[vikramv4u]

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND:

Firstly, this post has been in my draft for a while and due to multiple reasons, couldn't get down to finishing it.. but finally posting this

We have (now had) an Ertiga Petrol VXi 2012 model and although I can't complain in any way about that car, but somehow, I decided to change the car (can’t point a finger on the actual reason why ). The criteria/ things we needed in the new car are the following:

Must-haves:
- 7 seater car (not 6 seater, so no captain seats) - we have 2 kids and 4 adults in the family, hence!
- Sliding Middle row seats (need the flexibility to have an adult sit in the 3rd row, if needed, hence need that flexibility to move middle row seats)
- 3rd row seats suitable for adults -- no knees up scenario or 3rd row seats only for kids not acceptable
- Luggage space with 3 rows of seats up - need decent (more than Ertiga) space to fit some bags
- Safety features - 6 airbags
- Automatic transmission

Slighly lesser important:
- Easy on the hand driving - not very heavy steering, suitable for city drives and stable on highways
- Upgrade from Ertiga
- Some cool features would not be bad 😊

OPTIONS CONSIDERED:

Looked at all possible 7 seaters between Rs. 12-15 Lakhs to Rs. 40 Lakhs ..

- XUV700 - great power, felt very nice driving it, but got ruled out as it didn't have sliding middle row. Also, the luggage space wasn't great, neither was the 3rd row, especially for adults.. waiting time, although not a criteria as such didn’t help either
- Safari - Boot space was the dampener.. other than that somehow didn’t like the interiors and the reviews as such didn’t feel like it is the car for me
- Ertiga - didn't want to buy an Ertiga again.. just from a change perspective
- Hycross/ Invicto - very nice space in-cabin, interiors didn't feel great. Some of the lower variants didn't have many features, and the higher variants would push the budget up to close to Rs. 38L - which I felt was too much. Long waiting period as well. Potential parking challenges in the city due to the larger size etc. didn’t help as this will not be chauffer driven
- Alcazar - not as much room in-cabin as much as the Carens and more expensive, so fell lower in value.
Finally, looked at the Carens - it pretty much ticked most boxes for me and the final thought process was:
- Better value for money compared to competition - what package you get for the price being paid is quite compelling (compared to competition) and also didn't want to pay more than Rs. 30L
- Good features.. safety or otherwise
- Driving felt good - unlike last year when I felt it was terribly underpowered. Maybe they have done some software upgrades, so Normal (default on starting the car every time) driving mode felt fine to drive.. upon asking about the power, I was told that the new engine and the software updates have made it better. This has been corroborated by Puneet as well as a part of his thread.
- Very nice NVH levels - quite a quiet cabin

After watching numerous numerous and numerous hours of videos on YouTube and reading many Team-Bhp posts...

the decision was made.. it would be the Kia Carens!!

VARIANT:
- Petrol all the way – maybe “petrol-head” term may fit in here, but jokes apart, not sure about the future of Diesel vehicles and have never owned one plus my running will not be extensive.
- Like I mentioned above, 6-seater ruled out.. wanted a 7-seater as we have a young baby and she may sleep in the middle row
- Sunroof was mandatory for the family, so I was left with only 2 variants - Luxury (O) or Luxury Plus (LP)
- Price difference was about Rs. 1 Lakh and for that extra price I would get an Audio system with Bose speakers, Paddle Shifters, Ventilated front seats, Rain sensing wipers, Wireless Charging etc. -- now although some of the above could have been skipped or could have been fitted after-market, I went ahead with the Luxury Plus! Not fully sure I have made the best decision (considering the cost of accessories), but definitely something that was a head-scratcher at that time.

PRE-DELIVERY EXPERIENCE:

- I had reached out to a dealer Taapasi Kia and they were prompt in sending the car for the test drives and I asked for both the IMT and DCT versions
- But I got a contact in Naara Kia JP Nagar (Bengaluru) and ultimately decided to go with them as they had a couple of vehicles readily available, whereas Taapasi told me straight away that they will be able to give me the car in 2 months (I appreciate their frankness though!!)
- After having booked the car thru Naara, negotiated a little for some accessories for a certain value and then we had to decide on the color. This was a difficult decision for the family as all colors were not on display, so we requested to go to the stockyard to see all the colors on display - finally decided on Silver
- Silver in my variant wasn't coming at all from the factory, patience was being tested and I was after the dealer to get the car.. He gave me quite a few options, but we were adamant on Silver.. till we read the news about a potential 1-2% hike in prices starting Oct 1, and that's when I started pestering the dealer..
- Finally, I was offered a Black Luxury Plus variant and the family had no problem with that, so despite my reluctance (due to high maintenance in general), we decided to go ahead - with all formalities of paperwork done within 2 days.
- I, ideally wanted to do a PDI, but considering the stiff timeline due to price increases, auspicious day for delivery etc. I skipped that, although I mentioned to the dealer (contact) to check and double-check everything.

