KEY POINTS:
Perhaps with an eye on the marked lack of interest that Kiwi buyers show in multi-purpose-type vehicles, Kia New Zealand argues its new Carens seven-seater is part-hatchback, part sports utility vehicle and part station wagon.
"[The] Carens is a new type of vehicle that crosses several boundaries," says Jason Groube, who is national sales manager for the Korean brand.
Nice try. But on paper at least, the Carens is pure midi-people-mover and a fairly traditional-looking one at that - a compact family runabout in the mould of the groundbreaking Renault Scenic.
While that won't help the marketing among MPV-averse Kiwi buyers, it's a sign Kia has been looking in the right direction for inspiration.
Midi-MPVs are a big deal in Europe and that's the market the Carens has been designed for.
The Carens is based on the platform of the Magentis sedan and measures just 4545mm tip-to-tail.
A major selling point will be the excellent 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine, especially since it's mated to an automatic transmission.
The seating is arranged in three rows. The middle bench is mounted on rails to balance legroom between the second and third rows, while the rearmost buckets are split 50/50 and fold flat into the floor when it's not in use.
There's just one (full loaded) model on the market - it carries a power-adjustable driver's seat, cruise control, sensors for rear parking, part-leather upholstery, side-curtain airbags and electronic stability control.
The Carens looks like a good thing, but - as is the case with more and more new-generation Korean products - it's also expensive.
The $41,900 price tag includes a five-year/100,000km warranty, full tank of fuel and the first 2000km of road user charges, but it's still an ambitious ask for a relatively unknown model.
Whether that window sticker is justified remains to be seen when we take one for the full road test.
