[RoadTiger]

Many many congrats PGNarain on your new ride. The Carens in black looks really good - probably the best among all colours I've seen on it.

A few questions on your experience of the Carens vs Hector - since I am keenly looking at both for my next :
1. Ride - seems like Carens trumps the Hector in all conditions. Is that a marginal or noticeable difference ?

2. Body roll - again, seems Carens has low body roll vs the Hector (not surprising). How does that impact confidence for turns/ lane changes at faster than city speeds ?

3. In-cabin experience - the Carens clearly seems to have some party tricks including nicer ambient lighting, better storage spaces etc. How do you compare the two - in terms of overall cabin experience, quality of materials and creature conveniences ?

4. Quality of sheet metal, window glass, roof liner etc seemed definitely better in Hector than Carens. However, the build quality, fit & finish overall seemed similar for both, perhaps slightly better in the Carens. Your experience ?

5. When I test drove the Carens, there was some squeaky noise in the cabin - I attributed that to the tumbled down captain seat. But left me a little concerned about rattles in general in the Carens, longer term. The Hector on the other hand seemed like new even after the test drive car had done more than 13K kms. I know its very early days to ask this question - but whats your experience with the Hector ?

6. To me, the Hector/ Hector Plus has a higher seating position, a more commanding view of the road - and feels at least half a segment higher than the Carens in the drive, look & feel. Any comments ?

7. Given a choice for a long, expressway drive with family (other than the petrol diesel difference apart), which would you chose ?

Thanks a lot, in advance

[pseudo_coder]

Update on fuel consumption (1.5 P):

Did two long trips in the city today (Pune).

1. 26 km in 1:05 hours. Got 13.9 kmpl
2. 20.3 km in 50 minutes. Got 14.6 kmpl.

All figures as per MID

This is a good increase from my last trip. What I changed was - I upshifted whenever the MID asked me to upshift, which is around 2000 rpm.

[PGNarain]

Originally Posted by RoadTiger

Many many congrats PGNarain on your new ride. The Carens in black looks really good - probably the best among all colours I've seen on it.

Thanks a lot RoadTiger and yes, I thought as well that the black color looks best on the Carens.

Coming to your questions, most of them are very subjective and I will try my best to do justice, but would strongly suggest you ask for extended test drives to flesh out your requirements either from the showroom or within your friends circle!

Originally Posted by RoadTiger

1. Ride - seems like Carens trumps the Hector in all conditions. Is that a marginal or noticeable difference?

I feel it is a noticeable difference for sure. Some difference could also be because our Hector's tyres are now 37k old but would still say that the Carens has a more comfy and compliant ride. The one place I felt the Hector is better is when you bump through large potholes and my Carens suspension crashed through but the Hector was unfazed. Having said that, both are supremely comfortable and at least for the Hector I can wholeheartedly attest to the fact that it is an amazing long distance cruiser.

Originally Posted by RoadTiger

2. Body roll - again, seems Carens has low body roll vs the Hector (not surprising). How does that impact confidence for turns/ lane changes at faster than city speeds ?

At City speeds, I would say both are firmly tied. Out on open roads and highways, I have mixed views at least for now. The Carens has less body roll for sure, but I kept feeling it understeered or maybe it is lack of my experience in driving a diesel that makes me feel so. Same goes for sudden lane changes. However, the Hector's steering is very neutral and I surely enjoy driving it more then the Carens.

Originally Posted by RoadTiger

3. In-cabin experience - the Carens clearly seems to have some party tricks including nicer ambient lighting, better storage spaces etc. How do you compare the two - in terms of overall cabin experience, quality of materials and creature conveniences ?

Ooh, this is a tough one. In terms of material, creature conveniences and features, I guess both are tied. Eg - Carens has seat ventilation but my Hector has electronic seat adjust and has larger, more accommodating seats and so on.

I guess this will come down to what you want for yourself. One important thing that works in favor of the Carens are the physical buttons and their finish. Infact I feel the only chink in the otherwise very robust armour of the Hector is lack of physical buttons and a laggy touchscreen interface.

