Model: Kia Carens Clavis HTX+ 6MT
Test Started: October 2025/4,046km
Tenure/target mileage: 6 months/5,000km
Mileage this month: NA
Efficiency this month: NA
The Kia Carens Clavis has long been seen as a practical, level-headed choice—the sort of car you buy with your accountant’s approval and your family’s gratitude—the particular specification of our test car has introduced an unexpectedly audacious edge. Ours is the HTX+ 1.5 TGDi 6MT, powered by Kia’s delightfully eager 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine and paired with a proper six-speed manual gearbox. Somewhere between the second gear pull and the third-gear grin, we found ourselves sketching out a new kind of buyer—turbo-dad. That suburban family man who once adored hot hatches and redlines but has since been domesticated by child seats and grocery runs. Yet, in quietly choosing this trim, he stages a small, tasteful rebellion—a manual-driven nod to his younger, faster self, now cleverly disguised as responsibility. The HTX+ trim, in all fairness, doesn’t make this fantasy difficult to sustain.
The 12.25-inch infotainment system sits proudly atop the dash, offering wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay with audio by Bose—because the turbo-dad may be nostalgic, but he’s not a Luddite. There’s also a sunroof, which adds precisely zero practicality but a fair bit of aspiration; ambient lighting that lends a touch of theatre to school runs; and a wireless charger that keeps the phone—and the illusion of control—alive. On the safety front, six airbags and four-wheel disc brakes mean even when our man gives in to temptation and explores the upper reaches of the rev band, peace of mind remains intact. To truly understand what this manual-turbo MPV is capable of, we’ve laid out a long-term testing plan worthy of the turbo-dad’s dual existence. First, we’ll immerse it in the thick of urban life—where gearboxes are tested not by track days but by traffic jams. We’ll pay close attention to clutch bite, shift feel, and how much joy, if any, can be extracted between red lights. And of course, we’ll measure what really matters to commuters: real-world fuel efficiency in the daily grind.
But the real examination lies beyond the ring road. Soon, we’ll load it up—kids (read interns), luggage, perhaps even a symbolic “Baby On Board” sticker alongside a Sparco decal—and point it at the highway. We’ll gauge the engine’s long-distance composure, the comfort of all three rows, and how seamlessly those creature comforts integrate when the car’s being used in anger—or at least, in earnest. By the end of it all, we hope to answer one simple question: can this Carens Clavis HTX+ 6MT truly be the unicorn it promises to be—a quick, manual, family MPV that lets the turbo-dad have his speed and seat it too?
Specifications:
Powertrain: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder, turbocharged petrol
Power: 160bhp
Torque: 253Nm
Transmission: 6MT
Dimensions (LxWxH): 4,550×1,800×1,708mm
Wheelbase: 2,780mm
Ex-showroom price: 18.68 lakh
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