2007 Kia Carens [ARCHIVE]

[wavecxs]

thanks JuneT for your reply to my questions!

follow on question on the ground clearance. are you saying sumasayad siya talaga? the front lip? or somewhere between the front and rear tires?

if its the front lip, then i suppose there are certain inclines, declines, speed bumps that you have to pay close attention to, right?

if i base my opinion on the one of the videos above, i think the explanation for the seemingly low ground clearance is the "hip point" when the passenger is in the car.

siguro kung accessories, palit mags na lang siguro. notice in the video, 17" wheels standard nila. dito 16" lang. oh well....

not yet an owner... but soon to be I took a long hard look this morning, i think its just the front lip, the overall ground clearance is not lower than most sedans I know (but it is indeed lower than most AUVs). There is a portion on the bumper (front lip) that is at least 2 inch lower than the rest of the car, i suspect this has a tendency to come in contact with sudden inclines. pero kahit ganon, we still decided to get the carens for the reason that it is the best available vehicle in its class right now.

although sa 2x na pag test drive ko, di ko pa napasayad yun. 'Will provide more feedback after we get the car.

I think upgrading to a 17 will provide the needed lift.

[JuneT]

yup...that 2" front lip come in contact with steep inclines and some concrete parking barriers...

key to remember is although its taller than sedans, its ground clearance is almost the same as most sedans...so you should drive it like one...

am thinking of changing to 17" also...

[itlog na pula]

wavecxs, thanks for the comments and congratulations on your purchase! i think i recall that part under the front bumper. i guess it's supposed to be the first to get scraped before the rest of the bumper...

thanks again JuneT for the reply. my itlog lancer's ground clearance (as per manual) is 150mm. Kung 156mm sa carens, it's not so bad. just a little concerned with the angle of approach since parang mahaba bumper overhang... i guess a larger tire would do the trick and give some breathing space. sa u.s. 17's stock ata.

[vinrem]

I own a Carens LX Crdi a/t....if you ask me, the Crdi is REALLY much more superior than the petrol one. On the issue of the manual tranny of the diesel variant, medyo mahirap masanay to downshift immediately each time you slow down. I test-drived a m/t and the engine stopped about 3 times on me. The engine has way too much torque kaya this happens. But i guess when you get used to this small issue, you will definitely enjoy the CRDi... sulit talaga

Just got home last night from China, and this morning I immediately test drove a Carens LX Crdi m/t, and i know the feeling of Silicon about the engine stopping 3times, well it also happened to me today and not 3times but many of times hehehehe, and 1 things for sure...this baby has lots of torque and power, konting apak lang sa gas pedal and its off, and my wife really loves it, ganda ng inteeriiiiooooorrrr, and smooth ride, we are now preparing the paper works for this baby to take home next week

[mackvil]

sana lagyan nila ng ABS plus dual SRS Airbags ang PHDM at the same list price....

[uwak18]

Me and my wife really like this baby.

Meron kayang trade in promo for this? If ever ok din kaya na trade in instead of selling my car first? From what I know mababa lang quote nila pag trade ins.

Sana lang Columbia Motors would consider in their future orders na may mga special features like ABS with EBD and air bags. Kasi sa other countries their EX model have both mentioned and with Sunroof pa.

[ressie]

Me and my wife really like this baby.

Meron kayang trade in promo for this? If ever ok din kaya na trade in instead of selling my car first? From what I know mababa lang quote nila pag trade ins.

Sana lang Columbia Motors would consider in their future orders na may mga special features like ABS with EBD and air bags. Kasi sa other countries their EX model have both mentioned and with Sunroof pa.

meron po yan sir tarde-in options sa mga car dealers kaso nga po masyado mababa ang price nila sayo. better kung ibenta mo nalang sir sa labas ang car nyo. maganda lang sa trade-in hindi ka na mahihirapan maghanap nang buyer.

[j_avonni]

So far I'm enjoying the Carens despite the normal diesel engine noise. Hindi kami natuloy kahapon but we're now preparing to leave for Subic to test it. If you want to see the pictures of my Black Carens, please click here.


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[itlog na pula]

j_avonni, congratulations on your new carens!!! post mo naman fuel consumption mo when you get back. i'm dying to get first hand info on fuel consumption for the crdi at...

we already ordered a white ex crdi at today. sana maiuwi na rin soon...

guys, any idea where we can get after market parts like the grille? saw some pics on the net in other countries where they change them.

[wavecxs]

well.. took the carens for its first 100km trip last weekend. here are my initial imression.

1) its still a diesel. coming from a honda/toyota sedan and isuzu diesel. I was expecting the crdi to be (nearly) as refined as the sedans ive used and I was a bit dissappointed (yes, just a bit; its not bad, mataas lang expectation ko sa crdi) . At idle and revs the carens crdi reminds you that it is still a diesel (usual diesel engine noise). Although compared to the isuzu, its A LOT more refined. But the good thing is since its a diesel, it has torque galore... ang lakas talaga!

2) seating layout is top notch for its class. its a joy sit on the 2nd row, move it all the way backward and you have a very good legroom. seating for 7 is pretty decent.

3) fuel economy. Can't say much to this at this point but my initial impression is that it is at far with the consumption of the highlander (which means very good).

4) ride comfort. fantastic so far.

