2025 Kia Carens Clavis Review : 8 Pros & 8 Cons

Fire up the engine, and it's refined at idle, silently purring away. Hyundai-Kia powertrains have always set NVH benchmarks, and this car is no different. Shift to D or R, and it moves off the line smoothly.

Kia Carens Clavis Pros

• Refreshed styling is more appealing than before
• A practical & sensible 3-row family car that's well-built. 3rd row seat is actually useable
• User-friendly interiors look really good and have quality parts
• Fast and refined 1.5L turbo-petrol mated to smooth 7-speed AT and 6-speed MT & iMT
• Economical 1.5L diesel offers good driveability. Available in MT & AT variants
• Impressive ride quality with neutral car-like road manners
• Impressive kit (ventilated 1st row seats, captain seats, boss mode, digital key, drive modes, fully digital instruments, 360-degree camera, panoramic sunroof, rear window sunshades, all windows up/down through smartkey, remote engine start, electronic parking brake with auto hold, air purifier, dashcam with dual camera, paddle shifters, Bose sound system & loads more)
• Safety package includes Level 2 ADAS, hill descent control, 6 airbags, ESP, all-wheel disc brakes, auto-hold etc.

Kia Carens Clavis Cons

• 1.5L NA petrol available only with a 6-speed MT. Kia isn't offering the smooth CVT on the Carens Clavis (CVT is actually better than DCT in bumper-to-bumper traffic)
• 2nd row legroom is good, not great (Kia has obviously prioritised the 3rd-row seat too).
• Diesel’s 114 BHP & 250 Nm – although adequate – are the lowest in the segment
• Turbo-petrol revs to just ~5,500 rpm. It's a powerful motor with 158 BHP on tap, so we wish it went higher for driving pleasure
• Reliability of the 7-speed DCT is a concern. Dual-Clutch ATs have traditionally had patchy reliability in India
• Long brake pedal travel. We felt their stopping performance was just above average
• Competitors like the XUV700, Tata Safari, Hector Plus etc. offer way more spacious cabins
• A few misses (no full-size spare wheel, ventilated 2nd row seats like the Syros & Alcazar, wireless Android Auto & Apple CarPlay in the top variant, no dual tone colour options, etc.)

Read Team-BHP's detailed 2025 Kia Carens Clavis Review here.