Test Kia Carens 1.6 GDI 135CV Concept: behind the wheel

We continue with the Kia Carens test. After analyzing what it offers us "at a standstill", it is time to start its engine and we will start to see how this Kia minivan behaves in its access engine (1.6 GDi gasoline with 135 CV).

Driving

Our test unit carried the 1.6CV 135 GDI petrol engine. It is a very smooth and linear engine from which obviously infarct performance cannot be expected. I guess most Carens customers don't need a very powerful car, so if you're not going to do a lot of miles a year it's a perfectly valid engine. In the city and ring roads, this engine treats its occupants with care, since it hardly hears or vibrates. The propellant is enough to maintain cruising speeds, level or stroll, but if we want to move happily along secondary roads or climb large highway slopes without losing speed, we must resort to change and squeeze the speeds. Overtaking in 4th or even 3rd gear will be common if we want to carry out the maneuver safely and quickly, especially if the car is loaded. If you are one of those who puts a gear and forgets to change... this is not your engine.

The Kia Carens drives almost like a passenger car. Its body is quite settled, and has more poise than some minivans like the Citroen Picasso but less than Opel Zafira, for instance. It is a comfortable car and the suspension is clearly focused on it, but it does not pitch or roll more than necessary. Some of my colleagues have commented that it seems a bit imprecise at the entrance of the curves, although it seemed to me that it more than complies.

The address has three degrees of assistance (normal, sport and comfort) with which the feel of the steering wheel can be varied a little. There is not much difference between normal and sport, but in "comfort" mode the steering is very soft, something that some people will appreciate when it comes to maneuver in the city. Personally I prefer the normal or sport, because they transmit more to the driver, but it is a matter of taste.

When it comes to braking we have a fairly powerful brake system and a pedal that does not sink much under heavy braking, giving the driver confidence. The car does not move easily and although we brake in the middle of the curve the ESP does not come into operation within normal limits, so we can say that this minivan has a healthy and easy to control behavior In an emergency.

Consumption

I have not driven the car long enough or under normal conditions to be able to speak with confidence of its best before date. In addition, this unit carens It had been registered 12 days ago and had hardly any kilometers, so the data is not very reliable either. She, according to the brand, homologates her 6,8 liters / 100 km although in our test she reached 8,8 liters / 100 km.

El carens is available with a motor 1.6 hp 135 GDI petrol and two 1.7 or 115 hp 136 CRDi Diesel, all of them with six-speed manual gearbox. Other engines are for sale in other countries and may soon have an automatic gearbox. With the Diesel engines, it homologates 4,9 and 5,1 liters respectively and according to the colleagues who have tried them, it has a little more kick and recovers better.

Since the diesel engine 1.7 CRDi of 115 CV It costs about 2.000 euros more than gasoline with equal equipment, we must do numbers and see what suits us. If we are going to do many kilometers or we are going to take it very loaded and on secondary roads with frequent slopes and climbs, obviously we will have to take the Diesel. If not…do the numbers.

Plus - Test Kia Carens 1.6 GDI Concept