Kia Carens MPV (2013-2019) - MPG, running costs & CO2
Less powerful diesel is the best Kia Carens engine for fuel economy
The diesel versions of the Kia Carens are your best bet for low running costs, although be aware that fitting an automatic gearbox to the most powerful version significantly reduces fuel economy. All the work Kia has put into its model range in recent years is paying off in the sales charts, but the Carens still lags behind rivals when it comes to secondhand value. It’s estimated to recoup between 32 and 37% of its original purchase price after three years of ownership, whereas a Ford Grand C-MAX in the right specification should return at least 40%. The Volkswagen Touran is likely to do even better.
Kia Carens MPG & CO2
The least economical Carens is the 1.6-litre petrol, which can only return 45.6mpg and emits 143g/km of CO2. The basic 114bhp 1.7-litre diesel is a much better bet, returning economy of 62.8mpg and CO2 emissions of 117g/km. The Eco Pack will see the 114bhp diesel's CO2 emissions drop to 109g/km, though, dropping the Benefit-in-Kind rate from 23 to 21%.
The top-of-the-range diesel costs about £1,200 more than the 114bhp engine, but isn’t any more expensive to run: fuel consumption is identical, at 62.8mpg. But fitting the optional automatic gearbox (only available with this engine) harms these figures somewhat – you’ll see around 58.9mpg and CO2 emissions increase to 127g/km. The more powerful diesel makes more sense if you’re going to have a fully loaded car on a regular basis, or plan to use your Carens for towing a trailer or caravan.
Insurance group
Insurance shouldn’t prove to be too expensive – going for a model with the least powerful 114bhp diesel engine means your insurance group will be 12. Models with the petrol engine don’t fare much worse, sitting in group 13. The more powerful diesel, which falls into group 16, will be the most expensive to insure.
Warranty
As ever with Kia, the Carens benefits from the class-leading seven-year/100,000-mile warranty, still well ahead of any of its rivals.
Servicing
The service interval for the most recent Carens is every 12 months or 20,000 miles – whichever comes sooner. Kia offers a service plan that allows you to spread the cost of servicing through monthly payments, covering all parts and labour for the duration. There’s also Kia Care-3, which fixes the price of your first three services at £329, and Kia Care-3 Plus, which extends this to the first five and costs £609.
