Kia Carens Clavis EV

Kia has marked its entry into the mass market electric vehicle segment with the new Carens Clavis EV. Priced between Rs 17.99 lakh and Rs 24.49 lakh (ex-showroom), the Carnes Clavis EV is based around Kia’s internal combustion (ICE) MPV name sake with only small changes setting it apart cosmetically. Bookings for the Clavis EV will commence on July 22, while deliveries are slated to commence in the following days. 

The Carens Clavis EV only gets minor cosmetic changes over its counterpart, with the majority of it centred around the fascia. The chrome trim running between the daytime running lamps at the base of the bonnet has been replaced by a lightbar, while a charging port is now housed in the nose below. The central air vent design has also received minor tweaks and now features the addition of fog lamps on the top model. Down the sides, the Clavis EV gets model-specific alloy wheels and no further design updates. Changes to the back too, are few and far between, with the ICE Carens Clavis’ design more or less unchanged. 

Moving to the cabin, the Carens Clavis EV retains the three-row layout of its ICE counterpart. The dashboard design, too, is unchanged, replete with the twin screens housed within a widescreen display. What has changed, however, is the design of the centre console between the seats. The centre armrest console has been extended forward, now housing additional storage spaces and a row of physical buttons at the front. The gear selector, too has been dropped, creating even more storage further forward. The gear selector now sits on the steering column, similar to that in the Hyundai Creta Electric. A big difference over the ICE Carens Clavis is the lack of a six-seater option. The Carens Clavis EV is only offered with a bench seat in the middle row.

On the feature front, the Clavis EV continues to offer a lot of tech from its ICE counterpart, including ADAS functions, auto climate control with dedicated vents for the second and third row, a 10.25-inch touchscreen, 64-colour ambient lighting, air purifier, Bose audio system, a powered driver seat and a panoramic sunroof. The EV also has Vehicle-to-Load charging capabilities.

Moving to the powertrain, the Carens Clavis EV shares its running gear with the Hyundai Creta Electric. This means an electric motor drives the front wheels, with buyers able to choose between two battery sizes – 42 kWh and 51.4 kWh. Motor output also varies depending on the battery, with the smaller battery variants developing 133 bhp and the larger battery-equipped models pushing out a stronger 169 bhp. Kai claims a range of up to 490 km for the Clavis EV.