[guru_to_be]

Originally Posted by achintatri

So Diesel definitely looks a good choice. I wanted to book 1.4 DCT and can even save 2.5 Lakhs by opting for the prestige plus (most VFM variant)

Thanks a ton mate. This helps. Just one more question - has anyone observed or expects any difference in the ride quality with diesel or petrol engines? I am asking as a difference is reported in the Autocar youtube review.

PS: I couldn't make out any difference during the TDs. Just missed to check the tyre pressure whilst I was doing that!

[NAVREVV]

If someone could help clear my following doubts:-

1. I am inclined more towards Diesel AT but have doubts whether it will be able to pull effectively 7 adults with full luggage on steep hills especially Himachal.
2. If not, should I buy little more powerful Turbo Petrol variant but compromise slightly on FE?

[rideon74]

Originally Posted by NAVREVV

If someone could help clear my following doubts:-

1. I am inclined more towards Diesel AT but have doubts whether it will be able to pull effectively 7 adults with full luggage on steep hills especially Himachal.
2. If not, should I buy little more powerful Turbo Petrol variant but compromise slightly on FE?

You might want to watch Faisal Khan's Carens review on YouTube. He's mentioned the same doubt as you have.

[Venkatesh]

Kia dealer in Hyderabad, Vihaan Kia, delivered 40 Carens in a single day on 23rd February.









Delivery Ceremony

https://youtu.be/-AWTaYRls0Q

[dextor]

Now that people are getting delivery, they would have got the RC card as well. Can someone please check in the RC card and tell the "Unladen weight" of Kia Carens. This would be good information for comparing weight of Carens with Alcazar as well as other cars.

[SoumenD]

Apologies if this is already discussed but I came across this old article on ZigWheels which states Carens is 4 stars based on some leaked documents? Was the document made public by any chance?

Link



I remember even Vinayak Patankar tweeted about it being tested along with magnite and all but never heard of the results for this one? Any idea what happened?

[ant_vas]

PPS Kia Mysore road delivered 12 Carens today and mine was one of those 12 .

I got my Luxury Plus Diesel AT 7 seater.

PPS Mysore road had arranged for a photo op using Drones and all. They had us drive our cars in a specific order in a convoy as well. Special thanks to Avinash, Mukund (sales) and Yogit (Finance) from PPS Kia Mysore road to get all the documentation, allotment, registration and delivery arranged to make it a memorable experience.





Initial impressions about the Diesel AT: yes it feels underpowered especially in bumper to bumper traffic, but I presume it would be just fine for sedate driving. I currently drive a Dzire Zxi+ AMT and compared to the Dzire, driving the Carens certainly feels meh! But I can live with that for the sheer comfort it provides. This is my first proper AT, so got to understand and adjust my driving style as well.

Did a tankful and Carens took in 45 liters of Diesel and the MID shows a range of 750 KM. Hardly drove for 10 Kms so can't really comment on the mileage yet.

[achintatri]

Originally Posted by ant_vas

PPS Kia Mysore road delivered 12 Carens today and mine was one of those 12

Congratulations on your Carens! Could you please elaborate as to why do you think that the Diesel AT Carens is underpowered. As a lot of fellow bhpians have asked in this forum, I would also request you to please share your experience for a full load traveling in Carens on a hilly area or may be driving up few levels up from basements. I need to understand how would a diesel AT perform with full load. Thanks in advance and wishing you many happy miles with your car ahead.

[swami]

Originally Posted by ant_vas

PPS Kia Mysore road delivered 12 Carens today and mine was one of those 12

Congratulations. May you and your family enjoy many happy miles in the car.

Would be great to hear how the AC performance is (across all rows).

[vijay.sundar]

Looking for a car for the family (my dad (60+) + my wife + 2 kids (5&1) + a large (and a very gentle) Rottweiler (4yrs) + 6' me. Mostly school runs / shopping / visit relatives/ family drive to the beach with our dog etc. Both the kids only travel in their car seat. Must be an automatic.

Existing vehicles: 2016 Endeavour - too big / inconvenient for daily use. 2011 Honda city AT (Petrol) - With two car seats for the kids - no more space left in the rear. Looking for a replacement to the City.

The Carens seems to tick all the boxes for our family and the intended use.

Took a short test drive of both the 1.4P 7DCT and 1.5D 6AT at VST Central, Mount Road, Chennai and came back impressed.

Some observations:

- 6 seater seems a good fit. No more folding/tumbling of the middle row to get the elder kid out

- 1.4 Petrol was ultra smooth vis-a-vis the 1.5 diesel (expected). But felt that the diesel was way smoother (at idle) compared to my 3.2 Endy.

- The car felt extremely spacious compared to even the Endeavour - How can that be? Maybe, because this is designed groundup as a MUV. I felt that even the boot space with 3rows up was marginally better than the Endeavour

- This car's design team must have been a family like ours! It managed to satisfy each of our wants and needs

- Among the 3 seating zones, the middle zone comparatively felt a little less lacking in space

- Middle row shoulder support was not very good - This was not a deal breaker though

- Third row was very comfortably for my wife - in the 6 seater. You can extend/stretch your legs between the middle captain seats and sleep!

