Kia is now taking bookings for the Carens MPV

Kia Carens is the latest three-row SUV and is expected to be launched next month. Here’s what we know so far.

Kia revealed the Carens MPV a couple of weeks ago, and it has not begun accepting bookings for it. You can make a booking for a token sum of Rs. 25,000, by either logging onto Kia’s website, or visiting one of their dealerships.

The MPV will be offered in five variants – Premium, Prestige, Prestige Plus, Luxury and Luxury Plus. Kia is also offering the same engines as the Seltos, although the transmission list is slightly different. There is a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine, that can be had with a 6-speed manual transmission. Another petrol option is a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine that can be had with a 6-speed manual transmission, or a 7-speed dual clutch transmission. There is only one diesel engine and that is a 1.5-litre unit. It can be had with a 6-speed manual transmission, or a 6-speed automatic.

Kia has specced the Carens MPV with loads of features. First of all, the entire range of safety features is standard on all variants. That means, you get 6 airbags, traction control, stability control, hill hold assists, hill descent control and other features, no matter which variant you buy.

Other features onboard the Carens include a 10.25-inch touchscreen, an 8-speaker BOSE sound system, 64-colour ambient lighting, an air purifier, cooled cupholders, AC for the 2^nd and 3^rd row, telescopic adjust for the steering wheel, 5 UBS type-C ports for charging and ventilated seats among others.

The Carens is a three-row SUV, that means you can have it in a 6-seater or a 7-seater avatar only. The 6-seater Carens can however only be had in the top-spec Luxury Plus variant. Once launched, the Kia Carens will rival the Hyundai Alcazar, MG Hector Plus, Tata Safari and the Mahindra XUV700. To find out in-depth details about the Kia Carens, check out this story explaining the differences between all the variants of the MPV.