The Kia Carens can be ordered with a dealer installed CNG kit making it Kia’s first CNG-powered model to be on sale in India. The Carens is CNG available only with Premium (O) variant currently. Prices for the Kia Carens Premium (O) start at Rs 10.99 lakh.
The dealer installed CNG kit costs Rs 77,900 over the price of the standard Kia Carens Petrol with the total price at around Rs 11.77 lakh. Do note that the CNG powertrain is being offered on the pre-facelift Kia Carens which is on sale alongside the new Carens Clavis that comes with petrol, diesel and EV powertrain options.
The Carens CNG uses the 1.5-litre, four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine, which produces 115hp and 144Nm. The CNG kit is supplied by Lovato and comes with a 3-year/1,00,000km third-party warranty. The CNG kit is a single cylinder unit and not the more advanced twin-cylinder setup used b y Hyundai and Tata Motors.
The Carens CNG gets all features available in the Carnens petrol Premium (O) trim. These include an 8-inch infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, roof-mounted AC vents for the 2nd and 3rd rows, one-touch electric tumble for the second row, semi-leatherette upholstery, keyless entry, electric ORVMs, shark fin antenna, and a rear-view camera.
Safety features include six airbags, ABS with EBD, traction control, vehicle stability management, hill descent control, all-wheel disc brakes, tyre pressure monitoring system, ISOFIX child seat anchors, and rear parking sensors.
With the addition of a CNG kit, Kia India can now target a majority of customers that prefer CNG-powered three row people movers in both private and fleet category which is currently dominated by the Ertiga CNG and the Rumion CNG. With the Carens, Kia India joins the growing list of carmakers offering dealer level installed CNG kits in India where models like the Honda City, Amaze, and Elevate, Renault Kwid, Triber, and Kiger, Citroën C3 and C3 Aircross, and the Nissan Magnite can be purchased via a similar arrangement.