Kia Carens: full details

The existing Kia Carens is a spacious, good-value seven-seater family car, yet its dowdy looks and ageing dynamics are hardly in keeping with the rest of Kia’s sharp-suited new range. but that’s all about to change when a brand-new Carens arrives in the UK next spring – and it’s been unveiled at the Paris motor Show.
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Next to the outgoing Carens, this is an infinitely a lot more elegant car, with chiselled fog lights, a tiger-snout grille and long swept-back headlights just like the Cee’d. “No matter what segment you look at, the number-one reason for a customer choosing a car is always style,” Vladislav Alexiev, product manager for the Cee’d family, told us.
Based on a development of the new Cee’d’s platform, the Carens adds 100mm to the wheelbase and is slightly broader than the hatchback, too. That frees up just enough room to squeeze a third row of seats (standard on all UK cars) into the back.
Kids will be quite delighted back there, with cup holders and cubby holes either side, while parents will appreciate how easy it is to fold the third row flat into the floor. The second row folds flat, too, and each seat slides back and forth individually.