Kia India has confirmed that it will be launching the all-new Carens on 15th February 2022. Based on the platform of Seltos SUV, the new Kia Carens is open for bookings to all the authorized dealer outlets and the official website of Kia India for a booking amount of Rs 25,000.
Kia has already confirmed that the new Carens will be available in five variants, namely Premium, Prestige, Prestige Plus, Luxury and Luxury Plus. All these variants will come with a seven-seating layout as standard. However, the range-topping Luxury Plus variant will also offer the option of a six seating layout.
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In terms of design, the Kia Carens has a completely different visual appeal compared to Seltos. While it has a profile and silhouette of an MPV, it gets a few rugged-looking design elements to make it look very appealing. The Carens is bestowed with modern elements like 16-inch machined alloy wheels and all-LED headlamps, tail lamps, front daytime running LEDs and fog lamps.
The cabin of the new Kia Carens is also a huge departure from that of the Seltos and gets an entirely different layout. The dashboard has a wraparound design, whereas the driver’s cockpit of the Carens gets a three-spoke multi-functional steering wheel and a fully-digital instrument console.
Kia Carens to offer a long list of features
The Carens is equipped with a host of features, such as 64-colour ambient lighting, leather upholstery, ventilated front seats, wireless charger, 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, air purifier, Kia Connect telematics system, single-pane sunroof and roof-mounted AC vents for the second and third row. In terms of safety features, Kia has created a very strong first impression by offering six airbags, electronic stability control, hill descent control, hill start assist, tyre pressure monitoring system and all-wheel disc brake as standard.
The new Kia Carens is sharing all of its three engine options with the Seltos, including a 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine, a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine and a 1.5-litre diesel engine. All these engine options will come with a 6-speed manual gearbox as the standard transmission option. However, while the 1.4-litre turbo-petrol also gets a 7-speed DCT, the 1.5-litre diesel will also be offered with an optional 6-speed torque converter.
The new Kia Carens will be priced as a more premium offering over the Seltos, which indicates that Kia is eyeing an estimated price range of Rs 11-20 lakh for the Carens. At this price, it will take on three-row UVs like Maruti Suzuki XL6 and Mahindra Marazzo. It will also compete with the lower variants of SUVs like Hyundai Alcazar, MG Hector Plus, Tata Safari and Mahindra XUV700.
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