Kia has increased the price of the Carens, its newest three-row SUV in India, starting this month. The price hike, the second overall, comes eight months after Carens launched on February 15 an introductory price of ₹8.99 lakh (ex-showroom). According to the new listing, Kia has increased the price by up to Rs 50,000 depending on variants. Most variants received a price increase of INR 30,000. The 7-seater luxury plus 6AT diesel version, which launched at Rs 16.99 lakh, will now cost Rs 17.99 lakh (ex-showroom).
Weeks after its launch, Kia revised launch prices with an increase of up to INR 70,000 on select variants. With another hike of INR 50,000, the base price of Carens is now almost Rs 10 lakh (ex-showroom). The increased height is only for the 7-seater 1.5 6MT Prestige variant, which is taller than the 7-seater 1.5 6MT Premium base version. The 1.4-litre Premium and Prestige manual variants received a price increase of Rs 10,000 each. It is now priced between Rs 11.30 lakh to Rs 4 lakh (ex-showroom).
Most major Carens diesel variants received a standard Rs 30,000 price hike from the 7-seater manual premium model to the 7-seater luxury automatic model. The only exception here is the 7 seater deluxe manual model which got an increase of INR 35,000.
Kia Carens petrol alternatives with a 1.4-litre turbocharged unit received a price increase of between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000. While the smaller height is limited to the lower variants, the Luxury and Luxury Plus variants received the most lift.
Carens is one of Kia's most popular offerings. It is currently the third best seller after Kia Seltos and Sonet with 5,479 units sold last month. It also has one of the longest lead times, at 75 weeks, among all cars currently sold in India. The 74-75 week waiting period is for a Prestige with a 1.5-litre petrol engine mated to a manual gearbox. The minimum waiting period is 18-19 weeks for the Luxury and Luxury Plus 7 variants with the 1.4-litre turbo engine and manual gearbox.
Carens is offered with three engine options. The 1.5-litre petrol unit can produce 115hp and 144Nm, while the 1.5-litre diesel has a better torque of 250Nm. The 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol unit can produce 140 horsepower and 242 Nm of peak torque.
In the long list of competitors, Carens has direct faceoff against Hyundai Alcazar and Tata Safari. It also competes with the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and XL6 at one end of the price range and Toyota Motors' Innova Crysta at the other. Then there are three-row SUVs like the MG Hector Plus and Mahindra XUV700 to fend off as well.
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