2007 Kia Carens [ARCHIVE]

**wavecxs** · November 16th, 2007 03:15 PM

Originally Posted by itlog na pula

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** · November 16th, 2007 10:14 PM

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** · November 16th, 2007 11:22 PM

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** · November 16th, 2007 11:27 PM

Originally Posted by silicon

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** · November 17th, 2007 12:46 AM

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

**uwak18** · November 17th, 2007 03:06 AM

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** · November 17th, 2007 03:17 AM

Originally Posted by 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.

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** · November 17th, 2007 06:24 AM

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]

**itlog na pula** · November 18th, 2007 12:53 AM

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** · November 19th, 2007 09:24 AM

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!