Used buyer's guide: Kia Carens pictures

The Carens’ cabin is easy to use, comfortable and solidly built. Predictably, practicality is excellent – fold the second and (where fitted) third row of seats flat, and the load bay can swallow 2,106 litres. But that third row is only

Make sure the rear door handles work properly. The mechanism can snap, and is difficult to fix because the door won’t open.

The handbrake is actually a footbrake. On models with a manual box, this can make hill starts awkward, especially on steep slopes.

Not all versions of the Carens come with seven seats. And when they do, the third row seats are quite cramped - even for children.

Some owners have had problems selecting gears in the manual box. Oil change and linkage adjustment should sort things out.