Kia is preparing to launch their fourth vehicle in India, it is called Carens. It is a MPV that will be get unveiled on December 16th. Carens has been spotted quite a few times while road testing. However, this time it was spotted with two Hyundai Alcazars.
Alcazar and Carens are based on the same platform. They would also share some of the underpinnings with each other. Alcazar was spotted with the Carens because it was there for benchmarking or as a support vehicle.
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Not much information about the Carens is visible in the video as it was camouflaged as well as covered with cloth. The only thing visible in the video is the 5-spoke alloy wheels and the split headlamp setup.
Kia has decided to classify Carens as a RV or Recreational Vehicle instead of MPV. The design of Carens looks more like a SUV instead of MPV. This is a good thing as people refrain from buying MPVs because they are heavily used as commercial vehicles and often do not look good when compared to other vehicles that are on sale in the same price bracket.
Kia already released sketches of Carens
Kia Motors has already released exterior sketches of the Carens. In the sketches, the MPV does look really good and attractive. There are Y-shaped LED Daytime Running Lamp in the front, a split headlamp design with a piano black insert that connects both the DRLs as well as headlamps. The front bumper has an aggressive design with a wide air dam and a faux skid plate.
There are strong shoulder lines that stretch from the DRL to the front door and then emerge again from the rear door to the tail lamp. There is plastic cladding on the side that give a SUV styling to the Carens. The A and B pillars are finished in black while the C-pillar is finished in the body colour. This gives a floating roof design. Moreover, there is also a chrome beltline that continues on the C-pillar.
At the rear, there is an aggressive bumper, LED tail lamps and a faux skid plate. There will also be a rear wiper with a washer, a high mounted stop lamp, rear spoiler and a shark-fin antenna.
Engine and gearbox
According to media reports, Kia will offer Carens with a petrol engine as well as a diesel engine. The engines will be shared with the Kia Seltos and Hyundai Creta.
The petrol engine will be a 1.4-litre unit that will be turbocharged and will come with direct injection. The engine produces 140 PS of max power and 242 Nm of peak torque. It will be offered with a 6-speed manual gearbox or a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. There will also be paddle shifters, driving modes and traction modes on offer.
The 1.5-litre diesel engine produces 115 PS of max power and 250 Nm of peak torque. It is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox or a 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox.
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