[drsarat4u]

Dear Bhpians,
First of all thank you for the greatly informative and true content which held this Team BHP portal glorious over these years.

I have a confusion between Kia Carens Diesel IMT vs Mahindra Bolero Neo N10 for my main vehicle.

I am a doctor by profession and owned 2 maruti vehicles (Dzire Vxi AMT 2018 & Spresso AMT). Recently i sold my Dzire and am searching for a new vehicle as my main daily driver.

My requirements are as follows:
Weekly average drive of 600-800 Km
One tour/out station every 2 months with family (3 adults & 2 kids)
Minimum safety of 3 stars

I am aware of Bolero Neo which is sub 4 metre vs Carens which is 4.5 metre. But when traveling with family i have to convert the 2nd and 3rd rows seats into a make shift bed for kids and my wife. I have test driven both vehicles and also my driver. Most of the driving will be my driver and i drive only when absolutely needed.

I live in Vijayawada (previous capital of Andhra Pradesh) where both Mahindra and Kia have proper showroom and service centres.

Considering price, parking space is not an issue, please suggest me the best by sharing your valuable experiences.

Thanks in advance

[Knightrider]

Originally Posted by drsarat4u

But when traveling with family i have to convert the 2nd and 3rd rows seats into a make shift bed for kids and my wife.

For this requirement of yours, I feel Carens would be more suitable and spacious. Not sure if making a bed is possible in Bolero Neo with 3rd row side facing seats folding up.

[Car Stalker]

If you can wait for sometime, then maybe Bolero Neo Plus can be a very good option for you (makeshift bed on the 2nd & 3rd row).

Love & Light

[fhdowntheline]

I am not sure if we are comparing two cars in the same category here. the Bolero Neo is a rugged BOF RWD compact SUV whereas the Carens is more or less an MPV on a monocoque design.
The Carens will be a far more comfortable option for you as a personal vehicle, although I don't think it is safe to convert seats into a bed inside any car in India, given that you cannot use seatbelts in that situation.

[Razor44]

I have long considered buying a Bolero Neo and here are points you might consider :

1. No android auto.
2. If family members have motion sickness then it is better to avoid because of considerable body roll.
3. Daily driver means consistency and reliability - Mahindra vehicles have a habit of niggles cropping up now and then , which however minor will warrant a visit to service , that means a day lost. Coming from a maruti suzuki background it can be quite a drastic change.
4. Issue of second key : Don't know what the actual reason but dealer don't provide the second key of your vehicle at the time of delivery. many Neo owners have received their second key after as much as 6-9 months after vehicle purchase.
5. Issue with Mahindra Accessories : Many times Accessories which u think are essential are not available : eg door hinge step etc. Or accessories which are to be provided free / along with the car , dealers will say its not available at that time , only to try to sell them to you later.
6.Early clutch wear out : Many bolero owners have complained about early clutch wear out particularly if you drive mostly in busy city traffic.

Other things like lack of some features like projector lamps , auto AC etc I d'ont consider them as absolute requirements.

[revsperminute]

The Bolero Neo feels like (is) an UV. The Carens is a MPV based on a monocoque. The two of them are like chalk and cheese. We have a Bolero Neo for some factory beater duties and it is in no way a comfortable way to travel. However, it is a very rugged vehicle. But if comfort is the primary criteria, Carens it is.

Also, I hope your makeshift bed arrangement is only put to use when the car is parked safely. A safety rating is only applicable when all passengers are belted up properly.

[amit_purohit20]

Simple-
Bolero Neo only when you need that extra rigidity and off road capabilities. If you drive daily on bad roads, rural roads, himalayas go for it.

Kia Carens-
Family vehicle with softer suspension, less body roll, better interiors, better engine response and probably only a bit more reliable than Bolero Neo.
Also you go for 200 kms long drives which are nearby places so I did take a risk with the less safety factor but go for it.

[OpenRoads]

With 5 active family members and considerable weekly travel a diesel 7 seater makes sense.

Kia Carens is definitely a winner here in terms of features and comfort.
I also noticed that there is considerable difference in prices (~4 Lakhs) between the two.

So my question is did you also consider Safari base model given you driver would be driving as well. As it ticks all your requirement except the pricing (which is almost 17-18 for Carens)

[locusjag]

Look, I am a happy TUV 300 owner.

But when someone says "makeshift bed" - I am bound to recommend the Renault Duster (or Nissan Terrano). A friend of mine used to go temple touring in TN's highways whilst his family would sleep comfortably stretched out on the folded 2nd row and ample boot space of his Duster.