Others:
- the footbrake takes some getting used too.. heck I still haven't adjusted well to it.
- the reverse-shift layout; I liked this its just that, Im not used to it (yet)
- the ground clearance; well there seem to be a lot of concern about this, if you asked me, i like it the way it is its just right. just dont drive it like you would an AUV and its fine.. well except for the front lip I mentioned in my other post.

verdict: This car is not perfect but all its faults so far are negligible for what it can offer. Fantastic value for money!

[itlog na pula]

wavecsx, thanks for the input.

i agree its not the perfect vehicle but for me and my wife, she does fill in most, if not all, our needs. my wife wanted the legroom (she and my daughter sit at the back most of the time) and additional space for more people and cargo in case we need it. i wanted convenience (automatic transmission) and fuel economy (crdi?).

as for the ground clearance, perhaps its one of the things that most people will notice since the car is big. you'd somehow expect the clearance to be higher. but you're absolutely right that you shouldn't drive it like an auv (or suv). just a little adjustment on the driving style and attitude.

i might have some initial problems with the footbrake too. but still looking forward to getting used to it again (like the older benzes).

[saipeme]

So far I'm enjoying the Carens despite the normal diesel engine noise. Hindi kami natuloy kahapon but we're now preparing to leave for Subic to test it. If you want to see the pictures of my Black Carens, please click here.


:coffee: [SIZE=1]3336[/SIZE]

congrats to your ride sir its indeed beautiful...ndi naman pala maliit tingnan yong wheels nya look well proportion sa body...next post your fc naman sir...

[bogart]

wavecxs, javonni, junet- had any problem with the aircon especially the 2nd row blower?

i could live with the ground clearance coz i use to drive a spacewagon, it's the aircon that is bugging me.

[wavecxs]

wavecxs, javonni, junet- had any problem with the aircon especially the 2nd row blower?

i could live with the ground clearance coz i use to drive a spacewagon, it's the aircon that is bugging me.

hmm.. no problem with the aircon blower so far, both front and second row. what sort of problem are you encountering sir? please share.

[j_avonni]

We went to Subic last weekend for the break in. Followed the procedure not to stay on one speed. I sped up to 150 kph 3x or 4x. Easing-easy ang 150 kph. I think it can do faster but my heartbeat was speeding up too.

FC is 9.1 km/li. only.

The occupants on the 2nd seat were complaining on the aircon. I have to check it.



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[bogart]

wavecxs- actually i am about to buy one, the crdi lx m/t, as soon as i sell my spacewagon.

so the dual aircon works well even up to the 3rd row?

tnx!

[wavecxs]

wavecxs- actually i am about to buy one, the crdi lx m/t, as soon as i sell my spacewagon.

so the dual aircon works well even up to the 3rd row?

tnx!

oh that.. that's also one of my concern. Right now, I can't tell because that 3rd row has been occupied only once, those seated there did not complain but its only 26 degrees outside with dark clouds so we can't tell if its good or bad.

Although when we were just checking out the carens, I thought that could be a problem on hot summer days as the vent is located near the floor (not the usual ceiling mounted vent) so it can't possibly give cooling to those seated in the 3rd row. In other words, I'm not expecting magic from that area. What I can tell you right now is that the aircon upfront is so cold we hardly use it at no. 2 setting (both fan and temp), not surprising because its new, lets see (and hope) if it stays that way in a couple of months. Obviously, the airconditioning design never affected my decision in buying the carens (it did made me think though). I liked the car mainly because of the seating layout and the power it has (with an equally powerful brakes to tame that power), there are cars more powerful and more refined but it doesn't cost less than 900k but a lot more.... sana lang may ABS to, the lack of ABS almost made me walk away.

...tama na, im sounding like a salesman already sana nakatulong sayo ang comment ko.

[itlog na pula]

saw these accessories online. sana available sila dito....

body kit


rear bumper guard


rear spoiler


cargo tray - meron kay nito sa banawe?

[crichton]

oh that.. that's also one of my concern. Right now, I can't tell because that 3rd row has been occupied only once, those seated there did not complain but its only 26 degrees outside with dark clouds so we can't tell if its good or bad.

Although when we were just checking out the carens, I thought that could be a problem on hot summer days as the vent is located near the floor (not the usual ceiling mounted vent) so it can't possibly give cooling to those seated in the 3rd row. In other words, I'm not expecting magic from that area. What I can tell you right now is that the aircon upfront is so cold we hardly use it at no. 2 setting (both fan and temp), not surprising because its new, lets see (and hope) if it stays that way in a couple of months. Obviously, the airconditioning design never affected my decision in buying the carens (it did made me think though). I liked the car mainly because of the seating layout and the power it has (with an equally powerful brakes to tame that power), there are cars more powerful and more refined but it doesn't cost less than 900k but a lot more.... sana lang may ABS to, the lack of ABS almost made me walk away.

...tama na, im sounding like a salesman already sana nakatulong sayo ang comment ko.

ano ba yung sa flooring nya, aircon vents din ata yun for the 2nd row and 3rd row. make sure lang di sya matatakpan ng floor mats. makakatulong din siguro yun.

[itlog na pula]

the vents just in front of the 2nd row are not level to the floor. they're high enough not to be covered by floor mats... but they are most likely directed at shin level..