Side View:


Front Side view:


Rear View:


Interior View:



DELIVERY EXPERIENCE:

- Finally, the registration happened and I did go to see the car, with a lot of hope (that everything will be fine) and knowing fully well that there is not much I can do now, even if something was not 100%

- Then I had to decide on the accessories to be bought from Kia - Eventually I bought the following from the dealer:
- Mud flaps -- Rs. 727
- Door Sil guard -- Rs. 1158
- Door edge guard -- Rs. 577
- Door visor -- Rs. 4965
- Body Side Molding Chrome -- Rs. 2956
- Got all these installed by the day of delivery

- Accessories thru Kia -

https://youtu.be/0_NelyN3BKc

- Had other accessories in mind, but decided to do that after-market. More on that later.
- After spending about a couple of hours on the photo moment, walk-thru of the Kia Apps and features and settings etc. the moment of handover had come...

Handover:


Handover 2:


Key:


Collected a few goodies that Naara Kia had given..


...and we finally drove the car home!!


Some more views...
Side:


Rear side:


Top View:



AFTER MARKET ACCESSORIES:

- 7D Floor and Boot Mats: Ordered thru Capedell (some say Capdell) for Rs. 6500 - very happy with the way it looks and it was easy to install. This included the cabin mats and the Boot mats as well.
- Cabin Mats View -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylVXlbNNiOo

- Sunfilm: So, this was debatable in terms of which to install, as 3M was Rs. 43,500 for the car - this was too expensive for me and then after reading a lot on Team-bhp, finally decided to do a mix and match option.. Windshield was from 3M (CR70) for Rs. 13,500 and all other glasses (incl sunroof, which was a darker version) was Rs. 14,000 (Garware SHR Natural 70 Film) installed at home thru Shreyas - Thanks to the recommendation from Shravan (@drive.helios) here on Team-Bhp! -- Total Sunfilm cost - Rs. 27,500




- Dashcam: Again, after reading and watching many videos, finally went ahead with the following:
- Front: VIOFO A119 Mini 2 (bought from their India website for Rs. 13,999 + CPL Filter-Rs. 1,999) + SanDisk Extreme 512GB MicroSD card - Rs. 3,849
- Rear: NexDigitron ACE+ with GPS (Rs. 4,190) + CPL filter (Rs. 899) + Samsung Evo Plus 128GB MicroSD card - Rs. 775
- Total Expenses on Dashcam -- Rs. 26K




Front Dashcam Sample Footage:
- Viofo A119 Mini 2 Day sample footage -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXNkr01aUIs

- Viofo A119 Mini 2 Dusk sample footage -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHr_MHGd5bA

- Viofo A119 Mini 2 Night sample footage (City) -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kat8EVCFUw

- Viofo A119 Mini 2 Night sample footage (Highway) -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNseUVVIn0Q

Rear Dashcam Sample Footage:
- AceDigitron Ace Plus Ace+ Day time footage (Rear cam) -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VpCfJbyzO8

- AceDigitron Ace Plus Ace+ Night time footage (Rear cam) -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm3tGKDxPfc

- FEW ADDTL SMALL SMALL THINGS BOUGHT:
- Duracell 65w car charger - Rs. 1,449
- 3M Foaming Interior Cleaner - Rs. 607
- Car Mobile Holder (Yellowfin) - Rs. 799
- Car door protector rubber - Rs. 319

I still have a few more things on my radar, but will see when I will buy, if at all..

INITIAL DRIVING EXPERIENCE:

- Very smooth, refreshing new-age experience with very low NVH levels
- Trying to learn how to drive the DCT, managing the drive modes especially in city traffic etc.
- Although power is satisfactory and adequate in Normal mode, but Eco is slightly sluggish, so one needs to get used to that or be ready to push the throttle a little more
- Fuel economy as per MID is between 9-10.1 with AC within the city, but driving almost everytime in Eco mode
- Absolutely no regrets on this purchase and I will highly recommend this car!!!

[07CR]

Originally Posted by vikramv4u

- Absolutely no regrets on this purchase and I will highly recommend this car!!!

Congratulations on a great car! I am in the middle of a purchase decision right now, and confused whether I should go for a Seltos GT Line DCT or Carens Luxury + DCT. This vehicle would replace my Ecosport S TDCI. Price difference between Seltos and Carens is coming out around 1.5L OTR. We are a family of 4, therefore if Carens is chosen, would be opting for captain seat variant.

Few queries-
1) How has the mileage been on the highways? 9-10 in city in Eco mode is slightly less for me. While test driving the Seltos in City, and in sport mode for quite a while, still the display touched 9-9.2. Same conditions, the Carens managed 8~.

