2007 Kia Carens [ARCHIVE]

[itlog na pula]

mqavila, good for you!!! ang hirap naman ng problema mo - KULAY na lang!

look at the almond beige, maganda din siya. kaso beige din interior niya, which may require more care (like mine). pero maganda beige interior, sosyal dating.

[mqavila]

mqavila, good for you!!! ang hirap naman ng problema mo - KULAY na lang!

look at the almond beige, maganda din siya. kaso beige din interior niya, which may require more care (like mine). pero maganda beige interior, sosyal dating.

Well... umm.... not quite accurate.... there's the matter of the actual approval of my car plan. This hasn't been worked out just yet. But I'm getting there. Will follow it up this week...

As for the color, my wife is leaning towards the black; kaso, my parents are totally against black on cars (due to some survey or article they read saying that black was the most unsafe color on a car). As for me, black is okay for me but hindi sya angat sa ibang color... I'm actually leaning towards the almond beige or the volcanic red but just like you, my wife told me that it would be really hard to maintain the beige interiors (especially with kids). Personally, I would really want beige interiors kasi nga mas sosyal ang dating. Bahala na.

If I will settle for the grey interiors, then it will be a toss-up between black, silver or the aqua blue. This is why I want to see the aqua blue in person.

[vinrem]

Silver and aqua blue is not a bad color, actually my first and second choice when i decided to buy the carens are this 2colors but the SA told me that i have to wait weeks before it gets delivered to me, and well patience is not one of my good virtues hahahahha and i ended up with black kasi meron silang ready unit w/c just arrive that day, black isnt bad either kasi sabi nga nila medyo elegant ang dating hehehehe, yun nga lang sobrang hirap palang i maintain ang black , im just wondering how do those people in hongkong maintained their black cars kasi SOBRAAANNNGGG KINTAB, nagpa repaint ba sila or is it because sa car wax na ginagamit nila??? sorry ot na ata to hehehehe

Reminder lang ulit mqavila, pakabit mo na agad sa kanila yung seat cover, hirap ikabit yan.

[itlog na pula]

reminder lang ulit mqavila, pakabit mo na agad sa kanila yung seat cover, hirap ikabit yan.

+1 ako dito. i thought kakayanin ko ikabit pero ended up returning to the casa to have them do it themselves. mahirap yung 3rd row.

[master_chief711]

Hmmm... medyo malayo pala. Pero I think I'll try to make the time this weekend because I really want to see the Almond Beige & Aqua Blue in person before deciding on the color.

You know what? For the past couple of weeks, I've been "shopping" around and researching on the net but at the end of the day, Carens seems to the only choice for me given my needs and budget. From whatever is available in the market in the same price range, the only choices were the Innova (J or E variant), the Fuzion (GLX version) and the Crosswind:

1. Fuzion - This would have been a valid option for me due to its comparable size to the Innova but at P950T, this gas guzzler ended up not making the cut;

2. Crosswind - I seriously considered the XTi Limited Edition of this vehicle because of its proven fuel economy and all the nice freebies that came with it - DVD Player with two LCD monitors, foglamps, back-up sensors, etc etc. But a friend of mine said that out of around 8 Crosswinds in his Company's fleet ended up having major transmission problems after only two years. Also, I think there's a consensus that the ride of the Crosswind isn't exactly the most comfortable for everyday commuters;

3. Optra Wagon - I never really seriously considered this but at my wife's request, we checked this out as well. It's actually a very nice vehicle to look at, has all the amenities that I will need in a vehicle and since it's a wagon, it has a lot of cargo space at the back. BUT, it is still a 5-seater which did not meet one of our needs - passenger space. Also, a lot of people did not recommend getting this car - although I really don't know why; and

4. Innova - THIS was a serious contender, specifically the E variant - gas A/T version. At P927T, it was in almost the same price category as the Carens LX CRDi A/T. However, I still couldn't get over the fact that everytime I saw the Innova, I felt like I would look like I'm driving a van. It's big size, although very very practical in terms of cargo/passenger space, seemed to deter me from choosing this. Don't get me wrong, it's an awesome vehicle in itself - driver airbags, power doors, power windows, alloy wheels, etc etc. but I guess being one of literally tens of thousands didn't appeal to me (and my wife kept on saying that if she rode an Innova, she would feel like she was riding an FX - no offense meant to anyone).


So now, I'm really decided on the Carens and my budget will allow me to get the LX CRDi A/T... OR, if the added amenities are really desirable, I can probably streeeeeeeeetch my budget to consider the EX CVVT A/T. I'm just trying to determine if the amenities vis-a-vis the lower fuel economy would be a good trade-off.

Also, I now have a moral dilemma with regard to the color that I will choose. There are so many good colors to choose from!!! AAAAAHHHHH! Well, all in good time. If everything works out well for me, then I should have my Carens in a month's time (or hopefully even less).

mqavila, bakit mo gusto yung CVVT? Is it because it's an EX? I test drove the Gas CVVT and the Diesel CRDi, parang underpowered yung CVVT at lower gears (1st and 2nd gear) compared to the CRDi.