Originally Posted by RoadTiger

4. Quality of sheet metal, window glass, roof liner etc seemed definitely better in Hector than Carens. However, the build quality, fit & finish overall seemed similar for both, perhaps slightly better in the Carens. Your experience ?

Agree with your assessment partly in that overall I would say the Hector surely has better or at least on par materials compared to the Carens.

Originally Posted by RoadTiger

5. When I test drove the Carens, there was some squeaky noise in the cabin - I attributed that to the tumbled down captain seat. But left me a little concerned about rattles in general in the Carens, longer term. The Hector on the other hand seemed like new even after the test drive car had done more than 13K kms. I know its very early days to ask this question - but whats your experience with the Hector ?

A long term question, so of course can't say yet for the Carens. On the Hector, yes totally agree that after + 2 years and 37000kms, the car feels absolutely 100%. We did have a terrible squeak creep into the center tunnel around a year back, besides other small issues but each time one trip to the service centre corrected it all. Infact, and in retrospect I consider the after sales service component a VERY BIG and major factor in favor of the Hector. We have a premium plan for the Hector and it has been an absolutely brilliant experience. I dont think this thread is the right place to elaborate on it and will be off-topic but i cannot stress this enough and do factor this in your purchase.

Originally Posted by RoadTiger

6. To me, the Hector/ Hector Plus has a higher seating position, a more commanding view of the road - and feels at least half a segment higher than the Carens in the drive, look & feel. Any comments ?

The Carens feels a good size smaller and lacks the sheer road presence of a Hector, offers a more MUV driving position and view out the windscreen.Hands down the Hector comes out on top here.

Originally Posted by RoadTiger

7. Given a choice for a long, expressway drive with family (other than the petrol diesel difference apart), which would you chose ?

If FE is not to be considered, no questions about and it would be the Hector all the way! it has more space, is a larger car, has a much better music system, the panoramic sunroof really comes into its own on those beach / mountain holidays, she even today draws jealous stares from people on the road and for a sedate driver like me, I don't even mind the atrocious Turbo lag!

Best of Luck!

[mahesh_sn]

Originally Posted by PGNarain

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/-

Nice write up there! A few questions from me as I have a booking from the same dealer. Hope you don't mind.

1. Did they not force you to buy accessories worth some 19K INR. I haggled a lot with my sales advisor, but he didn't budge.
2. Which care package did you opt for?
3. Can you share (or DM me) the name of sales advisor you dealt with?

Thanks in advance.

[akannath]

Originally Posted by pseudo_coder

Update on fuel consumption (1.5 P):

Did two long trips in the city today (Pune).

1. 26 km in 1:05 hours. Got 13.9 kmpl
2. 20.3 km in 50 minutes. Got 14.6 kmpl.

All figures as per MID

This is a good increase from my last trip. What I changed was - I upshifted whenever the MID asked me to upshift, which is around 2000 rpm.

Waiting for your detailed review

[RoadTiger]

Originally Posted by PGNarain

Thanks a lot RoadTiger and yes, I thought as well that the black color looks best on the Carens.

If FE is not to be considered, no questions about and it would be the Hector all the way! it has more space, is a larger car, has a much better music system, the panoramic sunroof really comes into its own on those beach / mountain holidays, she even today draws jealous stares from people on the road and for a sedate driver like me, I don't even mind the atrocious Turbo lag!

Best of Luck!

Thanks for a super helpful response, PGNarain. Enjoy (both) your new (& old) ride

[vivekkp]

Originally Posted by PGNarain

So, as mentioned here already, we got our new Kia Carens delivered on Sunday, 13th March.

Congratulations on getting your car. I think yours is the first detailed ownership report in TBHP.

I have one question though. Can the rear AC be operated independent of the front AC. Is it necessary that the AC has to be turned on in front driver console for the rear passengers to be able to operate the AC?

[achintatri]

Dear Friends,

If anyone is looking for D AT White 6 seater, there is one available at Aman Kia, Yerawada, Pune. My SA just called me to check whether I would be interested but I am stuck with Blue color 7 seater Diesel AT.

Also, requesting all DCT AT owners to please post their driving impressions and ownership reviews.

