Kia Sonet, Carens offer lowest maintenance cost, Seltos is close second: Study
- Seltos and Carens have joined Sonet on the list of Kia models were analysed on basis of ownership costs by Fort & Sullivan.
A study has revealed that buying a Kia Sonet or Seltos SUV, or the three-row Carens, could offer the best ownership experience in terms of costs incurred compared to their rivals. Frost & Sullivan, one of India’s growth advisory company, conducted an analysis recently which came up with these results. While the Sonet SUV was analysed last year, Fort & Sullivan has now completed its survey on the ownership cost of Seltos and Carens this month. The study says that the maintenance costs for Seltos, Sonet and Carens are among the lowest in their respective segments.
Kia on Thursday (February 29) released the research report shared by Fort & Sullivan on the three flagship models. It says that Kia Carens has emerged as the frontrunner in the three-row segment. The maintenance cost for Carens petrol variant is 21 per cent more affordable than any of its rivals. The diesel variant is even more affordable with 26 per cent less cost for upkeep.
Kia Carens is currently one of the most popular choices in the three-row people's mover segment which offers multi-purpose vehicles too. Carens is priced from ₹10.45 lakh (ex-showroom) and goes up to ₹18.90 lakh (ex-showroom) for the top-end variant.
Kia Seltos, the best-selling model from the Korean auto giant, has also emerged as the best option in the compact SUV segment when it comes to low maintenance costs. The petrol variants of the Kia Seltos can save 17 per cent more on maintenance compared to its rivals while the diesel variants share the lowest maintenance costs with another segment leader. Overall, the research says Seltos is second to the segment leader in terms of cost of ownership.
Last year, Kia updated the Seltos SUV with several changes. Offered at a starting price of ₹10.99 lakh (ex-showroom), the new Seltos has already garnered more than one lakh booking within eight months of its launch.
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1999.0 cc
Diesel
99.8 kWh
450 km
Also watch: Kia Sonet 2024 first drive review
In December last year, Kia had shared another research done by Fort & Sullivan which said that Sonet has the lowest maintenance cost in its segment. The sub-compact SUV, which received a facelift in January this year, offers 16 per cent lower maintenance cost on its petrol variants and 14 per cent lower on diesel variants compared to the segment average.