2) I was impressed with the ride quality of Carens in City. However, how is the ride on highways at speeds of about 90 KPH? I rarely go above 100.

3) How are the headlights? The Carens thread gave me mixed reviews.

4) Did you opt for the one touch up down windows variant? This has been recently introduced as per the SA, but the Carens I test drove, had one touch functionality only for Driver.

[Knightrider]

Originally Posted by vikramv4u

We have (now had) an Ertiga Petrol VXi 2012 model and although I can't complain in any way about that car, but somehow, I decided to change the car (can’t point a finger on the actual reason why ). The criteria/ things we needed in the new car are the following:

Congratulations on the new Car!

While reading your post, I felt like those are my words. Upgrading from Ertiga, same requirements from the new car, same cars considered during search, and finalizing the same car and variant finally, it was exactly same story as mine. I could totally relate to each and every word of yours.

[White-Stallion]

Hi

I have been using my Carens Luxury Plus 1.4 Turbo Petrol DCT since December 6th 2022. Answering to some of your queries.

1. Mileage (Tank to Tank - Since the display seems to have a ~1 kmpl error).
   • In-City about 10~11 kmpl (My daily office commute during traffic)
   • Highway Driving 17~18 kmpl
2. The car is a mile muncher. Did a 1,000 km Hyderabad to Kerala and back twice in the last year and had 6 individuals and luggage. Had at stretches reached 120 kmph (did not realise speed due to low NVH compared to my previous car - Swift Diesel)
3. Headlights are ok for doing 80 ~ 90 kmph on the highways and I am not comfortable with the reach on High beam. For lower speeds the headlights are fine.

Hope this is helpful for decision making.

Regards

Praveen

Originally Posted by 07CR

Few queries-
1) How has the mileage been on the highways? 9-10 in city in Eco mode is slightly less for me. While test driving the Seltos in City, and in sport mode for quite a while, still the display touched 9-9.2. Same conditions, the Carens managed 8~.

2) I was impressed with the ride quality of Carens in City. However, how is the ride on highways at speeds of about 90 KPH? I rarely go above 100.

3) How are the headlights? The Carens thread gave me mixed reviews.

[xpokezar]

Originally Posted by vikramv4u

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND:



Key:
Attachment 2539369

When was your car delivered? It looks like the old key.

[abaliga]

Many Congratulations! I recently rode as a passenger on the last row of Carens, at my height of 5 feet 8 inches, it was surprisingly comfortable, this car is tremendous value for money and is a great 7 seater with the right mix of drivetrain, space and quality! Hope Kia is proactive on sorting out safety concerns in the near future.

[vikramv4u]

Originally Posted by 07CR

Congratulations on a great car!

Thank you for your wishes..

Originally Posted by 07CR

1) How has the mileage been on the highways? 9-10 in city in Eco mode is slightly less for me. While test driving the Seltos in City, and in sport mode for quite a while, still the display touched 9-9.2. Same conditions, the Carens managed 8~.

Highway drive to Chennai gave me 14-16 kmpl consistently.. tank to tank method was upwards of 12 for the trip, considering Chennai City drive and Bangalore exit traffic

Originally Posted by 07CR

2) I was impressed with the ride quality of Carens in City. However, how is the ride on highways at speeds of about 90 KPH? I rarely go above 100.

Very stable and comfortable - absolutely no complaints.. having a new car and 2 young kids, I didn't want to push much, so gets upto 80-90 effortlessly and then it was just about managing the speed.. this was in normal mode.. in Eco mode, as long as you are able to manage throttle input, after the initial sluggishness, it will go fine later.

Originally Posted by 07CR

3) How are the headlights? The Carens thread gave me mixed reviews.

Yes the thread gives confusing reviews, the reason is there are distinctly 2 types of headlights offered.. lower variants have the regular Halogen whereas the higher variants offer LEDs.. so not always people write about the variant they have and they give their opinion.. now with respect to the LEDs in my variant.. it's sufficient in normal City traffic/roads.. I have not had too many very rainy nights, but I have heard that the lights don't function well in those conditions.. WRT highway drive it doesn't inspire a lot of confidence at high speeds (90+) due to 1) not very sufficient throw and 2) brightness not being good enough to overshadow the blinding high beams from the opp side.. having said that 80 or thereabouts is ok.. it's not a bad set of lights, but not the greatest.. Somewhere in a "decent" league. There are others who have added a light bar in addition to the headlights, so maybe that's an option to consider (and use on highways only)

Originally Posted by 07CR

4) Did you opt for the one touch up down windows variant? This has been recently introduced as per the SA, but the Carens I test drove, had one touch functionality only for Driver.

Yeah only for the driver side in my case, not for everyone.

Originally Posted by Knightrider

Congratulations on the new Car!

