Kia Carens (2006 – 2012) Review

Kia Carens (2006 – 2012) At A Glance

Option of seven usable seats, all rear seats fold into the boot floor, spacious interior, five-year warranty on models sold since September 2006.

Foot-operated parking brake is old fashioned, poor turning circle.

Real MPG average for a Kia Carens (2006 – 2012)

Real MPG was created following thousands of readers telling us that their cars could not match the official figures.

Real MPG gives real world data from drivers like you to show how much fuel a vehicle really uses.

Diesel or petrol? If you're unsure whether to go for a petrol or diesel (or even an electric model if it's available), then you need our Petrol or Diesel? calculator. It does the maths on petrols, diesels and electric cars to show which is best suited to you.

Satisfaction Index

Reviews for Kia Carens (2006 – 2012)'s top 3 rivals

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Sliding side doors, can carry seven people in comfort, well styled, rearmost seats fold flat into the...

Volkswagen Touran

Solid, small 7-seater with a comfortable ride. 2.0 TDI model is greatly improved by DSG autobox and gets...

Toyota Verso

Compact seven seater. Excellent Valvematic 1.8 petrol engine with smooth seven-ratio CVT gives 40+ mpg....

Ask Honest John

I'm looking at two used cars, one LPG and one diesel - which is the better choice?

"I'm looking to buy a secondhand, seven-seater car that runs on LPG. I wanted an LPG car because I'm looking for a way to save money on fuel costs. However, I never had an LPG car before. I've shortlisted two cars but one of them is not LPG so would like your advice on which one is better to buy. The first is a 2009 Vauxhall Zafira, Petrol/LPG, 98k miles for £1150. I asked the seller if the timing belt was changed and he said no, but also told me not to worry about it because this is a petrol car and that diesel cars are the ones that have problem with the timing belt. Second is a 2007 Vauxhall Zafira B 1.8,16v design, diesel, 93k miles for £1195. It has a full service history, stamp, cambelt was changed at 88k miles and was well looked after."

Do not buy the LPG Zafira. The seller is talking rubbish - it should have had its timing belt changed years ago. And even if the service history was good (which it isn't), I wouldn't recommend buying a 10 year-old-car that runs on LPG - the costs will be huge if anything goes wrong with it. A seven-seat version of the Kia Carens would be a much more reliable choice.

Answered by Dan Powell

How reliable is the Kia Carens automatic?

"I'm looking to buy a Kia Carens automatic (2009-2010 reg) however I'm not sure what kind of automatic gearbox it has? I'm looking for something reliable as I don't want any additional costs. Would you recommend any other cars? I really appreciate you helping me. My budget is £5k."

Torque converter. Bit sluggish, but okay. These cars are generally reliable and underpriced so good buys.

Answered by Honest John

Best used family car for £1500?

"We have a budget of £1500-£2000 for a used family car. It must be practical and capable of carrying five (incl baby) and have boot space for a pram and shopping. What should we consider buying?"

That isn't enough money for guaranteed reliability from any car meeting your criteria. I'd forget SUVs. Maybe a KIA Carens 2006 - 2012 if you can find one, but you are asking a lot for very little money.

Answered by Honest John

Does the Kia Cee'd have a dual mass flywheel?

"I'm thinking of buying a 2010 Kia Cee'd diesel, can you tell me if it has a dual-mass flywheel?"

Presuming its a 1.6CRDI diesel, yes, but they don;t seem to have been trouble.

Answered by Honest John

More Questions

Inside of the Kia Carens (2006 – 2012)

• Boot space is 74–2106 litres

It's good looking, not in an alien South Korean kind of way, but aesthetically pleasing by any standards. It has a pleasant interior, with practical touches like a shelf in front of the passenger, a dashboard that doesn't reflect in the windscreen and even a ‘curry hook' in the passenger footwell.

All the seats fold flat; the rearmost two particularly easily. The centre row slides fore and aft 60/40 so legoom can be arranged to suit the occupants. And the plastics, cloth and carpeting are all good quality, without that curious fishy smell that once used to emanate from South Korean interiors.

It's easy to get comfortable. The mirrors are nice and big giving a good view of the car's flanks. The indicator stalk is, correctly, on the right of the column so you can change gear with your left hand and flick the indicators with the fingers of your right. The parking brake is like an automatic's. Kick on with your left foot and release with your left hand. Though I prefer a hand brake, it's actually no hassle, probably because the release is sensibly on the left rather than the right of the steering column.

Child seats that fit a Kia Carens (2006 – 2012)

Our unique Car Seat Chooser shows you which child car seats will fit this car and which seat positions that they will fit, so that you don't have to check every car seat manufacturer's website for compatibility.

Which car seat will suit you?

Driving Kia Carens (2006 – 2012)

• Engines range from 1.6 CRDi to 2.0 CRDi
• Readers report Real MPG to be between 26–54 mpg

We drove the diesel automatic first. Straight out into Belfast traffic. It was immediately apparent that the car would make a very good taxi. The box only has four ratios and as long as your expectations are reasonably modest, it's smooth and pleasant and makes a decent fist of getting on with the job. Top gear works out at around 35mph per 1,000rpm so cruising at 70 you're bang on peak torque that lasts from 1,800 to 2,500rpm.

Our route in the auto was mostly straight, so it wasn't until we swapped to a manual that we were able to push it a bit and find the handling limits on corners. That eventually shows up as roll understeer, not to early to be annoying and with plenty of warning to behave yourself before things get out of hand. Most drivers will have no problem at all with it.

I wound up coming back to Belfast in the midst of the evening rush hour, which is always a good test for drivability with a vehicle like this. The good mirrors, light clutch and smooth power delivery ensured no problems at all.

So, a very good mid-size 7-seater, sensibly priced and available with the autobox so many drivers prefer these days from a list price of just £15,495. Nothing else comes close for the money except at a very big discount.

Kia Carens (2006 – 2012) Models and Specs

On sale until December 2012

On sale until April 2010

On sale until October 2009

On sale until April 2009

On sale until April 2006

Good

Bad

What to watch out for

Model History

• May 2006
• April 2007
• March 2008
• January 2010
• October 2010