Can you get your hands on a used Petrol Duster CVT (CVT rather than a manual transmission - given that you've owned AMTs so far)? It would make for a superb tourer with great handling. I don't have the heart to recommend a used Duster diesel AMT to you; the Renault diesel fuel injectors are known to fail frequently and I personally dislike AMTs.

If you were going to be ferrying 7 people all the time while frequenting state highways with iffy roads, I would have suggested the upcoming Bolero Neo Plus 7 seater to you. But you'll be only ferrying 5 people or so it seems; the Carens will also do the trick.

[JediKnight]

Why don't you consider the Marazzo? Superb and comfy family cruiser plus 4 star safety rated. Has terrific ride quality and NVH.

One think you may want to be aware of is the DPF issues that can crop up in BS6 diesels. You may want to looked at rep-owned route and pick pre-2019 BS4 diesel if you want to avoid BS-6 diesels. If you are thinking about petrol than Carens may be the only option.

[Phantom 510]

You can look at the Rumion/Ertiga in their automatic versions. They are physically smaller than the Carens thereby making them more manoevrable in the tight spaces and more comfortable than the Bolero Neo as a 6/7 seater. If the seats are folded then it liberates a huge amount of interior space. The automatic transmission with the 1.5L K series might lack the grunt when compared to the Carens and Bolero Neo but it will score over both in terms of fuel efficiency and hassle free nature.

[narayans80]

I was in the market for a 3 row car exactly a year back with a similar mileage profile to seat 5 in 3-point seat belts and ended up choosing the cousin of Kia Carens (Hyundai Alcazar) in the diesel MT avatar.

My family fell in love with the Carens. Two reasons for choosing the Hyundai was:

1. Servicing footprint (I can pick and choose Hyundai service centers according to my whims and fancies) vs only 2 Kia service centers each 30 km away.
2. Delivery timeline: I was getting the Alcazar in a week vs Carens in 6 months from booking.

If you are safety conscious, I would advise against looking at the makeshift bed angle and get a car with 5 proper 3-point seat belts.

Bolero Neo is tad too small and third row is side facing. If Mahindra servicing is so good in your city, I would recommend looking at the Marazzo instead.

Am presuming you have a 80 km drive a day, something like a Vijayawada Guntur drive. In which case you will survive a BS6 diesel with DPF issues.

[Livnletcarsliv]

Bolero Neo and Carens are black and white in terms of use case and product itself.
For your use case, you need a comfortable, reliable, safe, 7 seater diesel car. So Bolero Neo is out.

Your only options are - Carens, Alcazar, Safari, XUV700, Marazzo, Crysta.
In fact, your best choice would be a pre-owned Crysta/Innova which meets all your requirements plus more.

And given you are a doctor, approx. 2500km use case per week primary drive, and coming from a Maruti, going with a Tata/Mahindra is a risky affair in terms of reliability (reliability wise XUV700 is much better than Safari, however the waiting period is a kill). Since you have not mentioned your budget, I suggest you to go with Toyota (new). If budget is a constraint then I suggest you go with Toyota (pre-owned), Kia, Hyundai.

[drsarat4u]

Thank you all for the detailed replies. Now i have finalized two vehicles after extensive search and test driving all the 7 seater/6 seater vehicles.

(1). Kia Carens: 1.5 NA Petrol MT: Heard about its very poor mileage and also lacking power when needed. So i excluded it even though very good for that price

(2). Kia Carens: Prestige Plus iMT: Here im confused between buying diesel vs petrol of the same varaint mainly for one reason. The ban of all diesel vehicles by 2027 which implies spares issues, poor resale and possible high taxes. At this point news of diesel vehicle ban is almost a daily thing in the media. If not i would have gone with diesel. In fact i booked the diesel variant and is due to delivered in next 10 days.

(3). Maruti XL6 Petrol Zeta MT: If not carens, this would be my choice with the captain seats in 2nd row.

I am confused with the above choices and diesel issues. My budget is flexible upto 20 lakhs.

On road price of above vehicles in my place are as follows:

Carens Petrol NA 1.5 MT: 15.2 lakhs (including my convenience pkg & led bulbs)

Carens Diesel Prestige Plus iMT: 19.2 lakhs (including my convenience pkg & led bulbs)

Maruti XL6 Petrol MT Zeta: 14.6 lakhs (including 5 yr extended warranty & Suzuki connect 3yrs)

Please give your valuable suggestions. Thank you

[Livnletcarsliv]

All diesels will NOT be banned by 2027. Period. What is the your source of this news ?

Since you have a budget of 20L, I still recommend you try out the Innova Crysta.