| Road Test Kia Carens 2.0 CRDi LS |
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Better, Not Best
For a start, it uses Kia's 138bhp two-litre turbo diesel engine rather than the similarly-sized 142bhp petrol alternative. I haven't driven a petrol Carens yet, but I would be very surprised if it could match this one. The maximum performance figures are similar in each case, and the diesel produces so much more torque at so few revs that it simply has to be better in the mid-range. It's more economical too, of course, and especially so in the case of the LS. For some reason - Kia reckons it's to do with the larger wheels and lower-profile tyres - the LS is slightly more economical than the lesser GS, and produces less CO2, though not so much less that it falls into a lower tax bracket. The LS is also the only Carens to come with seven seats as standard. Although it's based on a shortened version of the Magentis floorpan, and therefore isn't uncommonly large for a compact MPV, the Carens is so well packaged that it really can transport seven people of above kindergarten age in reasonable comfort.
It can't do this and transport much luggage at the same time, but if you fold down the seats in the second and third rows you open up a potential 2106 litres of space, with the seat backs acting as a flat floor. On the occasion when I had to transport a whole heap of musical equipment for 100 miles, this proved to be a very welcome feature.
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