Kia Carens diesel AT: Thoughts & observations after 5 months & 8000 kms

I have driven on almost all terrains so far with as much as 7 full grown adults and weekend luggage and found no power issues whatsoever with the diesel auto.

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Hi all,

Would like to post a quick few review points after almost 5 months of ownership and close to 8000 kms of running. I won't be repeating what people have already posted but would want to give some opinions for sure. I own Luxury Plus diesel auto.

Most of the reviews I've read or watched on Youtube share similar opinions whether its mileage, ride comfort, features, power etc. Its a lovely car, period! More SUVish than an MPV. More comfort & luxury than the competition. The direct competitor Ertiga is not a bad car at all, in fact the newer version aces it's game but Carens is a better car overall and the price difference is justified. In fact, it matched our requirements better than what Safari, XUV700, Alcazar had to offer overall.

Wired Android Auto / Carplay in Luxury Plus models - this to me seems like a deliberate attempt by Kia so that the users enjoy Bose speaker system. Bluetooth audio is just about okay. But if you really want to enjoy true Bose, connect those wires and see the difference. Many users are feeling less sound at the rear seats - please adjust the Fad and incline the sound more towards the rear. This would balance volume across all rows. If you're more of a Bluetooth audio user, this would also help you hear the bass coming from the woofer which is placed at the last seat making the overall music experience better.

It seems that the rear doors are lighter than the front ones. The bonnet and boot doors are decently heavy. Overall I feel the rear and front are well built but the build quality for rear doors is a tad compromised or could have been better. Recently a bike crashed my car from the rear damaging one of the taillights and putting a small dent just above the "Auto" badge. Surprisingly the rear bumper absorbed the crash really well without breaking anything. I feel the bumpers have been designed smartly to take minor crashes like these really well.

There are hardly any rattles overall even after almost 8000kms of usage. Most of the rattles observed so far were from those little things kept here and there.

I was in the market for almost a year test driving multiple options and finally chose the Carens. Budget was never an issue, but ride comfort and body roll was paramount for us in the family. There is far less body roll in Carens as compared to the other SUVs and MPVs I test drove. The best car in terms of ride comfort and body roll (amongst all the options in the market) was Hexa followed by Carens. Though Hexa is no longer available, a used one was always on my mind. However, test driving Carens twice helped in ironing out the options quickly. I wanted to keep what I buy for a good 8-10 years and a used Hexa could have been troublesome in later years for obvious reasons hence the Carens. Those looking for ride comfort, you can buy Carens with closed eyes. Important point to note though - if you're coming from a large size hatch or sedans even, Carens will feel like having little bit of body roll at slow speeds when going over bumps, specially while going over speed breakers diagonally (sometimes you need to in those odd parkings or coming out of malls etc).

Pickup - I have driven on almost all terrains so far with as much as 7 full grown adults and weekend luggage and found no power issues whatsoever with the diesel auto. The power is just about enough and the car never has to stress. Note: I hardly ever put on sports mode!

Cold engine - There is diesel clatter like noise that filters into the cabin till the time the engine picks up it's ideal temperature. This I believe is a diesel engine characteristic. Once the temperate hits mid-point on the display, it feels like a smooth petrol engine. Revs like one too! Simply superb!

Condensation Issue - It's there, surely there! However, I am ignoring it for now. I don't want my car to be parked or played around with at the SVC till the time a confirmed solution is out. I keep the rear AC vents open as much as possible so that the air passes through rather than being stalled thereby increasing the condensation issue.

I have not posted many common opinions that have already been talked about in the forum. However, I'd love to answer any questions the new owners may have.

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