While reading your post, I felt like those are my words. Upgrading from Ertiga, same requirements from the new car, same cars considered during search, and finalizing the same car and variant finally, it was exactly same story as mine. I could totally relate to each and every word of yours.

Hehe. So many similarities sound scary. Have you been overhearing me? But yes, very nice to know this. Wish you the best on your ride as well!! Do put in your views based on your experiences..

Originally Posted by xpokezar

When was your car delivered? It looks like the old key.

Sep-end. I am guessing its not that old and hopefully they didn't give me an old car

Originally Posted by White-Stallion

Hi
[*]Headlights are ok for doing 80 ~ 90 kmph on the highways. For lower speeds the headlights are fine.

Agree fully with this. My reply was posted before I read this and it does align with your thoughts!

Originally Posted by abaliga

Many Congratulations! I recently rode as a passenger on the last row of Carens, at my height of 5 feet 8 inches, it was surprisingly comfortable, this car is tremendous value for money and is a great 7 seater with the right mix of drivetrain, space and quality! Hope Kia is proactive on sorting out safety concerns in the near future.

Thank you. Agree with the space in the last row and despite the 3 rows being up, the luggage space is still quite good.

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[xpokezar]

Originally Posted by vikramv4u

Sep-end.. I am guessing its not that old and hopefully they didn't give me an old car

Ohh, You got the car just before it got an minor update. No worries you're not missing out on much

[vikramv4u]

Originally Posted by xpokezar

Ohh, You got the car just before it got an minor update. No worries you're not missing out on much

What update was it? If I may know..

[xpokezar]

Originally Posted by vikramv4u

What update was it? If I may know..

UV glasses for the side windows, Fully digital instrument cluster, updated key (the buttons are moved to the side of the key). You can refer this post:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post5636461 (Kia Carens Review)

[idontdrivedoi]

Originally Posted by vikramv4u

Absolutely no regrets on this purchase and I will highly recommend this car!!!

Wish you many happy and safe miles with the Seltos! She looks absolutely stunning in the black exteriors and decked out with really good accessories.

Would you elaborate your experiences exactly when it comes to learning to drive the Turbo DCT?

[vinbie2019]

Does 3M (CR70) make noticeable difference against head-light glare in single lane roads? I recently purchased Kia Sonet and I find it quite glaring in city driving. Based on feedback, will get it done for windshield.

[vikramv4u]

Originally Posted by xpokezar

UV glasses for the side windows, Fully digital instrument cluster, updated key(the buttons are moved to the side of the key). You can refer this post:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post5636461 (Kia Carens Review)

Thank you for the link. Yeah I certainly did miss some of them. Although some are only for the X-Line, which I would not have taken as I needed a bench-type seating in the middle.

Honestly, I was under the impression that all of these were only for the X-Line and not the other trims. So good to learn that that's not the case.

Originally Posted by idontdrivedoi

Wish you many happy and safe miles with the Seltos! She looks absolutely stunning in the black exteriors and decked out with really good accessories.

Would you elaborate your experiences exactly when it comes to learning to drive the Turbo DCT?

Thank you very much for the good wishes!! Around learning the DCT - I meant it from 2-3 angles.

1) Various drive modes-which to use when and whether it makes any difference to the fuel economy if I use a particular type of drive mode and what's the best mix, when to shift to normal or shift to eco etc.

2) How much throttle input is needed in which mode? OR how much RPM is high vs optimum etc. and

3) Should I use paddle shifters? Will that make a difference to car performance? Is it a pain to use them etc.? So those angles, which are connected to DCT (in this case), but may not be a 100% only DCT related. Also, I have heard that DCT also learns/adapts to a driver's style. But I don't know what that means. So trying out all these and figuring out things is what I meant.

Originally Posted by vinbie2019

Does 3M (CR70) make noticeable difference against head-light glare in single lane roads? I recently purchased Kia Sonet and i find it quite glaring in city driving. Based on feedback, will get it done for windshield.

Not sure I can visibly see a lot of difference. Maybe my attention to detail isn't as good as some others in the forum :-) but honestly in Bangalore I have not found headlight glare to be much of an issue. Maybe the 3M or other factors or a combo.

[RunGaDa]

Another winner from Kia. Thanks for the review and initial experience. This is definitely a good option, personally I would also prefer it over unnecessarily big SUVs. It’s a well sorted three row car and absolutely no nonsense classic design features.

[Raghav07]

Congrats on the new car! My uncle also upgraded from a Maruti (WagonR AMT) to a Carens DCT Luxury Plus (but in Imperial Blue). The black looks good on your car.

Also, something I wanted to inform you, my uncle has got an engine issue after driving the car for 6 months and 3200 km. He has done a lot of city driving in it, and the car has been at the service center since Diwali. It was related to the fuel injectors apparently, so keep this in mind during your next service.

Wishing you happy journeys with your car!