| Launch Report Kia Carens |
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Much Better
It's based on a slightly shorter version of the floorpan also used in the Magentis, and it's unusual in that it offers both five- and seven-seat options within the same bodyshell. That may lead you to assume that the third row in the seven-seat car is suitable only for the very young, but in fact adults have more space back there than they would in some rival models, partly because the centre row can be moved forwards or backwards to find a suitable legroom compromise. Apart from the ones in the front row, all the seats can be folded away to provide a flat load area without actually removing them from the vehicle. If you're far from home and can't find any accommodation, you can also create two beds by reclining the front seat backs and joining them to the middle row, or by combining the second and third rows in the seven-seater. In seven-seat form the Carens has a measly 47 litres of luggage volume, but this extends to 414 litres if you fold down the back row. The five-seater has fractionally more room at 430 litres, and both versions can carry 2106 litres if you turn them into two-seaters.
There are a couple of issues to deal with if you intend to transport goods and chattels. There is, to begin with, no cover to hide your luggage, so it would be inadvisable to leave the Carens parked on its own for very long without emptying it first. Furthermore, the tailgate doesn't open very far - in the space of a couple of hours I managed to smack my forehead against it twice, though there was some consolation in the fact that I did so against a rounded edge rather than a sharp one.
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