Kia has introduced two scorching special edition Picantos to this summer's line-up.

The Picanto Zipp! and Zipp+ both feature a panoramic electric folding canvas sunroof which, at the touch of a button, gives Kia customers a breath of fresh air.

Paul Williams, managing director of Kia Motors (UK) Limited said: "The Zipp! models combine the versatility of the Picanto with the feeling of freedom which no other vehicle in this sector can offer."

The discreet Webasto full-length sunroof has two pre-programmable settings and can be retracted to any position to provide varying degrees of sunlight and warm summer breeze into the vehicle.

If it gets too hot, simply close the roof using the one-touch panel and flick on the air conditioning which comes as standard on the Zipp+ model.

The 1.0-litre Zipp! comes with all the benefits of the existing Picanto GS which in addition to the unique canvas roof, also offers ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), twin airbags and CD audio with MP3 player.

For a little extra, customers can enjoy the 1.1-litre Zipp+ which gives the open-top specification of the Zipp! as well as extras such as a leather steering wheel, body coloured side mouldings and remote central door locking.

The Zipp! is available in scarlet red and cobalt blue and in addition to these colours, the Zipp+ adds Galaxy Black and Liquid Silver. Both Zipp! models are currently offered with one year's free insurance.

Carens' debut

The all-new Kia Carens compact MPV made its world premiere at the Madrid Motor Show and will go on sale across Europe later this summer.

A little over 4.5 metres long, the New Carens unveiled in Spain has been created specifically with European consumers in mind and features unique styling for the European market.

The New Carens will be marketed in Europe in two versions - with seven-seater and five-seater cabins - both featuring 'European-specific' frontal styling with unique twin-chrome-bar grille, lower centre air-intake and front bumper with inset air-intakes or fog lamps.

Responding to customer feedback and to developing market trends within the compact MPV sector, Kia conceived a next generation vehicle for active lifestyle families that blends the interlocking trends of MPVs and SUVs.

New Carens is an all-new model, only the name of the previous model has been retained. Longer, wider and taller than its predecessor (by 55, 50 and 40 mm respectively), the latest Carens does not share a single panel with the old model and its smoother exterior, with elegant detailing, results in significantly improved aerodynamics. The 4545 mm long New Carens' aerodynamic Cd is a highly competitive 0.32 - down from 0.35 for the previous model - despite the latest vehicle's increased cross-section and frontal area.

Consumer clinics in Europe with Carens prototypes, confirmed that a significant percentage of today's compact MPV customers would welcome a larger vehicle that could seat up to seven people - provided that any increase in overall length was kept to a modest level.

Consequently, new Carens is higher and wider than the model it replaces, with a much longer wheelbase (up by 130 mm, a 5% increase), but it is only 55 mm (or 1.2%) longer, thanks to skilful packaging design.

"With new Carens we are presenting consumers with a surprisingly spacious yet compact MPV. Our Kia teams on several continents designed the new Carens to surpass the escalating expectations of Kia customers. They have created a truly competitive vehicle that is more stylish and more practical, and will complement modern families' lifestyles," commented Paul Williams, Managing Director, Kia Motors UK Ltd.

Making best use of the longer wheelbase and wider cabin, Kia engineers also created an innovative 'shallow' fuel tank mounted integrally with the rear suspension subframe, which allowed the rear cabin floor to be lowered by 40 mm, boosting interior space and ensuring that the rear row seats in the seven-seater will accommodate two 1.8 metre adults in comfort.

In both versions, the middle and/or rear row seats fold down to create a flat-floored luggage area. With five seats occupied, luggage space is more than 400 litres and with just the driver and front passenger on board, up to 2,106 litres of cargo can be carried.

Two newly developed 2.0-litre engines, diesel engine with DPF

Kia is offering European Carens customers a choice of one diesel engine and one petrol engine (both Euro4 compliant), with manual gearboxes or automatic transmissions, so they can choose the power train that best suits their motoring needs.

Kia's upgraded four-cylinder 2.0 CRDi diesel engine features a variable geometry turbocharger (VGT), that comes with a particle filter as standard. It generates

140 ps and has a six-speed manual gearbox. The twin-cam four-cylinder 2.0-litre 'Theta' petrol engine, with continuously variable valve timing (CVVT), produces 144 ps and is mated to a five-speed manual.

Both Carens engines will be available with a four-speed automatic transmission (as an extra-cost option), fitted with Kia's Sport Mode system which offers drivers the choice of fully-automatic gear changes or driver-controlled sequential manual selection.

New Carens' significantly wider track (up by more than 80 mm), longer wheelbase (up by 130 mm), and stiffer bodyshell, have inherent benefits for the new model's agility, ride, handling and safety.

The fully independent suspension systems, both front and rear, are designed to deliver responsive handling and a supple, comfortable ride on European roads.

For agile handling in everyday driving, the New Carens model has a hydraulic power-assisted rack and pinion steering system with relatively high gearing, requiring just 2.86 turns of the wheel from lock-to-lock with the standard 16 inch wheels.

New Carens' braking system has larger and thicker ventilated front discs and solid rear discs for powerful, secure and stable braking performance, backed up by ABS with EBD. Stopping from 100 km/h is achieved in a braking distance of just 41.8 m.