabin even at idle and gets even noisier at little throttle push. Didn’t like it tbh. Took TD of Petrol and not only it was lot quieter in the cabin but ride was peppy and felt very nice overall. Suspension is also perfectly tuned to negate even large potholes and bad roads. Few things clearly in favor of DCT…

1. As per Kia guys, DCT problems have now been resolved so DCT heating issues won’t come now.

2. I chose resale over FE since I am in Delhi/NCR. I am ready to spend little more on Petrol but not ready to give up on lower resale once I decide to sell.

3. Though diesel is adequately powered but I feel DCT will give better edge on highways and hilly areas.

Overall, cabin feel is good and equipped with all safety features and 3rd row space is very good. It can house an adult easily for longer drives.


Cons:-

1.Someone here raised the issue of driver side glass shaking with window half rolled down. Yes, it shakes when you literally bang the door and not otherwise.
2. No wireless AA and ACP. What a bummer!!
3. Should have atleast provided driver side Electric seat.

Overall a great VFM car especially with the price tag it’s being offered at with all safety and tech features.

[headbanger]

I went to see Carens a couple of times. We have Seltos and Sonet in the family. A lot of folks have mentioned about window glass vibrating upon closing the door. I did check Carens back on back with Sonet and it doesn't look like Carens using any inferior quality of glass.

The vibration in Carens is primarily due to the big size of the window due to which glass pane flexes a little between two channels. This behavior is more prominent in the rear doors. The length of the window in Carens is considerably bigger than Seltos and Sonet. Since I haven't driven Carens as of now, I don't know if this can cause windows to rattle in the long run. But there is no cost cutting in terms of an inferior glass quality being used.

[ant_vas]

Originally Posted by ant_vas

driving the Carens certainly feels meh!

I got a chance to take Carens on a drive of around 100 km on the Bangalore airport road. When I started from my home, I felt the car wasn't pulling, and only the RPMs were increasing when I pressed the accelerator pedal without the car showing any urgency to move fast. Drove this way for almost 10 km, and then it flashed to me that the car comes with three drive modes, and when I checked, it was in Eco mode! I felt so stupid of having forgotten about the drive modes. I then switched to Normal mode, and the car indeed started performing well.

My friends drove the Carens on the highway, and they felt it drives well and handled beautifully. They tried the sports mode, and the car comes on its own and makes driving a lot easier. The steering is light and gains weight as the speed increases. One of my friends drive a Crysta and he feels the lack of power, but there is a 900cc engine capacity less in Carnes, and a difference in the performance is expected. Together, they could touch three-digit speeds at a few stretches, and the car performed well.

At a traffic signal, a family was trying to get into a cab, and they ended up opening the cab door wide and hit my car above the rear right wheel three times. But thankfully, no dents or scratches!

We were a total of 5 adults in the car, and our combined weight was around 430Kgs and Carens performed well while crossing the numerous flyovers on the way towards the airport. I had occupied the last row during the entire journey, and it was very comfortable. The rear AC with individual vents and recline seats is a real boon.

When I started from home, the MID showed a mileage of 6.2kmpl, and the odo was at some 32km. The mileage now shows 10.8 kmpl, and the odo is around 140kms now.

I am happy with the way the car performs and am sure as time progresses and as I learn more about how to drive an AT and the engine settling, the mileage will only go up.

Mode Note - There are too many spelling & grammatical errors; please proofread before submitting.

[NAVREVV]

Got this.

[Meph1st0]

Originally Posted by NAVREVV

Got this.

Some interpretation based on the numbers,
The difference between the gross weight of 7-seater vs 6-seater is 80 kilos (in most cases). This could be a.) weight of an extra person is 80 kilos or b.) weight of one person (70kg) + weight of middle seat (10kg). Based on this assumption, the kerb weight could be

• Smartstream 1.5 - 1260kg/1320kg
• 1.4 GDi MT - 1360kg/1420kg
• 1.4 GDi DCT - 1390/1450kg
• 1.5 VGT MT - 1410/1470kg
• 1.5 VGT AT - 1440/1500kg

Overall height should vary due to the different wheel sizes - 205/65 R16 provides an extra 19.2mm of ground clearance compared to 195/65 R15. Not sure how it can be the same.

[akannath]

Has anyone driven the 1.5 P version or come across reviews of test drive of the same? Keen to understand whether it would be capable of transporting when fully loaded with 7 people. 5 adults shouldn't be a problem I guess.
Any pointers would be appreciated. Seltos owners might have a better idea. Thanks.

[fhdowntheline]

I just wonder why there should be a 100 kg difference between 1.5 NA and 1.4GDl manual when there is only a 50 kg difference between the 1.4 GDI and the 1.5 Diesel. All essential safety kit is the same across the variants, so assuming that structural changes next to nil. Is a turbo petrol engine that much heavier because of the turbocharger?