Two Weeks with a Kia Carens #Review

A while ago, back before the summer, I entered a competition run by the Tots100 blogging network in partnership with Kia Motors. Kia were sponsoring walk to school week, and our challenge was a scavenger hunt – a list of 8 or 10 things we had to spot and take photos of on our walk to school. We really enjoyed the competition, and managed to find all the required items. We were absolutely delighted to discover that we were judged the winners, and the prize was some shopping vouchers (always handy) and the loan of a Kia Carens for two weeks.

We requested the loan to be over the October Half Term so we could try the car for some outings as well as general day to day driving. We’d had no previous experience of the Kia Carens, in fact I wasn’t even aware of its existence, so we were looking forward to trying it out.

The Kia Carens is a large farmily car. It’s a comfortable 5-seater, with another 2 seats that fold down into the boot area. We have owned a Renault Grand Scenic for the last 4 years, and the Kia Carens felt very similar in lots of ways – in terms of size and seat operation it was comparable. So we found it very easy to adjust to – everything was where we expected it to be!

Where it was not comparable was in the drive. Our Scenic is a petrol engine with an automatic gearbox; the Kia we were lent was diesel and manual. My first impression when driving it was that it felt pretty “pokey” – definitely quite nippy for a large car with a diesel engine. It was fun and responsive to drive. The only thing I didn’t like was the manual 6-speed gearbox. I don’t know what it is, but when you add that one extra gear it just feels like you’re changing gear ALL THE TIME!

The Kia Carens slotted into our life very easily. The one we were lent was the top of the range one, so it had a good number of features and toys. We liked the Bluetooth stereo and the fact there were two cigarette-lighter power supplies in the centre console.

We also loved the huge glass roof, and the kids were mesmerised by the electric cover, which is split in half and closes from the front and back of the car simultaneously – hours of fun!

We were very impressed with the Kia Carens, and if we are ever looking for another family car in that class it would definitely go on our shortlist.

Disclosure: We were lent the Kia Carens for 2 weeks as a competition prize. I am under no obligation to write about it, and all opinions and words are my own.

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