Kia Carens Diesel

Car Hunting would be what most people would do after their car has reached the age of 10yrs old in Singapore. This is what I did few weeks back. Went to KIA at Ubi to take a look at the Kia Carens, Kia Cerato, Kia Stinger. Also went car hunting at Toyota, Nissan, Mazda and Audi. I personally did not settle for any of the Kia Range for certain reasons. I booked an Audi SQ5 that weekend for a replacement for my Audi S5 registered in 2008 due for deregistration in 2 months time. This Review is written in a continental car driver opinion. May not be exactly accurate to everyone. As I went car hunting with a group of car enthusiasts who used to also drive Audi S5, I had gathered their opinions about the car as well. Read my review of the other cars for more info about our car hunt.

Bought this car for my expanding family and this car comes with many features which we were impressed.

Torque pickup is good and definitely no problems with full load in the car. However suspension is on the soft side which sometimes feels like a boat ride at the rear seats

Treat this as a hatchback and it will be pretty practical, but it is too expensive and i rather get a golf. Treat this as an mpv, sure with the last two seats for ah piaos on the seventh month. Performance is mehh.Get the vw touran which is much more spacious, miles away from this interior and much more powerful.

Driving the SX variant, the car is a testament to how far diesel engine have come over the years. Clocked 37k on the odometer so far since getting the car April 2017. The 7 Speed Dual Clutch Transmission is very responsive to the throttle although 1st gear tends to be abit jerky. Kickdown's in the gear are almost instantaneous once you put your foot down, complimented with the car's high torque figure (340Nm), acceleration and overtaking is a breeze on this car. Steering is surprisingly light despite it's relatively heavy weight. The car's insulation is excellent hence there is not much of cabin noise during cruising. Engine is smooth, quiet and refined, friends and passengers honestly couldn't tell it was a diesel engine when sitting in the car. Don't be fooled by its engine capacity of 1700cc, it is a powerhouse especially when the turbocharger kicks in. I'm averaging at about 6.1l/100km (16.4km/l) with 80% Highway / 20% Urban driving, so a full tank to the brim gives me around 950km of range which is honestly exceeds the ranges of all cars I have compared within the same classes such as the toyota wish, etc. Coupled with the fuel as diesel, running cost is economical. It is also loaded with features such as driver electric seat, front ventilated seats (Passenger and Driver) useful for the hot weather in Singapore, cruise control, speed limiter, reverse camera, android auto/apple carplay console, all round parking sensors, etc. Interior is decent, not much to complain for the price you are paying although the 3rd row seats are relatively narrow hence probably for the younger kids or short trips for the adults. On the exterior, the tiger-nose grille on the front gives it a rather aggressive look and on the whole the car looks chic for an MPV/SUV. Would've been perfect if there was an armrest for the driver seats which would add to the cruising experience, but other than that, I do not have much to complain on this car other than the Diesel Particulate Filter had to be replaced 2 times as it was faulty, thankfully covered under the 1 year service package. Other than that, you could drive this car with a peace of mind as it the engine comes with a 10 year warranty as well. Highly recommended to go for a test drive, the car has to be experienced.

I've owned this car for 1.5 years. No problems at all. Heavy user with almost 42k mileage and averaging 6.8l/100km. It gets as high as 4.5l/100km on highways (85k/hr), SO a full tank of 54ls gives me about 780km. I've had to replace the turning. (Not directional) lights once at 56dollars.

Ride is surprising quiet and grab hitch passengers are often surprised to know that it is a diesel car. Interior still ok after having 2 kids inside. The touch screen isn't too fantastic or responsive but the sound system is pretty good. Nexen blue tyres do the trick but the car does generate quite a lot of brake dust at the front even with light braking.

Initially what turned out to be a quest for buying an SUV quickly turned towards the Carens SX Diesel. I was impressed with the new design of the KIA sportage and was quite certain of buying it due to the design, space and good price(for cars nowadays). However when I brought my wife down to the showroom, she instantly fell for the KIA Carens. That was when I actually opened up the car door and had a look. I would say Im very impressed with how far KIA has improved. There's soft touch plastic dashboard, side doors etc. Quality definitely felt a notch better. I liked how the feels felt contoured and hugging.Like most said it, the design is appealing and does not seems bulky or boxy for an mpv. The 3rd row is sufficient if you have a young family like me with small kids. The black roof interior also made it felt premium in a way. Test Driving it was simply awesome. Perhaps I never expected a Diesel engine from KIA to be that fun and engaging. The 7 speed gearbox was also quite fun but a little jerky in the lower gears. Having owned a series of sedans and the last one being a conti BMW, it was hard to getting used to this. But somehow after owning it for 1 week, its not that bad afterall. Its a car that caters for the family, provides adequate power, consumption is also very good. Admist the badge aside, I think this car is definitely value for money considering the hefty 40% Downpayment.

I am utterly disappointed with c and c on its configuration for the EX model. This is a family car and they reduce the 6 airbags to 2! Since this is a family car, I thought the airbags should not be reduced. Really a deal breaker for me.

Other than that, the car is feature rich. Despite being diesel car, I could not feel much difference from the other cars I test drive this week.

Acceleration and pickup is fast due to its high bhp n torque.

Accelerator is sensitive probably because of their introduction of 'organ' type pedal.

I felt the steering is on the light side but not as light as qashqai. I tested with the heaviest setting.

Seats and info system are locally fitted.

The seat does not look nice, especially the last 2 seats in the 3rd row, reminded me of seats in mini school bus.

I was very impressed by the diesel Kia Carens. The car looks good, has a cheerful look to it. Inside, its spacious and comfortable, and comes pretty well kitted out.

the engine surprised me, and i think is testament to how far diesel engines have come. If i didnt know better, i could well mistake it for a petrol car. The engine is smooth, punchy yet willing to rev, and is quiet as well. The refinement is matched by a comfortable ride and pretty good handling. Despite its size, the car picks up well and is easy to drive.