The Innova Crysta was the best of the lot and my wife liked it too. But it was way to expensive when compared to the Carens.
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Guys,
Booked a Carens on 8th Aug and got it delivered on 31st Aug – Lux Plus D MT.
I went out to Amazon only for the 7D matt as Kia quoted (Including the boot mat) Rs 10,711 while it was available for Rs 5300 on Amazon. Chrome accessories, especially the rain guard, were also cheaper. Still, I didn’t want to take risks with chrome as I had a bad experience in my Creta with discoloration.
Why I chose the Carens?
I didn’t. My wife did. I didn’t like the way it looked; not sure I still do.
We went to buy the Sonet; I chose it as I felt it was value for money. She flipped the decision because a smart sales guy (whose 1st kid was delivered by my wife) showed her Carens, and she fell for it.
Why she liked it because of the SPACE and comfort. I am 6ft, and my kids, ten and sixteen years old, might beat my height:
- 3rd-row access – Wide rear door allows you to ease in rather than crawl in.
- 3rd-row leg space.
- 16″ wheels and large wheelbase provided better comfort.
- Ventilated seats for Kerala humid summers.
- Kia connect – Geo-fencing, Location tracing – It’s a chauffeur-driven vehicle, and after she gets dropped is used for various needs of the kids.
- Amazing AC, charging points, wide vision.
Tried my best to convince her otherwise – took her to see:
- Safari – Rejected due to 3rd-row space. I was also not convinced seeing issues in Team BHP and lack of frills. Having said that, I would have taken it if I was using it – the test drive was done in an AT in Sport mode; it just took off. I would have bought it the same way I bought the Scorpio in 2010; I just fell in love.
- Alcazar – It was a beauty; they showed a dark blue colour. Again 3rd, row space was an issue. The frills were amazing, and surprisingly the vehicle seemed to have better torque than the Carens. Not sure how as both have the same power train.
- XUV700: I did not bother as I’ve had enough of Mahindra. Beautiful mechanicals, but managing niggles would be a challenge.
- Innova Crysta: Of course the best, she also liked it – but it was way too expensive compared to the Carens.
There were other vehicles like Creta, Seltos, Grand Vitara, Hyryder, and Nexon – but these were compared against Sonet, and Sonet came out as a winner.
Why we went for MT instead of AT: It will be chauffeur driven 90% of the time and did not make sense to invest CAPEX (+Rs 100K) and mileage (- 2KM per litre).
Why we went for 7S: The middle row hand rest can be collapsed, effectively converting the middle row to a 2-seater. It’s not anyways for a comfortable 3-seater, but it could be used in case kids would like to lay down – one in 2nd and another one in 3rd.
What I still don’t like:
- Lack of punch – I am a spirited driver. But then this vehicle is used by the family in Kochi. I am only in Kochi on weekends, and I rarely drive. The only time I drive is when we go out for road trips which happens 3~4 times a year. The rest of my ride is in my trusted 1.6D Creta 2019 in Mumbai – Pune – Silvassa sector.
- Sunroof – even my wife would have preferred to have a panoramic roof, but then she compromised for other better features.
- Looks – I hope I will learn to like it as I get used to it. I hated the new Creta, but now I am over it. It isn’t that bad, but I prefer the previous version.
Few snaps of delivery day and the cash out:
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