[Knightrider]

Originally Posted by pseudo_coder

The showroom was adamant on selling the full accessories pack worth 19k.

If you don't mind, can you please share which showroom/dealer in Pune did you get your car from. At the time of booking, I was told that the accessories are optional and I can choose whichever ones I want.

[pseudo_coder]

Originally Posted by NivasBaskaran

This will do? I m going to skip seat covers and Ceramic coating for now.

By the ways, is Ceramic coating is a must have one?

I think seat covers are must for Prestige and Premium variants. Fabric seats will absorb sweat and dirt, difficult to deep clean.

No, I don't think ceramic coating is a must. I am getting it for 19k, so think it's worth it.

Originally Posted by Knightrider

If you don't mind, can you please share which showroom/dealer in Pune did you get your car from. At the time of booking, I was told that the accessories are optional and I can choose whichever ones I want.

Dhone Kia, Solapur road.

Other showrooms also told me that it's optional. I didn't fight with my dealer, because they gave me a quick delivery

[dextor]

My opinion about accessories -

I would always suggest that people should spend some time (2-3 months) before going for accessories. When we buy a car we immediately think we will need so much more. But once we start living with the car, we realise that only few are really needed. And in this duration we get to know what accessory type/brand will best suit the car model we have.

For Teflon/Ceramic coating my view is to go for these after 2 years. The car paint is fresh and has its own glow & shine. Atleast for 1 year its not needed. After 2 years or so when there are minor swirl marks, micro scratches etc and shine is also reduced, that is when people can go for add-on coatings. Most of these coating include rubbing which will take care of all minor paint issues and make the car look like new.

For seat covers I see a particular craze in India. People mostly want a seat cover to protect the original cover and not because they have issue with original ones. Car companies do lot of research and come up with best possible (within cost obviously) material & design. Ideal way should be that we use the car and after few years when we see the original covers are not good enough, we go for new ones. Else if someone wants a leather cover or any particular cover, than immediate change is the only option.

For alloys my own opinion (many might oppose) is that its only for looks without any functional benefit. And users are particular about looks only for initial duration of the car after which no one really cares whether it is an alloy or steel rim with a beautiful cover. I would always save money instead of going for a after-market alloy. This opinion is not meant for die hard alloy fans :-)

[NivasBaskaran]

Originally Posted by dextor

My opinion about accessories -

I would always suggest that people should spend some time (2-3 months) before going for accessories. When we buy a car we immediately think we will need so much more. But once we start living with the car, we realise that only few are really needed. And in this duration we get to know what accessory type/brand will best suit the car model we have.

Exactly the same kind of thought process I have.

I can live with whatever wheel comes with the Car. They should have done some research and decided to fit this specific wheels. There are various factors on selecting the wheels like suspension setup, milage, comfort, handling, engine power/torque etc., Just a decent wheel cover on steel wheel will do for me personally.

As you told, OEM seat covers should give comfort. We will have to enjoy that. When you feel OEM seats are not comfortable or become dirty/tore, we can go with seat covers.

On coating let me share my thoughts. If you do PPF/ceramic coating and let's say some biker dashed your car door and got a dent. If you repair that door, you will have to redo whatever coating you did again for that door after the patching. And its not cheap. May be we can do teflon coating after 2 years as you told. So that all micro swirls and scratched will be smoothened out in the process and give a new look for the car.

For me mandatory accessories are floor mats, dash cam (better with parking monitoring), films on glasses to reduce glares from opposite vehicles during my night rides on highways and fog lamps (as of not now available).

[jthomas]

Originally Posted by dextor

For seat covers I see a particular craze in India. People mostly want a seat cover to protect the original cover and not because they have issue with original ones. Car companies do lot of research and come up with best possible (within cost obviously) material & design. Ideal way should be that we use the car and after few years when we see the original covers are not good enough, we go for new ones. Else if someone wants a leather cover or any particular cover, than immediate change is the only option.

For alloys my own opinion (many might oppose) is that its only for looks without any functional benefit. And users are particular about looks only for initial duration of the car after which no one really cares whether it is an alloy or steel rim with a beautiful cover. I would always save money instead of going for a after-market alloy. This opinion is not meant for die hard alloy fans :-)

100% Agree with Dextor!

