Test drove multiple 7 seaters: Brought home a Kia Carens diesel AT

If the Innova Crysta D AT was available still, our search would have ended there immediately as our family loves the Innova

BHPian satya180 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

After the arrival of our second child, we were looking for a 3 row 7 seater MPV as it was the only way we could travel with both the child seats together.

The main requirement was that it should seat 7 (5 adults + 2 child seats) and carry 2 diaper bags, one kids toys bag and one stroller at minimum in the boot with all 3 rows being used. So no captain seats in second row. Diesel Automatic Only. Only top variants were considered.

We test drove the following cars, all on the same day, called the cars home as it was easier to test the child friendliness of the cars:

XUV 7OO:

Lovely car, very premium inside, good to drive, Mom loved it most and was her choice amongst all,

Not considered mainly because boot was too small for my requirements, not deep enough to fit even diaper bags without squishing them, a baby stroller just cannot fit.

Scorpio N:

Feels like a premium off road car, dad and wife would have found it intimidating to drive as it feels quite heavy and big to drive, boot was impractical for our requirements.

New Safari:

Lovely car, Dad and I loved it, 3rd row was very spacious and usable for adults. Lovely to drive, good engine and gearbox, electric power steering has made it way lighter to drive. However the boot was too impractical for us and we were sad to see it go off the list.

Innova Hycross:

Obviously the one to go for, biggest boot at ~240 liters, feels light build-wise compared to the Safari and XUV, interiors also feel less premium than both

Petrol and long waiting periods were the only dealbreakers honestly.

If the Innova Crysta D AT was available still, our search would have ended there immediately as our family loves the Innova and Im pretty sure we would not have even test driven other cars.

So we went ahead and got a Kia Carens. A total wild card entry. Never considered it, never read about it, no videos or even acknowledgement of its existence.

230 liter boot so fits everything we want, super efficient 1.5L D is also easy to drive, light steering, decent torque converter 6AT. Cabin is spacious too thanks to 2780 mm wheelbase, which is surprisingly the longest of all.

Car is decent to drive and has decent ride and handling, alone or fully loaded.

Tankfull is ~600 kms range. Expressway end to end is ~25kmpl. Have seen 34 kmpl too on the expressway.

Been almost 2 months now and done 5600kms.

Ownership so far has been wholesome, it turned out to be a way better choice than initially expected.

Will keep this thread updated.

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