Sector: MPV Price: TBA Fuel: From 62.7mpg CO2: 118g/km

It’s no wonder Kia keeps promoting its star designer Peter Schreyer. He manages to make even the most workmanlike of cars look good, as is the case with the new Carens MPV.

Where the previous model embodied everything that was bland, functional and a bit cheap about the “old” Kia, the new one sums up what makes the brand such an up and coming force. It looks as smart as any MPV has a right too, while the most important bit, the cabin, is spot on.

The materials are of an extremely high quality for such a car, and with its role as chief jailor for kids it feels extremely sturdy, and more than up to the rigours that family life can throw at it. Handily, it has seven seats too, with the back pair tucked neatly away in the boot for those occasions when they might be needed.

The Carens is slightly shorter, lower and narrower than the previous version, but because there’s extra length in the wheelbase, there’s more space inside. The seats are comfortable, the driving position good and it comes with family-friendly aircon throughout and a wide angle mirror as standard.

It comes with three powertrain choices: a 1.7-litre turbodiesel with 113bhp or 134bhp, or a 133bhp 1.6-litre petrol, although the diesels are the best option. It’s a fairly heavy car at just over one and a half tonnes and it needs the torque. Emissions are as low as 118g/km with the Stop/Start system, a 19% improvement over the previous Carens.

Even though it comes with the option of changing the steering weight to a heavier sporty setting, it drives like what it is – a solid MPV. 

Verdict:

Perhaps not as fun as a C-MAX, but who cares? An extremely good proposition as family transport.