- As someone had pointed out. The top end variant's with 10" AVN DO NOT get wireless Android auto. It is available only in the 8" AVN system in the other trims. This felt weird

- While closing the left side rear door, I felt a lot of shaking/wobbling. I did not confident enough that I had to open and close the door 3/4 times just to make sure that the door was really locked and secured

- Though the interior felt way more spacious and comfortable than our Endeavour, the build quality, sturdiness, material quality was just NO MATCH for the Endeavour - nor the Honda city for that matter

- Just after sitting back in the Endeavour, everyone of us could definitely and instantly appreciate the build quality and cabin quality of the Endeavour. Again - this is only relative; comparing the Carens to the Endeavour / Honda city

- Also, just after sitting inside the Carens, we felt that the interior quality and build was not that up to the mark. We started with low expectations because of that. But at the end of the test drive, there was a lot of other positives that made us overlook the above mentioned factors. It just felt suited better for our family

- The Seltos is definitely a butch looking car compared to the Carens - No doubt about it

- The Carens felt like it will be easy and convenient to drive inside the city

- Did not have a long enough drive to comment or compare the engine performance of Petrol vs Diesel. Still not decided but we are leaning towards the Petrol because of the smoothness, less noise, 7DCT and the extra power. We have not written off the Diesel though - It was not bad at all

- Sun roof was just about okay (size and the looks of it)

- Air purifier did not bother me much by intruding in my knee room. Maybe a longer drive will change my opinion?

- We did not discuss much about the looks of the car. The practicality that the Carens offers was our main talking point

- This felt way much better than the alternatives available. XL6/Triber etc. It could even give the Toyota a hard time. We might go for it after checking out the Alcazar soon.

These are my observations. Wanted to share with you all!

[praveenkkr]

Originally Posted by ant_vas

PPS Kia Mysore road delivered 12 Carens today and mine was one of those 12 .

Initial impressions about the Diesel AT: yes it feels underpowered especially in bumper to bumper traffic, but I presume it would be just fine for sedate driving.

Congrats @ant_vas

Can you please mention the mode you used and also number of people on board?

I'm waiting to change my booking from DCT to Diesel AT, but the Diesel AT is not yet available for TD at Mysore road PPS Kia.
I tried Diesel Manual and it felt more than adequate for my style of driving.

But we need AT only as we currently drive Jazz CVT and it is breeze to drive in city.

I also tried DCT, but felt it is a bit lazy and hard pedal would be needed to get it moving. So, concerned about the mileage and the DCT longetivity.

[nitsmax]

Originally Posted by dextor

Did the test drive of Carens Diesel automatic yesterday with 7 people seated. All were in the range for 70-80+ kgs weight. The ride was perfect without any lag of power and the car was able to pull very nicely.
I have to admit that the engine sound on higher speed was higher in the cabin.

Multiple people tried to drive the car with different riding styles and the results were same. Overall ride was comfortable and space was good enough for all 7. I (5.7") was seated in the last row along with a friend (5.10") and we both were having good enough leg space with back fully reclined. Please note with back fully reclined the luggage space in boot is further reduced.

So who ever is having doubt about car (D AT) able to pull with full load can breathe easy.

I also test drove the turbo petrol DCT at Jabalpur and found it to be a very well rounded product at the price. I have a 5 year old renault lodgy stepway which has done approx 90k and now up for change.

The diesel AT was not available for test drive here, so was waiting for the power comments from some bhpians. Thanks so much for the 7 people test drive.

Me and my wife absolutely loved the car for the price as we have 3 children and are looking to start road trip holidays from coming year with all the new expressways criss crossing near to Jabalpur.

[ant_vas]

Originally Posted by praveenkkr

Can you please mention the mode you used and also number of people on board?

We were 4 adults and 1 kid on-board. Took the car get the pooja done at a temple which is on a hill and the Carens felt a bit underwhelming but nothing like stalling. I used D mode only so far, haven't driven more than 10 kms so really can't comment with authority that diesel AT feels inadequate. This is my first proper AT so am yet to master the driving.

Diesel AT is available for test drive at Kia Naara in JP Nagar, get a TD there and decide for yourself. I agree diesel manual is certainly a good one of you are ok with manually shifting gears.

Originally Posted by swami

Would be great to hear how the AC performance is (across all rows).

I understand there are separate AC units for the middle and back row and the cabin cools very well.

[praveenkkr]

Originally Posted by ant_vas

We were 4 adults and 1 kid on-board. Took the car get the pooja done at a temple which is on a hill and the Carens felt a bit underwhelming but nothing like stalling.

Please try with different drive modes - Eco/Normal/Sports next time and share your experience.
I know you get many requests like this, as you are one of the few initial owners and hope don't mind

I'm planning TD at JP nagar KIA this weekend.

[chirag08]

Just wanted some clarity on whether the Carens needs Adblue, I was seeing some reviews on youtube and couldnt see any adblue tank next to the diesel tank.

Also, there was a comment in the earlier pages that Carens does not require any adblue and has no DEF issues. Can someone please confirm if the same is true.