KIA CARENS MPV REVIEW

My car

6 months ago I started a new job. I was informed a hire car would arrive... My heart sank, not a Passatt, not an Insignia, not even a poxy Astra, but some quirky looking Kia - Hardly anything to impress the neighbours. By goodness it hasn't half impressed me. 6 months and 24,000 miles later - what a comfortable, reliable, quiet, easy to drive, load lugging motor it is. Easy to park, ecomomical (45MPG), and can hold it's own on the M6. Last week it took 5 adults, 1 child and luggage on an 800 mile 2 day trip for a family event. All occupants, myself included arrived relaxed. Today I was informed the Audi I had chosen would not arrive until March 2011. What a shame. I'll just have to go on driving this practical, well built, easy to use unassuming people carrier for a few months more!

My car

We have had our Carens now for 6 months, and couldn’t be happier with it. Despite what some "knowledgable" reviewers may tell you, the ride and steering are responsive, and there is very little roll.

We got the LS CRDi Auto, and are loving it. The 2.0 litre diesel engine has plenty of torque and the auto box is extremely smooth and quiet. Engine noise is very quiet as well.

Exterior styling is quirky (but not in a bad way!), interior styling is excellent - a pleasure to drive. There’s loads of room in the cabin, and the engine copes well with heavy loads when you fill the cabin up!

Coupled with the 7-year warranty I would heartily recommend the Carens (we got the LS model for £1,000’s less than the base model of certain other MPV’s).

My car

I have now owned this car for a month, having previously owned an 03 Sedona Auto which we only ever had one problem with in 5 years but we decided the time was right to downsize.

Now to the car itself, it seems to run nicely, although it does seem to thud over small ridges in the road, there is a bit of wind noise certainly from both front doors, the foot operated parking brake is a complete pain especially on steep hills and even more so if you are in stop start traffic on a hill.

It does say in the specs that the 2nd row seats recline, but this is only the one notch as the rear wheel arches intrude into the cabin right behind the 2nd row of seats and prevent them from reclining further.

As for mileage, the first check produced nearly 45 mpg with the majority of miles done on motorways with cruise control set at around 60mph, and the second with more town driving came in at 39 mpg. so may be not that bad.

Overall I am getting to like it although I do sometimes yearn for my old auto Sedona that had no problems with the bumps in the road and had that much more room although the Carens is a quieter drive plus the benifit of aircon which the Sedona didn't have.

As I had the Sedona for 5 years from new, I was looking for the same with the Carens especially with the 5 year warranty, only time will tell.

My car

I collected this car new on 26/1/08 and have been completely delighted with it so far.

It handles well, has tons of room and many interior extras. My very tall kids have plenty of headroom and legroom in the back.

It is smooth to drive, accelerates easily when overtaking and is comfortable to drive. After 2 weeks I drove from Norwich to Kent and back and it was a pleasure!

I have had no problems operating the 'footbrake' and have just about got used to the indicators and wipers being on the opposite sides. (One bad driver did get a blast on the windscreen wipers by mistake though!)

I have had 40 miles/gallon on combined driving, and 33/gallon on urban driving.

The car is easy to change from 5 to 7 seats and very versatile. Given a choice I would have opted for a darker interior, as I wonder how long the light grey colour will stay that way with 2 boys using it!

Having test driven many MPVs and estates I would say I've made the best choice and as far as value-for-money goes, at £13,775 including the extras I opted for, I think it wins all round.

It comes with a 5 year warranty so we shall see over time if it's needed. If you haven't tried a Kia before, I think you will be pleasantly surprised and I can thoroughly recommend them. I also was impressed with the Kia Ceed.