Looking back, I wasted 34k for custom leather seat cover for my Seltos HTK. The irony is while the seat cover was getting stitched, the car was still having plastic covers on all other seats except driver seat. Didn't feel like taking it off the new car. They completely removed the OEM fabric seat cover and it's still tucked away nicely in some box for no use.

Had the money invested in Mutual funds, it would have fetched atleast 20% returns. Classic Head vs Heart dilemma!

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by ptaneja

Absolutely possible.
Look for "airbag friendly seat covers", multiple shops exist dealing with those. Even I have seen a lot of videos on it.

Sample screenshots ...

I think one should NEVER EVER try to play around with the seat design that has airbags no matter how much ever friendly it appears. I would sincerely suggest please do not go by such videos and offers from shops. None of those shops or video makers are going to help you in case of an airbag malfunction during any unfortunate incident. And the manufacturer/insurance company may also deny any responsibility.

[guru_to_be]

Originally Posted by achintatri

BTW, I had booked D AT Imperial Blue on Feb 17th, No word yet. However considering that the bookings went in an exponential manner, difference of 4 days between 13th and 17th might have created a big backlog for KIA and my docket waiting period mentions 20-21 weeks as opposed to 13-14 weeks as mentioned by @PGNarain.

I was offered Gray, Red, Black colors in D AT few weeks back but considering I am not flexible on the color choice, I don't mind waiting.

I am however expecting the delivery to happen in early April. I know now that whenever I see a call from my SA on my phone, it would be the time :-)

Eagerly waiting for some reviews on D AT from the Horse's mouth :-)

Which dealer have you booked with if you dont mind sharing?

[achintatri]

Originally Posted by guru_to_be

Which dealer have you booked with if you dont mind sharing?

Aman Kia, Yerawada Pune.

[NivasBaskaran]

Originally Posted by pseudo_coder

My Prestige 1.5 P came with steel wheels. I asked a dealer about upgrade to alloys, and he said it would cost 25k+ for 4 wheels. Would it be a worthy upgrade? I don't care much about looks.

I am also planning to get seat covers. It's difficult due to 6 airbags, but the shop owner is a friend and said he can do it. Kia should really provide these as accessories. Do they expect customers to keep using fabric seats?

Hey, how is the headlight power? Is the adequate for highway rides? Or do we need to upgrade the lights?

[ant_vas]

Got my Carens D AT 1st service done today. Its almost been a month with the car already, Phew! The Odo reads only 550 KM so far. Couple of my outstation trip plans didn't materialize so went for the service as its almost a month now.

1st service is a standard affair, they do through checks, top up fluids if required and do dry wash for exterior and interior cleaning. I didn't have any issues to report except for some irritating sound from the IRVM. I was informed that it would take 4 hours to get the service done.

I took the available time to ask about My convenience plus maintenance plan. When my car was delivered this maintenance package was not available / offered. I had bought the extended warranty then. Since the My convenience plus is exclusively for Carens, I was very keen on getting this plan sans the extended warranty price that I have already paid. But unfortunately, this plan needs to be purchased with in 15 days of delivery and was not available for me.

I asked for an exception as at the time of delivery last month the plan was there/not offered to me. But they couldn't help. spoke to Kia helpline and they directed me back to service center. Spoke to almost everyone from service advisor, customer experience manager, sales team lead (who handled my booking) to service GM but they just didn't have that option for me.

I opted for the My convenience package for 5 years which can be purchased with in the 1st year and paid 29199/-. This plan offers pre-paid maintenance along with one of the services like: preventive care, AC care, Fresh Care, Hygiene care. Opted for preventive care. I also get a under body coating which i will get done some other time. So after the 3 free services are over, i will have no worry of the service cost as this package covers that. I will only have to pay for cost of wheel balancing weights and windshield washer liquid charges. If i want to service my car in a different city I will have to pay a nominal transfer fee though! This plan doesn't include RSA after the default 3 years offered by KIA, but some plans are expected to be launched in a month or so.

