Kia launches Carens at Rs 8.99 lakh

The Kia Carens will be available in five variants, with both petrol and diesel engine options.

Kia has just announced prices and variants for its seven-seater MPV – the Carens. The range starts at Rs 8.99 lakh and goes all the way up to Rs 16.99 lakh (for the Luxury Plus variant). Before we talk variant-wise pricing, let’s look at what all the Carens has to offer.

Kia Carens: Features

As is the case with other Kia models, the Carens too is packed with features at the top of the range. There are ventilated seats at the front, wireless charging, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 10.25-inch touchscreen, and connected car technology. 

There are also three drive modes to choose from, along with climate control on higher-spec variants and a digital instrument cluster. The middle row gets the one-touch tumble feature to make it easier to climb into the third row, and higher-spec variants also get ambient lighting.

In terms of safety, the Carens gets six airbags, across all variants, ABS, ESC, VSM, downhill brake control, disc brakes on all four corners, a tyre pressure monitoring system, and rear parking sensors as standard.

Kia Carens: Powertrains

The Carens will be available with a choice of petrol and diesel engine options. There are two petrol engine options –  a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol unit, which produces 138bhp and 242Nm and can be mated to either a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and a 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated unit, producing 113bhp and 144Nm, available only with a six-speed manual. 

Finally, there’s the 1.5-litre diesel unit, which makes 113bhp and 250Nm and is available with a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic gearbox. 

Kia Carens: Price and Rivals

The introductory prices for the Carens start at Rs 8.99 lakh and go all the way to Rs 16.99 lakh for the Luxury Plus variant, with the diesel-auto combination. The prices severly undercut other six- and seven-seat rivals like the Hyundai Alcazar, the Tata Safari, and even the upcoming Jeep Meridian.

In terms of availability, Kia has announced that it will start a third shift at its Anantpur plant to meet the demand generated by the Carens, given that bookings for the MPV have crossed already crossed the 19,000 mark.

Also read:

Kia Carens: Why should you buy it? | Top Highlights Video | autoX

Jeep Meridian teased; mid-2022 launch confirmed