Nissan Livina or Kia Carens

[emms1121]

to put it straight... carens is the better car. would I recommend it? yes, i would but with some reservation, the reason being... it's now way way overpriced.

our carens is more than a year and it runs the same if not better than when we first got it. i dare say it's the best of it's class right now. Has the right mix of comfort, power, features. It is an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a mini van, apv, or an alternative to a big car, or simply a family car. I once doubt the quality of Korean cars and question it's reliability. But Hyundai/Kia has gone a long way. Look around you, there are a lot of 2-3 year old getz, tucson, sta fe, carens, picanto on the streets. There are only a few of this cars for sale in the used cars section, so this is a proof of a huge improvement in hyundai/kia's reliability, our carens has been proving with each passing day

But that "easy" recommendation now has some reservation because of the price. Columbia has successfully scare a lot of potential buyer because of the huge price increase. I know of at least 2 people who has plan of buying the carens but is now looking at buying something else.

summary: the carens is a nice car but is expensive. the livina is not a bad car, the carens is the better car but the livina is cheaper.

note: dito lang sa atin sobra ang price increase ng carens/rondo. surf around kia websites around the world, visit some forums. you will see that the price of carens between now and 10 months ago differs greatly only here in Pinas. yung pagtanggal ng mga features it's all over the world but the huge price increase... only in Pinas.

Columbia... nice job of scaring potential buyers! (sorry for the OT). Here is a wish that Columbia will wake up and not be so greedy.

Agree ako dito and also to vinrem. I have yet to test the durability of my GL. 1 month pa lang eh.. Yung pera ko pandagdag ko sana pambili carens laking bagay din yun (budget conscious eh.. )

[SaberRider]

Grand Livina for me. Although I highly doubt it's capable of hitting 200kph since it's just a 4speed A/t has 126hp and a measly 174nm torque. Kung previous gen Altis and new gen Civic hirap umabot ng 200kph eh GL pa kaya.

Ganda tidnan ng Carens kaso ang hilig ng Kia sa mga marketing scheme na bigla nalang nila itataas yung presyo ng mga vehicles nila. Lack of safety features din and bare interior. Engine is very, very nice kasi CRDi nga kaya torquey although I don't like the heavy body of the Carens, for an MPV it's as heavy as some SUV's.

[Horsepower]

A relatively heavy body is useful in high-speed stability.

Pag magaan kasi nakakatakot sa high speeds. The SF for example, even at 200kmh, very composed, parang 60 lang ang takbo mo kaya you can speed with confidence. It's roughly 2 tons.

This mud-slinging is getting funny. Hinay hinay lang, mga kotse lang ito.

[Tailhook]

Merry christmas to all.

[jaguarpw]

I find this thread very interesting.
GL vs Carens to the max. Ang mga GL owners very defensive sa decision nila, gayundin ang mga naka-Carens. Pero sa tingin ko, mas open-minded ang naka-Carens, they share the pros and cons of their purchased vehicle. ANg GL guys ang hindi nagpapatalo.

Come on guys, kalma lang tayo. Para sa akin, both cars deserve their own merit. Depende nayan sa needs mo kung nasasatisfy ba. Huwag nyo ng ipagmukha sa mundo na tama kayo sa decision nyo at nagkamali ang iba diyan na bumili ng iba

Peace and merry christmas

[itlog na pula]

if this was a year ago, i'd be the first to sing praises about thE carens.

my wife and i defined our 'wants' back then.

i wanted diesel and convenience (meaning an automatic). she wanted carrying capacity (as we bring almost everything but the kitchen sink) and legroom (since she and my daughter usually sit at the back).

at that time, diesel was way cheaper thAn gas, so it satisfied my desire for it. plus, i swore matic na ako sa tindi ng trapik sa atin.

the 7 seats fit my wife's desire for additional carrying capacity in case mauwi kami sa kanila.

about the torque, i never really noticed it until we drove ours home. it took me at least 2 months to finally 'calm down'.

as for abs, i've never had it in my entire driving life so i really don't miss it.

nga lang ngayon, it's just hardsell to promote the model. i really wish there would be more buyers. kasi it would mean better after sales support from the 'casas'. but also there could be parts available in your neighborhood auto supply.

although i'm surprised na meron pala silang mga discounts, sana hindi naman nila itaas ang list price para hindi muna ma-turn off mga prospective buyers.

but i encourage the readers and would-be new mpv buyers to check out both models. define your needs, wants and, of course, budget. like i always say, the carens may not be for everyone. but if it does fit the bill, you'll love it. i'm saying the same for the livina.

one more thing, i hope somebody at columbian is reading this thread. sana naman you guys will keep your ears closer to the ground. i think you're way up there. sayang, you guys have a great line going. not just the carens, but also the carnival, picanto, and sportage. sayang...

[chua_riwap]

Parang thread din ito sa kabila........yung Montero S, Fortuner, Sta Fe comparo.

[mm15744]

From my real world experience, that fuel consumption stated for the Carens there is quite accurate. In my last trip from Manila to Bicol, I had a 19.++ km/l consumption. And its normal driving mind you, not an econo run.

Ok, if you said its accurate thats you...good for you, and I hope you are filling up full-to-full gas basis when you computed your 19km/L pero still subjective dpende sa pagkakasuksok ng gas hose, depende sa temp ng environment, depende sa ground level. I am still don't believe this figure and I am as brave as kahit sasakay ako sa oto mo at sabay nating itest yan. Kapag hindi mo napatunayan na 19Km/L yan in front of me, ipupublish ko ito sa tsikot. Pero pag napatunayan mo in front of me ako mismo magpapaumanhin dito sa web site na ito and sasabihin ko tama ka.

Sorry guys, talaga lang po kcing hindi fair sa mga newbies eh na pabilibin sila sa data na suntok sa buwan.

[mikkoy_99]

Agree ako dito and also to vinrem. I have yet to test the durability of my GL. 1 month pa lang eh.. Yung pera ko pandagdag ko sana pambili carens laking bagay din yun (budget conscious eh.. )

Hi. I've been reading the reviews about Livina vs. Carens. I believe both are good cars although we got the Carens instead. We test drove both during the Motorshow at World Trade and I was very impressed with the Livina's engine. However, my wife and I decided on the carens despite the higher price primarily because of interior space and in anticipation of a growing family. The Livina interior was just a bit too tight for comfort. If it was a little bigger on the inside, we would have gotten the Livina.

Columbia really sucks by keeping on increasing the prices. Months before, the price of the Carens was about 950++k. When we got ours, it was priced at 1.1M. We were able to trade-in our crosswind for 500K (price quotes was 350k) - the reason being we were the first sell for Kia Pasig at the motorshow. So I guess we got the carens at the old price

[Horsepower]

These Hyundai-KIA CRDIs are very efficient in long range driving. I have done 21km/L on the '07 SF. A test was also done in Australia which netted 50mpg. It really depends largely on the driver.

In city driving though, it can be quite thirsty specially with constant sprinting (which is very addictive) 8-12km/L.

I suggest you look for a friend who has one because I don't think anyone in his right frame of mind would take a roadtrip that far just to prove a point.



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