As modifying the Picanto to create the new Hyundai i10 shows, Kia’s largest shareholder isn’t keen on allowing its subsidiary to have unique models. Glenn Brooks is therefore intrigued by the Kia Carens, which has no Hyundai equivalent.
I recall attending a media preview event for this MPV/minivan on the eve of the Paris motor show’s press days just under a year ago. This was the final model to be introduced following a long process of replacing some fairly undesirable Kias: think back to what the old Sportage looked like, not to mention how it drove.
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The second generation Carens wasn’t too bad but its styling was from another era. The pre-Schreyer era, in fact. Soon after Kia plucked its current head of Design from his former position at the Volkswagen Group, the concept cars began to appear and then, some really attractive production models. Now Schreyer heads up vehicle styling for both of Hyundai Motor Group’s main brands. The parent company is clearly hoping he might sprinkle some magic on future Hyundais.
Kia has done well since its German styling boss joined the company. Sales have at times embarrassed Hyundai in some markets – the company outsold what is supposed to be the number one brand’s then best selling Sonata in South Korea for a few months after the launch of the K5/Optima in mid-2010. Kia also has the advantage of offering its Morning (Europe’s Picanto) and Ray small cars in the home market, while Hyundai sells exactly zero A segment models there, preferring to project a sort of Volkswagen-style image contrast to the sort of Škoda and SEAT mash-up that is Kia.
Hyundai used to sell a C segment MPV at home and in Europe, but the Trajet was discontinued in 2008. We waited for a replacement but none appeared. It’s hard to believe that Hyundai used to rely on a Mitsubishi architecture for this model, which shows how far the brand has come in just half a decade.
So now here we are with the third generation of Kia’s Carens. A strange name but as I’ve noted before, so is ‘Golf’ or, for that matter ‘Touran’. The Carens isn’t really a direct rival for the now ten-year old Touran or even the larger Sharan; it’s more the size of a Zafira Tourer. Depending on the market, five- and/or seven-seater versions are available and in Europe, it also serves as a smaller replacement for the Sedona, which was just about at the end of its model cycle anyway.
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By GlobalDataKia launched the new, RP series Carens in LHD European markets from March, with vehicles for the UK following in April. You won’t find this model in the US, but the Canadians can buy it. There, it’s the Rondo, while to the Aussies, it’s the Rondo 7 so you can guess how many seats it comes with down under.
The manufacturing side of things is more interesting than you think, not so much for where it’s built – Kwang-Ju in South Korea – but rather for the fact that it has its own platform. The new shape car had a 50mm stretch between the wheelarches, which makes it the only Kia or Hyundai with a 2,750mm wheelbase. The architecture is said to be derived from HMG’s MC platform, as used by loads of Hyundai and Kia models, such as the Tucson & Sportage twins, as well as the cee’d/i30, plus the Forte, Veloster, Avante/Elantra and in 2,615mm short wheelbase form, the ix20 and Kia Venga.
Might there be a Hyundai equivalent of the Carens to come? Over the last few years images have surfaced time and again of what look like a C segment MPV being tested in Europe. Call it the future ix30 or ix40 but the way the European market has been since 2009, you can see why Hyundai has either delayed or possibly even cancelled this model. It’s also worth remembering that bigger OEMs than Kia have struggled to make inroads into this segment – witness several generations of the Toyota Verso that get good reviews by the consumer press but not many buyers.
One thing is certain about this segment: it’s hugely competitive. How many people who test drive a C4 Picasso, Scenic, Galaxy, S-MAX, or even a 500L Living/MPW will have Carens as their number two choice? Having driven all but the Fiat, I can tell you they should definitely be giving the Kia a chance. Apart from the curious absence of SatNav (just use your smart phone as I did), you get a lot of gear for the money, the looks are great, it’s roomy and there’s Kia’s seven-year warranty. Remember, this applies to the second, third or more owners so your Carens is going to be a breeze to sell on.
UK market vehicles come with the seven-seat format as standard. You have a choice of three trim levels – ‘1’, ‘2’ or ‘3’, six speed manual or six-speed automatic, and a 133bhp 1,591cc petrol engine or 114bhp and 134bhp versions of a 1,685cc diesel. Unlike so many rivals, you can have the combination of diesel and auto, though the top-spec 1.7 CRDi 3 is a manual only, which is the one I tried out.
There’s more than enough torque, which was something of a surprise to me – 330Nm (or 320Nm if you go for the auto option in 2 form) is a lot for an engine of such a small capacity. I’ve tried the same unit in the Optima and it’s light years ahead of the rattly and smokey old diesels that were in Kias and Hyundais, yes, just five years ago.
The Carens’ interior is also in another world from even the previous model, which was only six years old when it was replaced. The plastics are to VW standards in places, the instruments are big and clear and all the graphics match. I know of some so-called premium brands where you’ll find all manner of fonts here and there. In this car, you sense that someone has paid a lot of attention to the details. Here’s some examples: the glovebox is chilled, the centre middle row folds to become a table and the parcel shelf can be stowed in a compartment below the boot floor.
Something I didn’t expect to be saying before I drove the Carens was this: it’s fun to drive. Some versions of the cee’d are as good as the Auris, Astra or 308, if not quite up there with the top-notch standards set by the Focus and Golf. So the fact that the Carens shares a lot of components with Kia Motors Europe’s C segment hatchback means it also has similar driving dynamics.
It’s nowhere near sporty but compared to the smaller Fiat 500L which I drove recently, the Carens corners with less body roll and there is far less nose dive under heavy braking. The ride isn’t quite as good as the Fiat’s but it’s still more than smooth enough to keep the family happy. Is it rewarding to drive in the same way as its rivals the Ford Grand C-MAX and S-MAX? Not quite as good would be my verdict but certainly a lot better than you might think something with this much glass above the centre of gravity would be.
I was chatting to Dave Leggett about this car and he mentioned he’d driven his family to Germany and back in a Carens earlier this summer. According to the Dear Leader, the best bits were easy cruising at high speeds on autobahnen, roominess, and how quiet the thing is for a diesel. I took my test car onto a few motorways and I’d agree – you can tell this vehicle has been developed for European conditions.
What a leap most Korean cars have made in a short space of time; the Carens is one of the best examples of that. Kias have moved quite a way up the food chain to become as good as if not occasionally better than some European or Japanese mass market models. I would sooner have a Carens than a Mazda5, or a Rio rather than a Micra.
So far this year, more than 43,000 Kias have been sold in the UK, which means the brand is now only 927 units behind Hyundai which is itself also doing really well. Add them together, and HMG is outselling Audi, BMW, Nissan, Peugeot, Toyota and selling more than twice as many vehicles as Škoda. Both brands are also by my calculations now at 58 percent of the volume of the market’s number two, Vauxhall (as at 31 July). Just imagine where Kia, the faster rising of the two Korean brands might be in five years’ time.