If anyone is interested, then I can share the My convenience package details about what all it covers (need to scan the printed document)

If anyone is getting Carens, I suggest to opt for the My convenience plus luxury package as it offers pan-India coverage for up to 50K service for 5 years and RSA for 4 years along with extended warranty.

Coming to the performance of the car: As I get used to driving AT, am starting to enjoy driving the car. In city condition I invariably switch to Eco mode (Normal is default) and as most of the times only 1 - 3 passengers are in the car, I feel the pickup is just fine. The MID is interesting one: It has an overall trip meter, current drive trip meter and since last refuel trip meter which gets automatically reset when you refuel. The TPMS will under-read in comparison to the reading of the pump. The difference is almost 4 psi.

The ventilated seats are welcome, but am not sure the cooling is adequate. Need to compare it with another carens to ascertain that there is no issue with my car

[PGNarain]

So, as mentioned here already, we got our new Kia Carens delivered on Sunday, 13th March. I have been a member here for almost 10 years now, 3 cars and 2 two wheelers later, this will be my first Ownership Report and hope it ticks all the boxes! But first some background so please bear with me for the longish post!

I have few indulgences in life and like to think I lead a simple life, but car / two-wheeler buying for me have always been an impulse / emotional purchase. Though I will look around, I find that rarely my mind changes once a machine has made an impression, despite what logic or naysayers may say.

It all started with my first purchase, a RE Electra 350cc 4S which I bought 2nd hand in Delhi from the Karol Bagh Market. I was initially trying to apply my mind to the buying process and looked at several 150cc bikes (Unicorn, Pulsar etc), but just one short trip as a pillion (I had never been on a RE before - EVER) among the congested lanes of Karol Bagh with blessings of Hanuman Ji in the background, I knew that this is the bike I was meant to drive - period. My first car, the Linea followed a few years later after a single and very short test drive and despite all the FIAT bashing threads, I just knew I would not be happy with any other car. I was in two minds at one point, reading about the horror stories associated with a owning a Fiat Car but my wife simply told me - Buy it, otherwise for all time and whenever you see another Linea out on the road you will feel regret!

Boy, was it a good decision, we had some amazing times and after 9 glorious years we had no plans upgrading or changing the car, except for a small itch!! An expanding family and an ever-expanding waistline meant we were casually on the lookout for a bigger car. Enter MG and the MG Hector! I still remember it vividly when I first saw a Black Hector on the Pune by-pass, bearing down steadily in my rear-view mirror! That grill... ooh, it was love at first sight. I found it hard to believe that I had gotten so involved in my work and had no clue about the car / brand's launch whatsoever. Long story short, we took a test drive and if memory serves, we booked our Hector that very day. Now came the tough part, which was to sell or not to sell our beloved Linea. Being the only driver in the family, among other reasons, logic prevailed over the heart, and we had to let her go. Till today, i regret that decision and if you were to ask me my car registration number out of the blue, I would still probably rattle out our Linea's number plate. My wife who is hardly ever a car enthusiast cried when our car was taken away!

But I digress. We have been extremely happy with our Hector, and during the lockdown my wife learned to drive and drive confidently enough in Mumbai traffic. This meant that now the same car was being driven by both of us, which was perfectly ok! But then the pandemic subsided, my office re-opened, albeit in a different location from pre-lockdown days. This meant I would now have to drive or face the vagaries of public transport. It was an easy but expensive choice and meant on an average we were spending about INR 20-22,000 per month on Fuel. Coping with ever-rising fuel costs, consistently high per month running and unexpectedly long road trips. Just during the lockdowns we racked up +37,000kms within two years of our car purchase in Nov 2019. All this coupled with the fact that we now sorely needed a 2nd car in the family, had us on the lookout again, with no clear favourites.

