When launched, Kia Carens facelift will bring more features and equipment and will rival the likes of Maruti XL6 and Mahindra Marazzo
Launched in February 2022, Kia Carens is now more than two years old. For Kia India, this seems to have triggered the facelift bells ringing in full volume. Resulting in development of Carens facelift. For the first time ever, engineering samples have been spotted. From the looks of it, this particular test mule looks like a base model. Let’s take a look.
Kia Carens Facelift Spied For The First Time
Hyundai and Kia are upping their game in the Indian market. In a bid to expand their presence and establish a more streamlined product portfolio, both companies are currently on a facelift launching spree. We got facelifted versions of Seltos, Sonet and Creta along with Alcazar facelift and now, Carens facelift, under development.
The unit spotted testing seems to be a base or mid-spec model as it lacked a sunroof and packed halogen headlights. It had heavy camouflage at the front and rear, indicating where most of the changes are likely to be. There was some camouflage at the sides, indicating a few new lines and creases on side body panels, while glass area and doors are kept intact.
Despite the camouflage, we can see a split headlight design with LED DRLs on top and headlights below, like on current model. Rear tail lights are all-new and interestingly, they look very similar to what we saw on recently launched Mahindra XUV 3XO. It will have a connecting LED light bar in the middle like on Sonet and Seltos.
Despite being a base or mid-spec model, we can still see alloy wheels and in dual-tone finish. Shiny finishing at the edges and black on the inside. Somewhat similar to what Kia is offering with their EV range. Other notable attributes from this particular test mule are shark fin antenna, front and rear parking sensors and roof rails.
What can we expect?
Top-spec variant will get LED headlights and a sunroof. Probably a dual-pane panoramic one, considering sub 4m vehicles have begun to offer this trendy feature. Coming from a company that heavily advertises sunroofs, a panoramic sunroof on Carens facelift is highly likely. Another major addition to Kia Carens facelift will be ADAS features. More probably Level-2 suite.
On the inside, we can expect a similar dashboard as Seltos with dual horizontal displays in a single housing along with features like ventilated seats, electronic parking brake, wireless charging, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, air purifier, 6 or 7 seater layout options, 17-inch alloy wheels and more.
Where powertrains are concerned, Kia Carens Facelift spied, will continue as is. So, the same 1.5L NA Petrol engine (113 bhp, 144 Nm, 6MT, 6iMT), 1.5L Turbo Petrol engine (158 bhp, 253 Nm, 6iMT, 7DCT) and the 1.5L Turbo Diesel engine (113 bhp, 250 Nm, 6MT, 6iMT, 6TC). Kia Carens facelift will continue to rival Maruti Suzuki XL6 and Mahindra Marazzo.
Also read – Kia Carens scored 3 Stars in Global NCAP