Kia Carens to be revived to become a seven-seat Seltos
The Carens genealogy has three generations of predecessors that have been in production since 1999 and are known almost all over the world, but in 2018 Kia stopped production of these cars without presenting a direct successor. And only now Karens was remembered again, but this story begins with a clean slate. After all, at first Karens were compact single cabins with space for traditional passengers, and now the model is moving to the Seltos crossover platform, from which it will receive a hatchback body and increased ground clearance.
The official debut will take place on December 16 in India, but Kia has already shared sketches giving an idea of the exterior and interior. The Caren will differ significantly from the Seltos with two-tier front optics, an increased rear overhang and a sedan with a different front fascia and central tunnel.
Although we can talk about technology even now, because India is already producing a three-row Hyundai Alcazar crossover based on the second generation Creta: apparently, Carens will receive a lot of solutions from it.
Alcazar's recipe is simple: the Cretan wheelbase was lengthened by 150 mm, the doors were raised, the roof level was raised, windows were added on the sides, 18-inch wheels were installed, but at the same time they were deprived of all four-wheel drive, and only a two-liter aspirated engine remained from the engines (159 HP) and diesel 1.5. (115 hp). Kia's sketches show that Carens will follow the same path, and if so, then the novelty promises to be more spacious than its predecessors, because the height and wheelbase of the Alkazar (1675 mm and 2760 mm) is greater than that of a single cabin produced before 2018.
The production of Carens will be made at the Indian plant in Anantapur primarily for the needs of the local market. Compact and affordable cars with extra trunk seats are the preferred size for family cars in India. There's even a Datsun Go+ based on the Nissan Mikra and a sub-four-meter Renault Triber based on the tiny Kwid SUV. And Mahindra managed to create a nine-seater crossover on the TUV300 Plus chassis with the dimensions of Qashqai and two longitudinal benches in the trunk.
The international perspectives of such a concept are unclear. In recent years, almost all compact and small minivans have left the European market (Karens has gone to the company of such cars as Opel Meriva, Nissan Note, Citroen C3 Picasso, Ford B-Max and Toyota Verso) and there are no crossovers that they replaced. They are in a hurry to offer a seven-seat package, as the demographic situation in Europe, to put it mildly, is not similar to the Indian one. But this fall, Hyundai decided to launch the Alcazar in Mexico under the Grand Creta name. In addition, a very similar multi-seat subcompact format is common in Indonesia and Malaysia, where Hyundai and Kia are rumored to be preparing original seven-seat models.