This time we were clear that we needed a good mileage car, preferably a Diesel and an Automatic. Test drove a whole range of cars and following were the cars we tried out / considered:
- Maruti Suzuki Baleno: Was ok to drive and the showroom was willing to part with pre-facelifted Balenos in stock for a substantial discount before the new one was launched. But the car felt underpowered and tinny. Panels flexed liked mad, and the doors felt so lightweight and cheap. Also, Maruti didn’t have a diesel and an auto box wasn’t available in stock.
- Maruti S-Cross: Was a good drive and though the auto box was an age-old design, it worked well enough for us. However, again no diesels engines and the car just seemed a little too old and outdated.
- Hyundai i10, i20, Venue: All 3 were good offerings for the price but were too small for me personally. The family again just didn't bite at all and after the Hector, they found it too small. Embarrassingly during the test drives my daughter kept harping on how the car was too small, didnt have a panoramic sunroof etc etc in front of the service exec.
- Hyundai Creta: A genuine contender but none of us liked the looks. Also, we flet that the space was at a premium in the 2nd row.
- Tata Altroz, Nexon: Good cars but were severely let down by a pathetic showroom / sales experience. We also felt the space was not good enough in both the front and second rows for 5 persons.
- Tata Harrier: Amazing car but again severely let down by the showroom experience and the top end Diesel Auto was well beyond our budget.
- Tata Safari and Toyota Innova were not considered because they were too big for our parking space and the well kitted out trims were too big for our wallets.
- Polo TSI: Great to drive and still looks good from the outside. On the inside is a different story, thought the interior aged well but it was just too small, too expensive and way to long in the tooth now. I tried it out solely because I think it is still a great car and fun to drive.
- MG Hector, Hector Plus: Nice cars, but we didn’t like it to the extent to buy a 2nd hector. Also the Diesel was well beyond our budget and our parking would just not accommodate such a big car!
- Jeep Compass: A nice car but the Diesel Auto was way out of our budget, not even worth considering. Did not even take a test drive.
- VW Vento: Overall a great car but lacked a Diesel. Also, we were not inclined to go back to a sedan and why we didn't consider the Honda City, Verna or the Rapid or Slavia.
- VW Tiguan - both 1ltr and 1.5ltr: Beautiful car, nice build quality, lovely interiors and the 1.5TSI was an amazing drive. But again, no diesel and it didn't really feel like an upgrade from the Hector or even in the same category somehow. The family too just wrote it off completely.

The VW and KIA showrooms are adjacent to each other here in Navi Mumbai and I happened to see the Carens. The test drive cars were in Aurora Black, and I instantly took a liking for it. Crossed the road, asked for a test drive on what seemed to be a busy day. The showroom people were very receptive. We were promptly attended to, a far far far cry from the Tata Showroom and were asked to wait till the test drive vehicles came back. In the meantime the service advisor offered us tea / coffee and my daughter was given a Kia Carens colouring sheet with colours to keep her busy while the service exec took us through the trims, features etc. Though we had already made up mind for the Diesel Auto, we test drove the Petrol 1.4 DCT as well.

My wife test drove the petrol and came away very impressed. I sat behind in the captain seats and loved every minute of it. My daughter had a ball of a time jumping between the last row and 2nd row. Next up was the Diesel Auto (7-seater), which I test drove and had decent drive of about 4-5kms. By the end, my mind was all but made up. Once we got back, the service exec got busy showing us the features and I simply told her - leave it, just book it! Following details and price break up shared at the time:

Model - Kia Carens D1.5CRDI VGT 6AT Luxury-Plus 6Seater
Ex-showroom: INR 16,99,990/-
TCS: INR 16,999/-
RTO: INR 2,45,296/-
Insurance: INR 64,736/-
Total: INR 20,27,021
Add Optional EW + Care Package: INR 50,000
Total OTR: INR 20,77,021

This was on Sunday evening, 13th of Feb and two days before the price reveal. Me and my wife decided that if the ex-showroom price for the top end diesel would be around 18, we would buy the Carens. On the day of the price reveal, I locked myself in a conference room in my office and waited with bated breath. The introductory prices blew us away and I went straight home, picked up the family and drove down to the showroom with just one demand - give us the car!

