The all-new 2022 Kia Carens went on sale on 15-February-2022, Kia has reportedly received over 19,000 bookings within six days. The car’s popularity can be attributed to the selling price ranging between INR 8.99 – 16.99 (~RM 50,422 – RM 95,262).
Now marketed as a recreational vehicle, the all-new seven-seater Carens looks nothing like an MPV but more like an SUV with a longer rear end.
According to a report from Autocar India, bookings for the diesel variant makes up 50 percent of bookings. It also helps that the car is priced at the lowest end of the MPV spectrum, further solidifying the Carens as the automatic diesel MPV to get.
The all-new Kia Carens comes equipped with six airbags, a fully digital instrument cluster, 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment with Kia Connect, One Touch Easy Electric Tumble for the second-row seats, a Bose sound system, telescopic steering, as well as tyre pressure monitoring and ESC.
Also read: All-new 2022 Kia Carens unveiled – Should the Aruz, Xpander, and BR-V be afraid?
Kia offers the Carens with three engine choices: a 1.5-litre CRDi VGT diesel engine (112 PS/ 250 Nm), a 1.5-litre Smartstream naturally aspirated petrol engine (112 PS/ 144 Nm), and 1.4-litre T-GDi turbocharged petrol engine (136 PS/ 242 Nm).
All engines come mated either to a 6-speed manual gearbox, a conventional 6-speed automatic transmission for the diesel engine, or a 7-speed DCT for the turbocharged engine.
Other than being fully equipped, buyers are also spoilt for choice when it comes to the Carens. Kia offers the MPV in five trims: Premium, Prestige, Prestige Plus, Luxury, and Luxury Plus. There is also a 6-seater option for those who would prefer fewer seats.
Due to the high demand for the Kia Carens, Kia has decided to ramp up production of the MPV at the Kia factory in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, next month by adding a third shift.
The Kia factory in India will be the main factory in the world to assemble the Kia Carens, Kia estimates that about 20 percent of production will be exported to other countries.
As of yet, Dinamikjaya, the new distributor for Kia cars in Malaysia, has no intentions of bringing the Kia Carens to our shores as the company already offers the large MPV Kia Carnival on our shores.
Also read: Call the new Kia Carens anything but a minivan
Other than that, Dinamikjaya is also focused on other eco-friendly SUVs. Will you buy the Kia Carens over other seven-seaters like the Honda BR-V or Mitsubishi Xpander?