These days, Kia is a brand we should take very serious. Their line-up of models is very good. The Picanto is a fun car in the A-segment...
one segment higher is the Rio a good choice and the Cee'd has its own spot in the C-segment. The time is now to look up, litteraly.
This is the all-new Kia Carens. A Cee'd, made higher and featuring more interior space. A midsized MPV, competing with the Ford C-Max and the Peugeot 5008.
And it has a good unique selling point, with seven seats fitted as standard in our country.
I think Peter Schreyer and his team have done it again. A nice, sleek body with a low nose - which benefits the drag coefficient naturally.
It's not sparkling, but it looks sharp. Thanks to the absence of sliding doors. How seven seats is this seven seater?
Well, we would have loved to show you that, but Kia has pulled our leg... They did put an USB-stick in this car featuring all kinds of songs with 'seven' in the title.
Sting with Seven Days, David Bowie with Seven, Jamiroquai - Seven days in sunny June, and The White Stripes with Seven Nations Army. The problem? It's a five seater!
Advantage is that we can show the luggage space. Not bad! I don't think however this will be a very spacious seven seater.
As Kia admits as well, because they actually call it a five-plus-two... Don't expect too much from seat six and seven.
The Carens is based on the Cee'd, but it features different engines. It's heavier so there's a new 2.0 available with 166 ps, as well as twe 1.7 diesels.
And I'd advise you to take the stronger engines. This car has no advantages concerning taxes, so when you're doing it, do it right.
It looks good, it features enough space, but so does the competition. Does this Carens drive better then?
Well, it sure has a character of its own. Compared to the Cee'd (which is half a generation older) it feels like a better car in the details. It steers less light, feels more sturdy.
It's pretty quiet as well, with the engine noise well isolated. And the suspension is very easy-going.
Where is it compared to the competition? On the comfy side, to be honest. The Ford C-Max and Mazda 5 are sportier, this one has more trouble hiding the high centre of gravity.
Go into a corner and the body rolls a bit more, but when you want a comfortable and silent drive, this is a good one.
The way it drives doesn't blow me away either. A bigger plus is its price. Starting at 24.000..
you can fill it with a Super Pack, Business Pack, Premium Pack and how do they call it... But the difference towards the competition isn't as huge as you might think.
Make it fully-loaded and you'll pay about thirty grand and that levels it with other choices...
Although I have no doubt this will offer more stuff for the same money, but it's no longer a huge unigue selling point of this car.
And that could be a problem for this new Carens. It delivers what we want in this segment, but I find it hard to point out where it excells.
So, is this the best car in the field? No. A very good allrounder? Yes.
+ Good price-level + Smooth and silent drive - Not a huge bargain anymore - Limited choice of engines