Exclusive: All-new Kia Carens - Buying and owning

The new five-seater Carens is not much more than a roomier interpretation of the present car, but the seven-seater makes Kia fully competitive with any mid-sized MPV Europe and Japan can offer.

The new model goes on sale in the UK in October. There's likely to be an entry-level, petrol-powered five-seater at around £11,000 – £500 more than the current car – with higher-trimmed seven-seat petrol and diesel models taking the range up to about £15,000.

At the projected prices – thousands less than the major opposition – it can only tempt even more buyers to jump on the Korean bandwagon.