Kia India has officially announced that the bookings for the new Carens 7-seater MPV will commence from January 14, 2022. However, dealers have unofficially started taking pre-orders for the MPV. Prices of the new Kia Carens 3-row MPV will be revealed before the end of March 2022.
The Kia Carens will be produced in India and will also be exported to select international markets. The company calls it a ‘recreational vehicle’, as it offers a combination of SUV-like looks and an interior space of an MPV.
The Kia Carens will come with the option of six and seven seats with former offering captain seats in the second-row. It is based on the extended version of the SP2 platform that underpins the Kia Carens. This is the same platform that also underpins the Hyundai Creta and the Alcazar. In terms of proportions, the new Carens 3-row MPV is 4,540mm long, 1,800mm wide, 1,700mm tall and has a wheelbase of 2,780mm. It has a ground clearance of 195mm.
The MPV’s wheelbase is around 20mm longer than the Alcazar. In fact, the Carens wheelbase is 30mm more than the Toyota Innova Crysta. The Kia Carens 3-row UV will be offered in 7 colour options – Imperial Blue, Intense Red, Moss Brown, Sparkling Silver, Aurora Black Pearl, Gravity Grey & Glacier White Pearl.
Kia Carens will be offered with 3 engine options – 1.5L petrol (115bhp/144Nm), 1.4L turbo petrol (140bhp/242Nm) and 1.5L diesel (115bhp/250Nm). Both manual and automatic gearbox options will be on offer. The new model will rival the likes of the Suzuki XL6, Mahindra Marazzo and the entry-level variants of the Toyota Innova Crysta. In fact, it could also impact the sales of the Hyundai Alcazar, Tata Safari and the MG Hector Plus.
The Kia Carens will be equipped with several high-end features like ventilated front seats, electric one-touch tumble 2nd row, cooled cupholders, 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, 8-speaker Bose sound system, UVO connected car tech with remote operations, powered ORVMs, electric sunroof, LED lighting system, ambient lighting, digital instrument console and others.
The MPV gets 6 airbags as standard. Adding to it, the Carens MPV will come with safety features such as ESC (Electronic Stability Control), VSM (Vehicle Stability Management), Hill Launch Assist, Downhill Brake Control, TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System), All-Wheel Disc Brakes, etc.
