Kia Carens Clavis 5000 km Review: In A Wedding Far Far Away

The diesel Clavis played a big role in friendship before it was replaced by its turbo-petrol version

There is nothing more special in the course of a friendship than watching your dear friend get married to the love of his life. You cancel all other plans, ask your manager for leaves, pack your nice clothes, and just start driving. And in the case of my friend’s wedding, the car that took me and my other friends there, was none other than my long termer – the Kia Carens Clavis.

The Journey

At 10 PM on a Friday, me and three other friends (also CarDekho employees) – Akshit, Ujjawall, and Aniruthan, put our bags in the Clavis after folding the third row, and strapped in for a long drive. We had to go from Pune to Chandrapur, a journey over 800 km long, and we had to reach the next day in time for breakfast.

For the first leg of the journey, Ujjawall stepped in the driver seat, and drove for around 4 hours straight. Since we were heading from Pune, and had to merge with the Samruddhi mahamarg, Ujjawall did not have the luxury of driving on well paved highways. Instead, he had to endure narrow roads, under-construction highways, and a lot of broken patches since we’re in Maharashtra. 

Still, the one thing that kept him going, apart from Redbull, was the comfortable ride quality of the Clavis. Even after driving over multiple potholes and going through patches where the concept of a road still hasn’t reached, his back remained unbroken, and his will to keep driving remained unshattered. 

After nearly 4 hours and one washroom break, I took over the wheel after we reached the Samruddhi mahamarg. From the middle of the night to well past sunrise, I took us through 500 kms of well paved but concrete roads. The ride was jumpy thanks to the material of the highway, but the Clavis did not disappoint. I was easily cruising at 120 kmph (speed limit), and performing overtakes at those speeds, because the diesel engine let me do that effortlessly, and the Clavis still returned a fuel efficiency of around 17 kmpl while also being extremely stable at high speeds.

While all of this was happening, Ujjawall took a small nap, Akshit was in charge of the music, and Aniruthan slept like a baby. At around 8 AM, we stopped for a small breakfast, which turned into a big one, because we couldn’t control our hunger any longer, and for the last hour and a half of the journey, we decided it was time for Aniruthan to drive. 

Aniruthan’s part of the drive was very short, but he had to drive a diesel manual MPV inside the city, in the morning, through traffic. He managed to get us to the hotel in time, but did not complain as he knew me and Ujjawall drove all night while he slept. 

The Wedding

After we woke up from our small naps, which lasted half a day, we decided to get ready for the sangeet. All of us wore our best traditional attires, but little did we know the theme was formals. I guess Tarun (the groom and also an ex-colleague) forgot to tell us.

If you’ve ever taken a car to a wedding, you know it does much more than just taking you there. If you’re good friends with the groom/bride, your car becomes the wedding wagon, and that’s the reason I took the Clavis. 

During the course of the wedding, the Clavis made multiple trips from the hotel to the venue and back. It offered great space for seven people on multiple occasions, it was used to transport wedding stuff to the venue, and it also became the place to sit comfortably in a warm and cozy environment since it was chilly at night.

The entire wedding was two days long, and Clavis was with us all the time. Whether it was the commute to the venue or midnight drives on open roads. Whether it was duties of picking up and dropping off friends and family members or hauling things needed for the function. The Clavis did not disappoint with its space and practicality.

As the wedding weekend came to an end, we all sat with friends to have one last gathering before everyone went their separate ways. Most of us had flights to catch or trains to get on, but for the CarDekho boys, another long drive was awaiting us.

The Return

On Monday morning, me, Ujjawall, and Akshit got into the car. Aniruthan had different travel plans, so we were now one driver short. Still, we began our long journey with coffee in our systems.

This time again, Ujjawall was the first one to drive, as he wanted to experience the expressway, which he couldn’t on our way here. After driving about an hour on narrow roads of the city, we hit the expressway, and took the speeds up to 120 kmph again. The map showed our ETA close to 14 hours at the start of the drive, but we know we can bring it down to under 12 hours.

I took over from Ujjawall a few hours later, and decided to drive till we get off the expressway. If you have never been on the Samruddhi mahamarg, you need to know that it does not have many options when it comes to food. You’ll get one food chain that serves south indian dishes, and that’s about it. No fast food joints, no big restaurants, not even vada pavs. And in search of food, we stopped at almost all rest areas.

Disappointed with the lack of options, we decided that it’s best to eat once we’re off the expressway, and I continued to drive for a few more hours. We got off the expressway at 5 PM, and at around 6 PM, we finally found a place where we could eat. And we ate like hungry bears.

From this point, Ujjawall took over the steering wheel, and like a champ, he drove through the same broken patches, non-existent roads, and rush hour traffic. His complaints were kept mute by the music system, and even though we had spent over 12 hours in the car, with just one stop, none of us felt tired or exhausted.

The drive back was uphill to some extent, and driving at 120 kmph does not really give you great fuel efficiency, even with a diesel. But we still managed to get around 16 kmpl overall (including city drives). We spent a total of Rs 9,500 on fuel and Rs 2,200 on tolls, which is still a lot less than what we would have spent on three/four tickets for a flight, train, or even a bus.

Was there something we didn’t like? Yes. There is no wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, so one phone had to be kept connected by a wire, and if this phone belonged to the person sitting in the back, they did not get to doom scroll Instagram. 

Also, the last row, while usable, only had space for kids or at best small adults. It was not the best place for people who were all dressed up in Shervanis and heavy Lehengas.

We did close to 1,700 km in less than three days, the Clavis completed all its duties with near perfection, and with all other trips combined, it was driven just shy of 5,000 km in two months, before it was replaced by its turbo-petrol version.

In the last month of my long term with the Clavis, I said goodbye to the diesel version, and now it’s time to drive the turbo-petrol to experience the full feature package, captain seats, performance, fuel efficiency, and ADAS. And I will share my experience with you soon, so stay tuned to CarDekho.

Date Of Arrival: 15th October 2025

Kilometres On Arrival: 1940

Kilometres Till Date: 6912

Positives: Spacious, neat design, fuel efficient diesel powertrain

Negatives: Less features with top-spec diesel