Our service exec assured us that she would manage delivery latest by the end of March or by early April. I told her that my wife's birthday is in the 1st week of April, and this would make a lovely present. She assured us that she would be able to make it happen and asked us to apply for our loan, which we promptly did and got the loan sanctioned soon thereafter. As luck would have it, my wife called me one fine evening early March saying that the showroom had a an allotment for our car and could get us delivery by 10/11 March if we could manage the payments etc. We immediately confirmed but asked for the delivery to be made on Sunday, 13th March as we had plans to travel in the 2nd half the same week.

However, tragedy struck, my daughter broke her arm exactly one week before the planned delivery and everything went awry. I could not do the PDI at the stockyard, nor explore or negotiate on the Insurance etc. Plans to try and apply for a BH registration number also fell through. Our travel plans were shelved and though we could take an early delivery, but between loan disbursement delays, multiple hospital rounds, Office duties etc meant that delivery would at the earliest be on Saturday, 12th. Saturday delivery was struck down since my wife didn’t want to buy metal on a Saturday (shani etc). So, Sunday the 13th of March it was...



We completed the delivery formalities and paperwork. Gifted our KIA RM a box of sweets and a small gift which was followed by a very nice hand over ceremony by the Kia Showroom staff and they also gave us a lovely set of 4 coffee mugs, which was very thoughtful and frankly amazing!



The final price and break up is as follows with the invoice copies also:

Ex-showroom: INR 16,99,990/-
TCS: INR 16,999/-
RTO: INR 2,45,296/-
Insurance: INR 61,642/-
Fast Tag: INR 500/-
Total: INR 20,24,427/-[
Add Optional EW + Care Package: INR 50,000
Total OTR: INR 20,74,427/-

Tax Invoice


Insurance, RTO, Fast Tag, TCS


Kia Convenience Package for 5 years


Straight out of the showroom we drove down to the nearest petrol pump and filled up a small amount of Diesel and headed for a celebratory lunch with our friends. In the evening I dropped off the Carens to the Nerul 3M workshop for the following treatments:

PPF for the entire car, including bonnet and roof: INR 92,250/-
Sunfilm, including fore and aft windshields: INR 30,424
3M Mats: INR 9,600/-
Underbody Anti Rust: INR 5,212/-
Anti Rust Silencer Treatment: INR 1,186/-
We managed to wriggle some discounts and finally settled the bill rounded off to INR 130,000/-

Got the car back on Wednesday evening finally, shining and sparkling in all glory!













The Carens has been immediately been put into service and I drove her down to my office on the Thursday, just before the long Holi Weekend starting Friday. I was very curious about the fuel economy and got a MID indicated economy of 14.4kmpl. This was driving through really bad traffic in the evening, with everyone heading out of Mumbai before the long weekend. Have a look at the situation below...

I took the below screenshot before starting from office but eventually the route had become far more congested by the time I transited.



The corresponding screen grab from my Kia Connect App for the same period.



And a shot of the MID for the trip. Do note that the car was driven the entire time in the default City Mode.



The upcoming weekend we took the opportunity to try out the Carens on the Lonavala Ghats to ascertain the power delivery with a full load of 4 adults and 2 children and the corresponding fuel economy. I asked my friend and his family to join for the experiment and headed to Kinara Dhaba on the Old Mumbai - Pune Highway for Lunch.

Tanked up the car to auto-cut off with normal diesel (oh tis so sweet to pay for fuel below 100 rupees...)



Tanked up again to auto cut-off while returning



Distance done between refills was 137kms and yielded a kmpl of 16.74kmpl as against a MID indicated figure of 16.50kmpl - pretty close and accurate. AC was on all the time and the engine remained in the default City Mode with few short bursts using the Sports Mode, especially while going up the ghats. We did not get much traffic, except for a few stretches in between, barring which it was very smooth sailing.

Driving Experience: Since delivery have completed 450kms and this is my first owned Diesel Car and though I have driven diesel mills before, I haven't driven one in the past 2-3 years. A disclaimer that a lot of my impressions will be in comparison to the Hector and the Linea, which maybe helpful to some but in the end are prejudiced nonetheless.

