The 2013 Kia Carens is here… in 2015. High COE prices kept it from our shores, but it’s finally here. Has it been worth the wait?

SINGAPORE – Just because you’re a dad, it doesn’t mean you have to look like an uncle. That seems to be the main proposition being peddled by the new Kia Carens, a seven seat MPV (Multi Purpose Vehicle) that doesn’t look like someone stuck wheels to a giant shoebox.

Mind you, by “new Kia Carens” I mean the 2013 model. It is two years late to our shores because high COE prices kept mass-market car buyers on the sidelines. Now that that situation looks like it might finally be over, the Carens has suddenly become relevant again.

And as with practically all the Kias, you get plenty for the money. Currently the Carens costs $134,999 with COE, which allows it to handily undercut the Toyota Wish ($149,888) and Volkswagen’s Touran 1.6 TDI ($153,800).

You don’t get barebones motoring for the money, either.

Among the trio it has the biggest engine, and consequently the most power with the best acceleration. Kia says the first two gears in the six-speed auto have short ratios for good pickup, while sixth gear is relatively tall, to keep fuel consumption low.

Relative to its rivals, the Kia offers a similar amount of real estate, and like them it has six airbags and versatile seating. In fact, while most MPVs have seats that fold flat, the Carens’ front passenger seat tips forward as well, an old Volvo trick that lets you haul unusually long loads home.

The middle row has individual chairs, meaning they slide and recline so you can juggle the amount of space between passengers when the Carens is fully loaded. Handy flip-up tables for Row 2 occupants ought to come in useful now and then, too.

But here’s where things unravel a bit for the Kia. As a seven-seater it falls short in some ways.

The rear doors are pretty long so you’ll need a wide parking space to open them properly, and while sliding yourself past a middle row seat isn’t too tricky, once you’re in the very back of the car you’ll start counting the seconds until your journey is over. There’s no air-conditioning back there, and the headroom is impossibly tight for the average, well-nourished adult.

Some of this is by design. This Carens is actually slightly smaller than its predecessor, with a lower roofline to give it a relatively sporty shape, and the result is a car that’s more handsome than habitable.

The seats are mounted fairly low, in order to reclaim some of the space sacrificed to that chopped-down roof, but perhaps because of that, the Carens has ended up with a slightly strange driving position, one that seems to favour people built with long arms and short legs.

Mind you, there’s some attempt at making it a lively car to drive, to go with those sporty looks. The steering is unusually high-geared, so the Carens is pretty responsive to your movements on the wheel, and it’s the only Kia I’ve driven whose steering actually feels better — meatier and less vague — with you set the Flex Steer system to Sport.

But at highway speeds the Kia can feel twitchy, so perhaps the real point of the quick steering rack is to make it zippy in town.

To be sure, it’s not an unwieldy car to drive, and the main challenge from behind the wheel has to do with parallel parking. From the driver’s seat you have to guess where the nose of the car ends.

Another casualty (albeit an indirect one) of the car’s sleek looks seems to be the ride quality. The rear suspension is now a torsion beam setup, which uses little space compared to the old car’s multi-link setup, thus leaving more room for the boot and cabin. But when the Kia is relatively unloaded you can feel the rear crash over bumps with noticeable harshness.

Ultimately the Carens is a reminder that not all seven-seater cars have the same audience. This one seems to be aimed at the young family, particular one with a dad who hasn’t quite resigned himself to the need to drive a boring car. As a driving experience it offers plenty of pep, matched with responsive steering, while the shapely body means it’s unusually pretty for an MPV.

The cabin doesn’t show as much flair but it’s neat and easy to work out, and in addition to Kia standards like auto headlights and wipers there are thoughtful features, like a “conversation mirror”, basically a small mirror that lets you keep an eye on the kids.

MORE: How about a Carens rival from BMW? Yes, BMW…

Perhaps most important of all is that space-wise, the Carens would work best for young children. When you’re auditioning the car, it would definitely be worthwhile carting the kids along to see how they feel about the cabin.

To some children, everything seems huge, while teenagers are moody enough as it is without being asked to squeeze into seats too small for them. I’m neither a dad nor uncle, and even I know that.

MORE: You’ve read the review. Now download a press kit and specs sheet here

NEED TO KNOW Kia Carens 2.0 GDI
Engine: 1,999cc in-line four
Power: 166bhp at 6500rpm
Torque: 213Nm at 4700rpm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Top speed: 200km/h
0-100km/h: 10.8 secs
Fuel consumption: 7.9L/100km
CO2: 184g/km
Price: $134,999 with COE