The recently launched MPV, the Kia Carens, has quickly risen in popularity in the Indian market and taken the MPV segment by storm. Its optimum pricing has put the car in competition with not just its direct competitors but against indirect competition as well. It goes against the likes of variously priced MPVs such as the Maruti Suzuki XL6, Maruti's Ertiga, as well as the Innova Crysta. Today, however, we contemplate the question that if the Maruti Suzuki XL6 and the Kia Carens were pitted against each other as the better buy, which one would come out on top as the better buy? Is the new fully-loaded Kia Carens a better buy? Or does the Maruti Suzuki XL6 offer better value for money? Read on to find out!
Cosmetic Battle
The battle begins with exterior looks. The Kia Carens is definitely more modern than the XL6, being a newer offering in the market. Kia has loaded the Carens with top market features to give it a premium appeal. The Kia Carens features Kia's new headlight design complete with DRLs called the Star Map. The Carens gets essentially an MPV design with significantly visible SUV elements. This is visible with the cladding and two-tone garnishes that the Carens gets. Other exterior elements include a chrome rear bumper garnish, premium gloss black skid plate on the rear and an integrated rear spoiler, giving it a sporty SUV sensibility. The rear end of the Carens gets tiger style taillights with the brake lights extending through the centre and connecting both edges. On the front end, the air dam, headlights and separate DRLs are connected by a gloss black panel with a unique design that is also featured on the dash inside the car. The car runs on 16-inch alloys. Dimensions of the Kia Carens come in at 4540mm in length, 1800mm in width, 1708mm in height and a class-best wheelbase of 2780mm.
In a similar fashion to the Carens, the Maruti Suzuki XL6 design language features an MPV with minor SUV sensibilities. It gets an imposing look with a large front grille, large headlamps and integrated DRLs. The XL6 gets a fair share of chrome as well with a chrome slat in the grille. The XL6 gets SUV-style cladding around its body as well as skid plates. The XL6 also features blacked-out features such as the rear pillars, ORVMs and cladding. The rear end of the XL6 is quite similar to its sibling, the Ertiga.
While both cars get SUV sensibilities and are functional MPVs, the Kia Carens features a much more modern and imposing look than the XL6. In premium feel, the Kia Carens knocks it out of the park compared to the XL6. Furthermore, the Kia Carens is larger than the XL6 in all dimensions, as the XL6's dimensions come in at 4445mm in length, 1775mm in width and 1755mm in height. The Kia Carens also gets better ground clearance than the XL6 at 195mm, compared to the XL6's industry-standard clearance of 180mm.
Inside the Beasts
The Kia Caren's interior gets a dual-tone finish with a premium feel. The rather plush cabin has a great fit and finish and is feature loaded as well. The interior gets a premium beige and blue interior that is rather unique. The dash gets a glossy piano black finish, adding to the premium feel of the Carens' interior. The Kia Carens gets a seven-seat layout as standard and a six-seater layout is an option in the top variants. The Kia Carens gets a horde of features in here. The first row gets ventilated seats and the car features a spacious cabin. The Carens also gets overhead AC vents for the rear seats. Other unique features in the Carens include an electric tumble-down middle row which makes getting into the third row as easy as the press of a button.
Maruti Suzuki has given a premium feel to the XL6 interior as well. The colours and upholstery offer a more upmarket looking interior. The XL6 inside, unlike the Kia Carens gets an all-black finish with leatherette upholstery and a glossy black panel for the dash. While the Kia Carens features the second row in the conventional seven-seater format as well as captain seats, the XL6 gets only captain seats in the second row. While the Kia Carens and the Maruti Suzuki XL6 both get a lot of small storage, the XL6 skimps out on pampering the second and third rows as much as the Carens does. That said, the XL6 does feature side armrests, cup holders, and a 12V socket for the left passenger. Storage space is available in the form of cup holders with AC vents to keep the drinks cold, large door pockets ensure further storage and the front armrests integrate storage space as well.
Power Vs Power
In terms of power, the Kia Carens offers a lot more performance than the XL6. Powering the Kia Carens are two petrol units options and one diesel engine. A 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine comes mated to a six-speed manual transmission in the Carens. This puts down 113PS at 6300rpm and 144Nm of torque at 4500rpm. Whereas the diesel 1.5-litre engine gets a manual gearbox as well as a torque converter automatic option. This unit puts down 114PS at 4000rpm and 250Nm of torque starting as early as 1500rpm. The Kia Carens also gets a 1.4-litre T-GDi turbo-petrol powerplant gets a six-speed manual and a seven-speed DCT transmission option. This unit is capable of 139PS at 6000rpm and 242Nm of torque at 1500-3200rpm.
The Maruti Suzuki XL6 only gets a 1.5-litre Smart Hybrid petrol engine carried over from its sibling, the Ertiga. It doesn not get a turbo petrol or even a diesel unit. This petrol engine in the XL6 puts down 102PS at 6000rpm and 137Nm of torque at 4400rpm. Gearbox options mated to this engine include a 5-speed manual or a basic optional 4-speed AT torque converter. The XL6 offers fair fuel efficiency figures of a claimed 19.01kmpl for the manual variant and 17.99kmpl for the automatic gearbox.
Price & Variants
The Kia Carens gets a lot more engine and gearbox combinations as well as trims. The Kia Carens is priced starting at ₹10.52 lakhs (Ex-Showroom) for the manual, paired with the 1.5 NA engine in Premium trim, significantly undercutting the base XL6. The Kia Carens gets two variants Premium (O) with Petrol and Diesel. Price for the Kia Carens goes up to ₹10.52 lakhs and goes upto 12.77 lakhs.
The Maruti Suzuki XL6 currently gets only two trims - Zeta and Alpha. Prices for the Maruti Suzuki XL6 start at ₹11.56 lakhs and goes upto ₹14.82 lakhs.