The car has a good amount of low end torque, which I felt helps mask the initial lag, but it does still feel just that little bit lethargic moving from a standstill, especially on inclines and more so with a full load of people. However, it is far far better than what I face in the Hector but not even close to the sprightly Linea TJet. My friend who drives a Hyundai Xcent too mentioned he felt the same after driving our Carens. Once the car is past 1400rpm, it is very eager and feel more than adequate. During our run up the Lonavala Ghats, I frequently resorted to using the sports mode to get the engine gunning a little faster and which makes a substantial difference. In daily runs to office, I now use use the Sports Mode like launch control at traffic lights, driving otherwise in the City Mode for the rest of the time. This is not to say at all that the car feels underpowered, which it isn't at all, but to me it just feels a little bit heavy, a little lazy at very low rpms and this behavior accentuated itself on the ghat sections with a full load of people. In Eco mode, the Carens is significantly slower and is IMHO best left to long highway runs. I found the Eco Mode useless in city and have hardly ever used it, relying more on City and Sports Modes.

Handling: The Carens handles well and feels very stable and planted at 100kmhr+ speeds on straight highways but it is certainly no corner carver. A few high speed turns gave me the goosebumps and have decided to lay off till i develop more confidence in the car. One issue I am facing is that I feel the car continually understeers. Not sure if this is normal given a heavier Diesel Engine upfront or for some other reason. Though this is hardly a major issue, it feels very different after driving the Hector and is no comparison to the Linea, which was in a different league altogether. Rest all is great, the car is big on the inside and not so big on the outside, so parking and squeezing into tight spaces is now much easier.

NVH, Ride and Comfort: This is a a BIG plus point for the Carens. The ride is very comfortable and not floaty or unsettling. I can confidently say that the ride is better than the Hector over good, bad, ugly roads, though suspension travel on deep bumps will probably be less than it is on the Hector. On our lunch trip to Lonavala, it was the children who hijacked the middle row seats to and fro, while the moms were relegated to the last row. However, both Moms said it was very comfortable and in fact my wife snoozed all the way back after lunch. Her friend is given to motion sickness, too had no issues at all. NVH levels are remarkable and the car is very quiet and does an amazing job of insulating everyone from the outside world. Our Hector is a very silent car and the Carens with a diesel engine is right up there with only a slight vibrations reminding that this is not a petrol engine. Seats are a bit soft but super comfy in all three rows and the seat ventilation function is out of this world. It is now probably a must have feature in all my future purchases!

Other points - Likes and Dislikes
- BIG LIKE - Bragging rights like no other for the time being. In the 10 days we have had the Carens, I have just seen exactly one more Carens on the road other than mine!
- But compared to the Hector, the Carens misses out on street cred and sheer presence. In black, it looks even more diminutive and I felt doesn't attract eyeballs like the Hector did and still does.
- Ample storage spaces in the car and ergonomics are spot on, far better than the Hector and way better than the Linea. One sore point is that though the bottle holders in the doors will hold a 1 litre bottle easily, the top or the bottle cap sits outside the armrest bottom and tends to rubs against the side of my knee. A picture below to better illustrate the problem.



- Physical buttons, oh you sweet sweet sweet physical buttons, i love you! I sorely missed physicals buttons in the Hector for basic functionality towards the ACC, Radio, Infotainment Shortcuts etc and it is so great to have it all back. Moreover the use of metal and knurled finishes on the vents, ACC fan and Temp controls and steering controls feels awesome. It was the one thing that really caught my eye during the test drive.
- ACC is a chiller and took no time to cool down the cabin, even when parked in the sun for 2-3 hours.
- The steering Volume controls feel small for my fingers, and I have often ended up muting music while trying to raise the volume.
- The Horn has an absolutely annoying "clack" sound each time you press it and is possibly the worst thing in this car. I do get some other minor sounds as well - my goggles rattle in the sunglass holder even though it is felt lined, the passenger side seatbelt bumps against the B pillar when not in use and going over rough roads and the tyre change tool kit in the dicky will clang together while going over bumps, though this was a quick fix once we arranged it.
- The ORVMs are the same size as the Hector but are better shaped and I felt give a better view behind. ORVM Controls are however not backlit which is surely a miss.
- Dead Pedal is perfectly sized and positioned.
- Storage try under the front passenger seat is very nifty and useful.
- Exterior and Interior panels and materials feel very good, but do flex and at times a bit too much. For eg - the door panel visibly flexes while opening and closing the windows.
- Interior ambient lighting looks uber cool at night.
- Damped movement of the coin tray, bottle holder feels very premium but at the same time the totally undamped "khut opening" of the glove box is a downer.

