Paris Debut For Revamped Carens

The new season for Motor Shows starts again after the summer break in September with the world’s press and auto manufacturers blazing a trail to fashion trendsetting Paris on September 27 and first to show their hand for launch are Kia.

The Paris Motor Show sees the world premiere of Kia’s all-new Carens compact MPV, and it’s a revamp that already has a lot of people in the industry talking with the release of teaser sketches (see above) that show just how much the Carens has changed from the first launch back in 2006.

By the looks of it, it’s moved on from looking like a van that has been made into a people carrier and been given a whole new look to bring it up to date with the more recent Kia designs. There certainly seems to be some Venga in there and a bit of Cee’d looking at the sleeker body and more imposing front end.

According to Kia themselves. The Carens now has: “a completely fresh, sleek, cab-forward design, lower roofline, longer wheelbase, larger wheels and chrome beltline accent” and has been “conceived around the theme ‘dynamic space’”, which is, of course, something that the advertising people came up with after seeing the same drawings we are here.

And that also explains the phrases “spacious functionality” and “emotional appeal that has become a standard feature of Kia products”.

Certainly, the ‘new’ Kia Carens (which is actually third-generation) has a more dramatic and exciting look than its two predecessors which got a bit of a muted reception at launch and a reputation for looking a bit ‘dowdy’. And it seems that there will be both five and seven-seat offerings, although no details have yet been released of engine range, but expect it to mirror the line-up of the new Cee’d closely, including 1.4 and 1.6-litre petrols and diesels.

And, unlike rivals such as the Renault Grand scenic and Ford Grand C-Max, thre are no plans to rename the larger version; it will stay a Carens until the end.

Inside, there seems to be little change to the existing model, although there will naturally be updates especially to in-car communication and audio to accommodate new technology regarding Bluetooth, Ipods and digital radio.

So, another demonstration of Kia’s constant vehicle evolution will be there at Paris, leaving the Sedona as the only ‘old’ Kia still on sale in March 2013 when the new Carens hits the streets.