Also, since you did your research on the Innova, would you know if the D4D engine is Euro compliant? I read somewhere that the 2.0 CRDi of the Carens is Euro IV compliant. I don't want to start a flame war so I'm asking this question in this thread (hindi sa Innova thread)

[mqavila]

mqavila, bakit mo gusto yung CVVT? Is it because it's an EX? I test drove the Gas CVVT and the Diesel CRDi, parang underpowered yung CVVT at lower gears (1st and 2nd gear) compared to the CRDi.

Also, since you did your research on the Innova, would you know if the D4D engine is Euro compliant? I read somewhere that the 2.0 CRDi of the Carens is Euro IV compliant. I don't want to start a flame war so I'm asking this question in this thread (hindi sa Innova thread)

Yeah, the only reason I'm considering the CVVT is because it's the EX variant that I can afford. But if you say that the CVVT is underpowered, I'll keep that in mind.

As for your question on the Innova, I didn't go that far in my research. Because of all the complaints regarding the D4D of the Innova, I didn't seriously consider it. I was only planning on buying the gas model of the E variant, if ever.

[mqavila]

Silver and aqua blue is not a bad color, actually my first and second choice when i decided to buy the carens are this 2colors but the SA told me that i have to wait weeks before it gets delivered to me, and well patience is not one of my good virtues hahahahha and i ended up with black kasi meron silang ready unit w/c just arrive that day, black isnt bad either kasi sabi nga nila medyo elegant ang dating hehehehe, yun nga lang sobrang hirap palang i maintain ang black , im just wondering how do those people in hongkong maintained their black cars kasi SOBRAAANNNGGG KINTAB, nagpa repaint ba sila or is it because sa car wax na ginagamit nila??? sorry ot na ata to hehehehe

Reminder lang ulit mqavila, pakabit mo na agad sa kanila yung seat cover, hirap ikabit yan.

Actually, that's what I thought when I considered the black color too. Parang kailangang i-carwash daily ito if ever.

I'll check out the aqua blue this weekend. If it's nice and my wife also seconds it, then thats the color we'll choose. If not, a nice compromise will probably be silver.

[wavecxs]

naging dilemna ko din choosing between cvvt and crdi. we were so decided on the cvvt kasi for the price, we can afford an ex for it VS an LX crdi. after countless reasearch at sa mga suggestion dito sa tsikot I test drove the carens again, comparing cvvt to crdi...

verdict: ramdam na ramdam yung difference sa power between the 2. also, research shows that crdi is a lot better in FC too. ang mentality ko nun, yung mga amenities ng EX good talaga pero pwede naman i upgrade later (except maybe, airbag) pero yung engine di na pwede palitan . so we end up getting a crdi LX instead.

not to say that CVVT is underpowered (medyo lang talaga), mas powerful lang talag crdi, so kung importante sayo yun, this is something to keep in mind.

[master_chief711]

naging dilemna ko din choosing between cvvt and crdi. we were so decided on the cvvt kasi for the price, we can afford an ex for it VS an LX crdi. after countless reasearch at sa mga suggestion dito sa tsikot I test drove the carens again, comparing cvvt to crdi...

verdict: ramdam na ramdam yung difference sa power between the 2. also, research shows that crdi is a lot better in FC too. ang mentality ko nun, yung mga amenities ng EX good talaga pero pwede naman i upgrade later (except maybe, airbag) pero yung engine di na pwede palitan . so we end up getting a crdi LX instead.

not to say that CVVT is underpowered (medyo lang talaga), mas powerful lang talag crdi, so kung importante sayo yun, this is something to keep in mind.

Siguro nga hindi naman underpowered yung CVVT, baka sobrang laki lang ng difference nung CRDi kaya nasabi kong underpowered yung CVVT.

So walang may alam kung Euro Compliant yung D4D ng Toyota? Takot ako mag-post sa Innova thread eh, hehehehehehe, baka murahin ako dun!

[mqavila]

Siguro nga hindi naman underpowered yung CVVT, baka sobrang laki lang ng difference nung CRDi kaya nasabi kong underpowered yung CVVT.

So walang may alam kung Euro Compliant yung D4D ng Toyota? Takot ako mag-post sa Innova thread eh, hehehehehehe, baka murahin ako dun!

Thanks bro wavecvs for the additional clarification. Actually, you're right about being able to add the EX amenities to the LX later on. I really only considered the EX for the factory installed roof rails because of the justifiable concern that adding a roof rail on the LX will later cause rusting. Oh well...

As for the Innova, I really didn't seriously consider the D4D variant because of all the issues left hanging in the air about its engine...

Just got to talk to my boss... di pa rin definite kung kelan yung approval ng car plan ko... well... I'll just keep my fingers crossed..