Thanks for reading. I guess I have covered all that I had to say and do let me know if anyone has any queries.

[PGNarain]

Originally Posted by achintatri

Congrats on your new car @PGNarai ...If you don't mind would it be possible to share the cost breakup as it will help a lot of us

Thanks achintatri and have posted full details on my initial ownership review post here. Hope it helps and let me know if you want to know anything more.

Originally Posted by nvn

Awesome & Congrats.... BTW, which place/showroom did you book? Also, is this because of any cancellation from early booking?

Thanks NVN. We booked at Bhavna Kia at Nerul, Navi Mumbai. I am not sure if we got an allotment because of a cancellation. Our KIA RM initially did say that there was a cancellation but later told us that our car was an original allotment. It could well have been my mis-understanding and I didn't question it any further.

Originally Posted by akannath

Congrats ...Eagerly awaiting your ownership review.

Thanks Akannath and have posted my review now.

Originally Posted by anbaras

Congratulations on your new car @PGNarain. Have you got any delivery updates from KIA before the call from SA. Have you opted for Maintenance Package.... Looking forward for your intial review. Happy revving

Thanks anbaras. We did follow up regularly with our KIA RM for delivery on an almost daily basis but the follow up was mostly from our side. We have opted for the Car Package for 5 years / 50k kms and details our in my review.

Originally Posted by chirag08

Congratulations, yours is probably the first Automatic to be delivered in Mumbai, my SA keeps saying they havent delivered a single automatic yet... Just one question, did you take the My Convenience Plus Package and did you manage to take insurance from outside or from the dealer itself.

Thanks chirag. We have opted for the Car Package for 5 years / 50k kms and we took insurance from the dealer itself since we just didnt have time to spare, details are in my review.

Originally Posted by NAVREVV

Congratulations PGNarain. Your perhaps is the 1st D AT delivery PAN India. Do post your ownership review real soon and also your first impressions about the D AT. Also, are you hearing about any impending price increase from 01.04.2022 from your dealer? I am waiting for my D AT eagerly.

Thanks navrevv. Wow, would be amazing if my Carens is the first D-AT in India but I guess no real way to find out. It does seems to be the only Carens on the road and in all the time I have driven in the past 10 days, have seen only one more Caren on the road. Sorry, I have no idea on the price increase and best of luck with your delivery.

Originally Posted by NivasBaskaran

Hey, how is the headlight power? Is the adequate for highway rides? Or do we need to upgrade the lights?

I found the headlights to be adequately powered. Below are some reference pics.

Below with only the DRLs, though the pic is really misleading. It actually was not so bright or well lit, i think the pic is just overexposed. But was fairly sufficient.


On low beam


On high beam

[achintatri]

Originally Posted by PGNarain

Thanks achintatri and have posted full details on my initial ownership review post here. Hope it helps and let me know if you want to know anything more.



Thanks NVN. We booked at Bhavna Kia at Nerul, Navi Mumbai. I am not sure if we got an allotment because of a cancellation. Our KIA RM initially did say that there was a cancellation but later told us that our car was an original allotment. It could well have been my mis-understanding and I didn't question it any further.



Thanks Akannath and have posted my review now.



Thanks anbaras. We did follow up regularly with our KIA RM for delivery on an almost daily basis but the follow up was mostly from our side. We have opted for the Car Package for 5 years / 50k kms and details our in my review.



Thanks chirag. We have opted for the Car Package for 5 years / 50k kms and we took insurance from the dealer itself since we just didnt have time to spare, details are in my review.



