2007 Kia Carens [ARCHIVE]

[AlbertB]

Hi, Kia Carens owners,

I had been on and off Tsikot Forums over the years. I find the posts somehow a good gauge of user/owner experiences with their vehicles. I have not seen in a thread a group so loyal and fanatic about their ride until I followed the Carens thread.

As any new car/model entrant in the Philippine market, Carens' true value will come out until its next generation. Carens' Mk III is a great leap of improvement over the previous. This is what makes Kia a possible contender in the Philippine market. They sink in heavy investments into R&D and what we get are truly global models (but not in the safety kit department).

So with the current make, is there any one in the thread who have a fairly high kilometreage already? Best measure to get a reading of reliability, serviceability, and longevity is how few problems (or quirks) occur when a car's age hit close its warranty period. No one perhaps is close to the end of Kia's 3-yr/110,000km period but perhaps the first few owners since the 2006 launch can share much of his/her experience.

I am already a convert to Kia and Korean-made cars and am considering a next vehicle. It would be interesting to read more about each of your experiences owning a Caren's...and that includes pre-sales, after sales service, and drive satisfaction.

The regular "car-buyer Juan" is critical about acquiring a vehicle. Most of times, a decision to go for one over another model/brand is an affordability-to-purchase and sustainability-to-own issue.

A friend, who is into brand research, is asking if she can interview Kia vehicle owners...could be that Kia is going head-to-head with Japanese car makers or Jap car makers are up on their toes with the Korean competition.

I read somewhere that two words from which the model name CARENS was taken are CAR RENAISSANCE...which I hope proves to be true for all you guys.


--AlbertB

[bogart]

I'm finally on the home stretch!! The dealer already told me that all of the documentation from the leasing company are with them already and that they're already processing the release of my unit - hopefully by Monday next week!

In the meantime, the dealer (Kia Pasig) offered to lend me a demo unit to use until my actual unit is delivered! How nice is that? Kia Pasig delivered the demo unit to me this morning! Woohoo!!! :D

Congratulations mqavila!:banana1:

Finally, matutuloy na rin ang Kia Carens Club!

[vinrem]

I'm finally on the home stretch!! The dealer already told me that all of the documentation from the leasing company are with them already and that they're already processing the release of my unit - hopefully by Monday next week!

In the meantime, the dealer (Kia Pasig) offered to lend me a demo unit to use until my actual unit is delivered! How nice is that? Kia Pasig delivered the demo unit to me this morning! Woohoo!!! :D

Sa Wakas!!!! Congrats in advance mqavila, enjoy your new ride!!!

[Hanren]

Urban gray is a good color.

Saw one urban gray unit kanina nakapark sa may greenbelt malapit sa crown jewel hotel..bago pa kasi wala pang plate number..from Kia Pasig. Ganda ng kulay..

[mqavila]

Thanks bros vinrem and bogart! Whew, it was a long wait but it's definitely worth it!

Initial observations with the EX A/T testdrive/demo unit loaned to me:

1. The power is simply AWESOME! You can choose to drive at a leisurely pace but if and when you need speed, just step on the gas and the acceleration will simply push you back in your seat!

2. I noticed that the back-up sensors are quite sensitive. When I parked yesterday, the beeping sound would increase in speed as I got closer to the wall. And when I felt that the sensor was already "panicking", I stopped backing up. When I got down and checked, the bumper was still a good foot (and a half, I think) from the wall.

3. Although I just said that the car has good acceleration, it seems a bit sluggish if you choose to go in a leisurely pace... if it was a manual, parang naka-depress yung clutch too much so that I would hear a lot of rev but no oomph, so to speak. Did anyone observe this?

4. Kia did a good job, insulating the cabin from engine noise. While this is definitely a quieter engine than most diesels I've encountered, you will still know that it's a diesel from the outside. However, once you're inside the cabin, you hardly hear the engine at all!

5. Actually, I also observed this sound insulation while I was driving because when I pressed the horn for the first time, I initially thought that something was wrong with the horn - I couldn't hear the darn thing. This was possibly be because of the stereo but I observed that the horn was not too loud and it sounded too "tinny" for a big vehicle.

6. The Carens is definitely comfortable! Throughout the ride home, my wife tried the front passenger seat, the second row seat with armrests, and the third row with the second row folded flat to make a bed of sorts. All the while, I was in front driving the car. My wife was so happy with it.

All in all, this car is awesome value for money. Powerful engine, roomy cabin, all the creature comforts you can think of, good looks. My wife and I definitely made a good decision on this one. I can't wait to bring home my actual unit next week!

* By the way, the testdrive unit loaned to me is a silver EX A/T. My actual unit will be a white EX A/T with freebie window rain guards.

[magnusthegreat]

Saw one urban gray unit kanina nakapark sa may greenbelt malapit sa crown jewel hotel..bago pa kasi wala pang plate number..from Kia Pasig. Ganda ng kulay..

Yeah, if that color was available before, that would have been my choice. My first choice was the violet but was not available. A black carens was another good choice but my sister got the black carnival, parang pareho. Sayang wala pang urban gray before.

[mqavila]

Yeah, if that color was available before, that would have been my choice. My first choice was the violet but was not available. A black carens was another good choice but my sister got the black carnival, parang pareho. Sayang wala pang urban gray before.

When I saw the picture in the Internet, I thought Urban Grey was a great color! But honestly, I was also after the beige/black interiors - I preferred this over the black/grey interiors. So, I probably still wouldn't have chosen the Urban Grey color. UNLESS this new batch already has the all-black interiors - that would have been great!

[magnusthegreat]

sir mqavila, the long wait is over, congrats!

[mqavila]

Thanks sir magnusthegreat! One more thing that I observed when I drove the Carens for the first time... and I think this was already posted by someone here before... there does seem to be a disparity between your actual speed and the speed that is reflected in the speedometer...

Even if the speedometer already indicated that I was travelling at a speed of, lets say, 100kph, it looked and felt like I was going at a slower speed. Granted, the Carens is bigger with a bigger engine than what I'm used to so faster speeds won't feel as fast as it would in a smaller car, but it still felt slower relative to the speed that cars around me were going...

Any thoughts on this (if I be so bold as to revive this topic again)?

[battaglin]

Thanks sir magnusthegreat! One more thing that I observed when I drove the Carens for the first time... and I think this was already posted by someone here before... there does seem to be a disparity between your actual speed and the speed that is reflected in the speedometer...

Even if the speedometer already indicated that I was travelling at a speed of, lets say, 100kph, it looked and felt like I was going at a slower speed. Granted, the Carens is bigger with a bigger engine than what I'm used to so faster speeds won't feel as fast as it would in a smaller car, but it still felt slower relative to the speed that cars around me were going...

Any thoughts on this (if I be so bold as to revive this topic again)?

Well, you can't tell how fast you're going just by "feel" or what you're accustomed to. It says alot about the car's quality kung di mo ramdam that you're actually going at a certain speed.
I love this trait of the carens!
to compare my crosswind feels like going 100kph, pero when I look at the speedo, 70-80kph lang. kala ko naiiwan ko na sa likuran ko!

Anyway, congrats on your new ride! Enjoy the drive na lang bro!