The Kia Carens launch will take place on February 15, 2022, the company has announced. The three-row ‘recreational vehicle’ is based on the same platform as the Kia Seltos, but is aiming to settle between both the Toyota Innova Crysta and the Hyundai Alcazar on one end and the Maruti Suzuki XL6 on the other.

Kia’s habit of providing a long list of features, engine and transmission configurations continues with the Carens. Interested customers can book their Kia Carens at the brand’s website or dealerships at a price of Rs 25,000.

In terms of design, the Kia Carens fuses SUV and MPV styling cues.

Available in 6 or 7-seat configurations, the Kia Carens makes good use of its segment-leading wheelbase measuring 2,780mm. The wheelbase allows for an extremely spacious cabin providing ample leg-room in the third row that is often a neglected part of three-row vehicles. Visually the Carens has a clean design with split LED headlamps and DRLs, an elongated body, and 16-inch alloys.

The Kia Carens will be offered in five trims – Premium, Prestige, Prestige Plus, Luxury and Luxury Plus. The safety suite is standard across the trims with six airbags, ESC, VSM, BAS, HAC, Downhill Brake Control, all-wheel disc brakes, TPMS, ABS and other features. The fully loaded Carens will come with a 10.25-inch infotainment screen, fully digital instrument panel, single-pane sunroof, roof-mounted aircon vents for 2nd and 3rd rows, foldable tray table with a cup-holder, ventilated front seats, 64-colour ambient lighting, air-purifier, Bose speaker system, one-touch 2nd row tumble and more.

The cabin of the Kia Carens gets a rather offbeat blue and beige treatment.

Engines have been lifted from the Kia Seltos, so we have two petrol and one diesel option. The 1.5-litre petrol produces 115bhp and 144Nm of torque and is available with a 6-speed manual, the 1.5-litre diesel makes 115bhp and 250Nm of peak torque and is available with 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic transmission while the 1.4-litre turbo petrol makes 140bhp and 242Nm of torque and can be opted for with the 6-speed manual or 7-speed DCT. Paddle shifters are offered on the Luxury Plus trim with automatic variants.

Of the trims, the Premium and Prestige are available with all of the engine options, while the other three can only be specced with diesel or turbo petrol. Kia will announce the prices on February 15, and we expect the base trim to start at Rs 12 lakh while the top-trim could go all the way up to Rs 18 lakh.