Thanks navrevv. Wow, would be amazing if my Carens is the first D-AT in India but I guess no real way to find out. It does seems to be the only Carens on the road and in all the time I have driven in the past 10 days, have seen only one more Caren on the road. Sorry, I have no idea on the price increase and best of luck with your delivery.



I found the headlights to be adequately powered. Below are some reference pics.

Below with only the DRLs, though the pic is really misleading. It actually was not so bright or well lit, i think the pic is just overexposed. But was fairly sufficient.
Attachment 2287687

On low beam
Attachment 2287688

On high beam
Attachment 2287686

Congrats on your new car @PGNarain! Few more questions if you don't mind:

1. How is the Bose music system?
2. On ghats with full load, did the car struggle to pull say from standstill?
3. Which tyres did it come from?
4. Did you change the tyres if you felt like changing?
5. Any review of the connected car features?

Sorry if asking so many questions

[autoweirdo]

Originally Posted by PGNarain

Now came the tough part, which was to sell or not to sell our beloved Linea.

Congrats PGNarain for new car and have to say in black its look quite beautiful (had not seen black Carens so far). I drive Punto petrol and have same thoughts in terms of driving pleasure the current car provides so might not part with it for few more years . I drove Carens only in city traffic conditions and was quite easy to maneuver, but was not sure of its highway characteristics which your post helps to clear. I have booked XUV700 as well as Carens but not sure which comes first, but for sure I guess whichever I go with it should be good.

Just have following query:
1) How is handling of car in corners at low speed say 40-50kmph is there any body roll?
2) Are you planning for roof carrier for additional luggage space?

[PGNarain]

Originally Posted by achintatri

Congrats on your new car @PGNarain! Few more questions if you don't mind:

1. How is the Bose music system?
2. On ghats with full load, did the car struggle to pull say from standstill?
3. Which tyres did it come from?
4. Did you change the tyres if you felt like changing?
5. Any review of the connected car features?

Sorry if asking so many questions

Thanks again Achintatri and please keep the questions coming, more than glad to be of help!

1. The music system interface is decent and the screen is slick to operate even if it does not offer any haptic feedback. I would say the touch and functionality is on par with most smartphones today. The Bose speakers themselves are strictly ok-ok. Max volume is 70 (i think - will check), and I usually toggle between 40-50 for a decent listening experience. Anything below 20 is hardly audible while driving and haven't cranked it to max so cant comment on distortion at high volumes. But you should know that my comparison is with our Hector which has Infinity Speakers and woofer which are absolutely amazing! Best you have a listen again in test vehicle and make sure you try out the equalizer settings, since most sales execs will max them out to amp up the bass and volumes. Overall I would rate the speakers at 5-6 out of 10 and at least 2 levels below the aural experience in the Hector and Tata Cars

2. No, the car didnt struggle at all but did feel a little slow till about 1.2k rpm after which it picked up pace well. On inclines, whenever I stopped I would in any case switch to Sports Mode which made the car very responsive. One thing I missed to mention is that our Carens is still very much in her run-in period, so I am driving with an exceptionally light foot and don't think have pushed her even once beyond 2.5k rpms.

3. MRF Wanderers

4. We were already beyond budget, so have retained the OEM tyres and will change them in due course.

5. Haven't really explored the connected car features and only tried basic functionalities on getting trip data, checking car status etc. Works well and no bugs experienced till now.

Originally Posted by autoweirdo

Congrats PGNarain for new car and have to say in black its look quite beautiful....
Just have following query:
1) How is handling of car in corners at low speed say 40-50kmph is there any body roll?
2) Are you planning for roof carrier for additional luggage space?

Thanks autoweirdo! Coming to your questions;

1) Corners are easily handled at 40-50kmph even though there is a slight body roll present it is well under control and if I recall correctly I was able to take the hairpin bends of Lonavala Ghats at +40kmph without too much worry. Check out this really cool video pitting the cornering ability of the Carens against the Seltos

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lYLH6GqHmY4

2) The roof rails are only cosmetic (see the opening post of the review) and cannot support load. At the moment, we are not contemplating additional luggage space since the boot with the last row seatbacks set upright are sufficient for a very good amount of luggage. Will try post a pic if I am able to set up a demo.