Many family-friendly cars have pretty much given up on style in favour of practicality.

And although MPVs exist to meet the varied needs of families rather than turn heads, the new Kia Carens has been designed to do both.

Although quite large, it is sleek rather than chunky. The front is dominated by the Schreyer ‘tiger-nose’ grille, and the stylish headlight units include cornering lights and LED daytime running lamps. A spoiler on the top edge of the tailgate is a neat, sporty flourish as well as an aerodynamic aid.

It is available with a choice of three direct-injection engines – one petrol and two turbodiesels. I drove the refined 1.7-litre CRDi manual transmission turbodiesel, developing 114bhp and 260Nm of torque.

It’s a good drive with agile handling, yet also feels solid and sturdy, though admittedly it’s never going to take your breath away.

Three trims are on offer, badged ‘1’, ‘2’ and ‘3’. Standard features include driver’s seat height adjustment and tilt and telescopic steering wheel adjustment, rear air ventilation, steering wheel-mounted controls, cruise control with a speed limiter, a six-speaker RDS radio/CD player with MP3 compatibility and Bluetooth with voice recognition and music streaming.

My ‘2’ model added 16-inch alloy wheels, privacy glass, fog lights, roof rails, automatic headlight control, rain-sensing front wipers, dual-zone air conditioning and reversing sensors.

The new model is shorter and narrower than the one it replaces, but there’s still loads of space, with abundant head, leg and shoulder room in all three rows of seats.

It’s a seven seater, but if you don’t need the extra two seats they are easily folded flat, giving you 492 litres of space in the boot, rising to a potential 1,650 litres.

Practical is this car’s middle name – there’s even a boot light that doubles as a removable torch and a hidden stowage compartment for the tonneau cover.

Great efforts have also been made to ensure the cabin is as quiet as it is comfortable. New measures include increased foam filling and sound-insulating pads in the roof pillars, a vibration-damping sheet on the dash panel and a larger air duct and a new resonator to counter engine booming.

All versions of the Kia Carens are protected by a seven-year, 100,000-mile transferable warranty.

Fact File
Car:
Kia Carens ‘2’ 1.7 CRDi
Price: £20.595 (on the road)
Top speed: 112mph
0-60mph: 12.6 seconds
Fuel: 60.1mpg (combined)
CO2 emissions: 124g/km