The 7-seater Kia Carens is easily the most anonymous member of the Kia New Zealand family, and has suffered as people mover models have fallen from favour with new car buyers in recent years.

Vehicles of this ilk are know longer seen as trendy or fashionable, with the SUVs now a more popular alternative. Some people movers like the Carens have remained to fight the good fight. However, in the interests of self preservation, Kia have shrewdly steered away from described it’s recently launched third generation Carens as a people mover. Instead they have positioned it as a versatile 7-seater station wagon.

Throw a healthy dollop of value for money into the equation and market the new 2,0 litre $37,990 Carens as the best-priced 7-seater vehicle available in New Zealand, and Kia may be on to a winner. However, it is still destined to be a niche, rather than a model that sells in large numbers. There is little doubt it represents great value for money, costing just $1,000 more than the cheapest 1.6 litre automatic version of the smaller Hyundai i30 wagon powered.

The new Carens boasts the latest design DNA developed for Kia by its Chief Designer Peter Schreyer, who has created a range of some of the best looking mass-produced cars on the market at the moment. You can add the Carens to that list. It shares nothing with its frumpy looking predecessor and is a fresh ground-up re-design that sits on a brand new and longer floor pan.

The high-compression, direct-injected 2-litre GDI CVVT engine is closely related to the motor used in a number of Hyundai models sold here, including the i40 wagon. It is kind of keeping things in the family, with Kia part of the Hyundai empire these day. In the Carens this engine produces 122kW @ 6500rpm of peak power and 213Nm of torque @ 4700rpm. The figures are down a little on the power and torque outputs this engine musters in Hyundai models. Kia put this down to a greater emphasis being placed on torque and better economy in their version of this motor. It is a new generation technology engine that successfully threads that tricky line between decent performance and low fuel consumption. Smoothness and refinement are also delivered in equal and generous measure.

This engine does its best work above a 3,500 rpm, so needs to be sustained with generous quantities revs to really sparkle. Surprisingly this doesn’t appear to impact to adversely on fuel consumption. A lot of the credit for the engines reasonably zippy performance, and having a fuel gauge that does not zero in on the empty mark at the speed of light, can be put down to a highly efficient 6-speed sequential sports shift automatic. It’s a transmission that appears to have a well thought out game play to optimise the engines performance and then does a good job of executing this plan.

A long wheelbase combines with cab-forward design and a lower floor, produces an extraordinarily roomy passenger cabin that easily accommodates three rows of seats. Seats in the second and third rows can all be easily folded down to provide a flat floor area that will fit 1650 litres of cargo. If the  second row of seats is in use, there is still 492 litres worth of cargo real estate available. I liked and I am sure most owners will, the one -touch sliding outer middle-row seats that make entry to the third row of seat so easy.

There are airline-style trays incorporating drinks holders in the front seatbacks and the glove box doubles as a drinks chiller, now there is a cool idea! Clever storage spaces include two hidden compartments in the middle-row floor that will fit a handbag or tablet computer. The clever storage thinking doesn’t stop there, with an under floor storage area in the back to hide the rear cargo cover.

For the asking price this is an amazingly well appointed vehicle. We do not have enough column centimetres available in this column to list all the features, but some of the stand out items include remote keyless entry with alarm, reversing camera & parking sensors, steering wheel-mounted cruise and audio controls and a 6-speaker audio systems. I couldn’t finish, without mentioning the Bluetooth, multifunction trip computer, dual zone climate air control, rain-sensing wipers, 17” alloy wheels, smart cornering lights, projection-style headlights and front fog lights.

The suspension has been upgraded from the old model to deliver improved ride and handling. This model features an all-new electronic Flex-steer system that enables the driver to dial up a choice of comfort/normal/sport modes to match their individual driving needs. Sounds a good idea, but out on the road, I found the sport or comfort modes didn’t seem to make any discernible difference to the test vehicles steering response or feel, so I just left the system in normal mode.

While Kia are pitching the Carens as a flexi wagon, it still has some people mover DNA including height and bulk, that do impose some constraints on its road holding. This means if you up the tempo were driving over twisty terrain, or through tight corners, you do not get the neat and tidy handling of a half decent conventional wagon. There is more body lean to contend with along with rather vague and light steering, making it the sort of vehicle you waltz, rather than quick fox trot over undulating terrain. This is a flexible and hugely practical vehicle built for comfort not speed and is reflected, in the way the suspension snaffles up bumps and potholes with ease, to give the vehicle occupants a nicely cosseted ride.

What is the verdict? A smartly styled, practical, affordable and well appointed compact seven-seater people mover, that is let down by rather drab performance and handling.