Best Regards,
Achint

[NivasBaskaran]

Have anyone installed Dashcam on their cars? Planning to install 70mai pro plus+.

To have parking monitoring need to connect the hardware kit to fuse. But even though there is no wire cut. Kia service person says, it will be still a non kia accessories. You should not connect any non kia accessories to any boards, else it will void warranty.

Is that true, if we install it to fuse, it might void warranty?

[amol4184]

Originally Posted by PGNarain

- 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.

Totally share the sentiment. Barely 5 years ago this would have been a rare phenomenon. Fast forward to today's time and everyone is getting rid of physical buttons! Touch controls are one of the most counter productive "functionality" that auto makers are so keen on implementing.

I sometimes wonder what market research yielded the finding that "customers want touch controls everywhere on the dashboard". Not a single person I know prefers to operate A/C or volume control with a touch screen over a simple hard physical knob.

Glad Carens has these buttons and let us hope they don't remove it under some facelift. A bit off topic, Kia EV6 has one of the most infuriating touch control system in place.

[PGNarain]

Originally Posted by mahesh_sn

Nice write up there!...
1. Did they not force you to buy accessories worth some 19K INR. I haggled a lot with my sales advisor, but he didn't budge.
2. Which care package did you opt for?
3. Can you share (or DM me) the name of sales advisor you dealt with?

1. It seems, when we bought the Carens, the dealership had completely run out of accessories. I infact wanted to buy the door guards, mud flaps, car cover and the 3D boot mat if it was available, but they just did not have anything!
2. I got the 50k / total 5 year prepaid maintenance package (PPM) and still to decide on the Care Pack which is likely going to be the Interior / Exterior Enrichment Pack.
3. I don't think it will be an issue but would still check once with our Sales Rep and DM you details.

Originally Posted by vivekkp

Congratulations on getting your car. I think yours is the first detailed ownership report in TBHP.

I have one question though. Can the rear AC be operated independent of the front AC. Is it necessary that the AC has to be turned on in front driver console for the rear passengers to be able to operate the AC?

No. If the main / front console is not turned on the rear vents will only blow air with no cooling.

[NAVREVV]

My SA called yesterday and offered readily available Luxury Plus DCT in Grey colour in place of D AT Imperial Blue which I had booked. I had to decline his offer politely.

[achintatri]

Originally Posted by PGNarain

1. It seems, when we bought the Carens, the dealership had completely run out of accessories. I infact wanted to buy the door guards, mud flaps, car cover and the 3D boot mat if it was available, but they just did not have anything!
2. I got the 50k / total 5 year prepaid maintenance package (PPM) and still to decide on the Care Pack which is likely going to be the Interior / Exterior Enrichment Pack.
3. I don't think it will be an issue but would still check once with our Sales Rep and DM you details.



No. If the main / front console is not turned on the rear vents will only blow air with no cooling.

Hi @PGNarain, Does Kia Carens Diesel support manual DPF regeneration process, did ur SA explain this before delivery?

[NivasBaskaran]

Originally Posted by vivekkp

Congratulations on getting your car. I think yours is the first detailed ownership report in TBHP.

I have one question though. Can the rear AC be operated independent of the front AC. Is it necessary that the AC has to be turned on in front driver console for the rear passengers to be able to operate the AC?

Carens doesn't have dual zone AC to do that. It is just a single zone ac with AC vent with fan controls on Rear.

Rear passenger only can control the Fan speed, compressor controls are with the front passenger console.

Extra info incase you don't know. Compressor will work only when the engine is on as it is directly connected to engine output. Just powering on the cars without engine start will not give you the cooling. Just fans will be running using the battery power.

[vivekkp]

Originally Posted by NivasBaskaran

Carens doesn't have dual zone AC to do that. It is just a single zone ac with AC vent with fan controls on Rear.

Hi NivasBaskaran,

Thanks for the explanation. I do know that Carens does not have dual zone AC. I was thinking that by operating the rear AC, the front AC would also turn on (typical single zone AC). The reason for this thought process was that Kia has focused more on the middle row passengers than on the front driver and Co-Driver with their seat travel limited and door projection being provided only to the rear passengers.