[k_gpatel]

Took a test drive of Venue IMT today, and these are only my personal experience & takeaway:-
1. Gear shifts are a ted hard as compared to amt or a manual, shifting did not feel seamless, its like the gear lever is reluctant in the absence of manual clutch input
2. Turbo lag is even more jarring in IMT, had driven DCT few months back and it felt much better at handling lag.
3. Drove Nios AMT back to this one and felt it is more convenient and head-nods are controlled slightly better than my friends Swift. Only when you press accelerator real had only then shifts delay is noticeable. Manual mode in this AMT seemed much smoother than IMT in Venue.

Was planing to look at an IMT as a cheaper alternative to automatics but will not go for it after this test drives.

[wolfsnare24]

Two weeks back, I had a great test drive experience of the Venue SX iMT. The gear shifting was easy and smooth, and I drove it on Mumbai’s Link Road traffic with heaps of metro construction sites, and barely felt any annoyance or irritation. The right leg does all, and I’m able to shift gears conveniently at my own disposal.

I’m a young, fairly new driver, so it took me barely a few hundred meters of driving to get very chummy with the car and the engine. I’ve probably never felt as at ease settling into a new car as I have with this, quite simply because it was so intuitive and zippy to take across chaotic traffic. The suspension is a bit stiff as is the case with any Venue, but going over a shoddy road at over 25kmph smoothens things out comfortably.

I’ve been offered a decent discount for the Sport SX version that I think I’ll mostly be going for over my previous, pre-iMT launch consideration of the CVT Jazz.

I took my best friend with me for the test drive, an old school MT S-Cross driver for several years now, and while he appreciated the convenience of iMT, he'd never consider it simply because he felt like it was a halfway solution and that I should either go completely manual or pick a fully automatic.

While this logic is quite prominent in lots of places, especially here, I disagree that halfway measures a bad thing. To me, Best of both worlds beats purity every time!

[rugveda78]

Dear Moderators,
Thanks for adding me to this wonderful family of Team-BHP. I hope to live up to the standards.

Coming to the topic of this thread, this is a nice review of the Hyundai Venue iMT, as always. The reason I had been hooked up to the Team-BHP website for the past few years is the amazing level of details the reviewers pick up about the car in question. The photographs of almost all corners of the car, the functions / features explained, and above all the practical nature of the review has always amazed me. I must have read most reviews multiple times. Though I am not in the market for buying any car right now, I am sure as with many others, the reviews will definitely play a big role in my decision.

I have always liked the Venue for some reason; not too worried about the tight space in rear seat as most friends / colleagues / family members who would use it (if I buy a Venue) are less than 5.10" and average body-size and shouldn't be too uncomfortable there. The iMT, though not to the taste of many, appears a boon to people like me. For some reason, I have liked automatics more, but also know that manual gear-changes would give the driver a better control of the vehicle. iMT seems to be a comfortable mix of both. Especially after having a minor fracture on my left foot, I have always been worried about the left leg usage in my WagonR. About the gear-changing without a clutch, pardon me for saying this, but whoever owns a automatic would have at some point used the manual mode especially through the gear lever. Compared to that sequential gear shifting pattern, this iMT seems to be a much natural mode. Most of us learn driving on a manual car & would have been in habit of the gear changes as per the requirements. In-fact coming from an automatic to manual transmission might be more difficult than iMT to manual transmission in my opinion.

Also think of who will buy a iMT on Venue (and Sonet whenever it is launched). Someone spending 10+ lacs on these cars would most probably buy it for their daily commute in cities (to work or errands). I think it is only fair to give multiple options to the consumer and let the consumer decide. I personally think iMT could stay here. Never driven an automatic properly yet, except for 5 minutes of ride of my friend's Honday City CVT. I am hoping to buy my next car which will not be a manual, thanks to the signals sent by my left leg. But if iMT is going to take care of my left leg signals I, for sure, want to try out iMT before I look further towards an automatic. Then ofcourse, there's that lucrative savings offered by iMT over DCT or CVT, or even AMT.

For now, I am waiting and watching how iMT tech picks up. Since the car never stalls, I am assuming the actual clutch somewhere inside will be working overtime. Other than that, Venue seems to be a option I will consider, hopefully soon.

[amol4184]

Reviving a slow thread.
An interest in this car by a friend made me think.
I have habit of driving the car with one hand constantly on gear shifter. I might not do that on highway but in the city I am always onto the shifter.
Will my habit wear out/fool the sensors that actuate clutch? I am told the sensors in shifter and accelerator detect driver's "intention" of changing gear... sounds iffy to me but amazing things have been accomplished with tech.

[Totoro11]

iMT real-life performance

Can some owners please share your long term experience with iMT.

Has it lived upto your expectation of convenience or you would advise going for an AT/CVT/DCT instead of iMT.

Has there been any degradation in performance/ clutch response over time? Do you feel it will last long like the traditional MT or there would be additional maintenance costs (like the heating issues & wear in DCT during city use).

Does absence of clutch pedal lead to increased usage of brakes while in 1st & 2nd gear and does it impact the fuel efficiency?

[Swaraj65]

Originally Posted by amol4184

Reviving a slow thread.
An interest in this car by a friend made me think.
I have habit of driving the car with one hand constantly on gear shifter. I might not do that on highway but in the city I am always onto the shifter.
Will my habit wear out/fool the sensors that actuate clutch? I am told the sensors in shifter and accelerator detect driver's "intention" of changing gear... sounds iffy to me but amazing things have been accomplished with tech.

As someone who has driven the SONET imt for few months. I hope I can answer this question.
I have also this tendency of keeping my hand on the gear lever. But till now this hasn't given me any problem. It needs a considerable amount of force to shift the gear so keeping your hand on the lever doesn't trick the system.

[sou_3749]

Originally Posted by Totoro11

iMT real-life performance

Can some owners please share your long term experience with iMT.

Has it lived upto your expectation of convenience or you would advise going for an AT/CVT/DCT instead of iMT.

Has there been any degradation in performance/ clutch response over time? Do you feel it will last long like the traditional MT or there would be additional maintenance costs (like the heating issues & wear in DCT during city use).

Does absence of clutch pedal lead to increased usage of brakes while in 1st & 2nd gear and does it impact the fuel efficiency?

I mayn't call it long term as clocked only 4000 kms since november 20. However I have done couple of long drives and city runs to give my perception. This is coming from a lifelong MT driver and diesel-head.

A resounding yes for convenience. Mayn't be as quick shifting as DCT/AT, but achieves 99% of automatic convenience. If you have moolah then go for DCT/AT. If you want much better FE(hasn't gone below 12kmpl in city and 18+ in highways), a simpler setup and a little more control, then this comes as a better package at the same price as MT.

No degradation in performance as yet and I think 4000 km just qualifies for run-in period. No heating and any other issues observed till date. Still from my previous experiences driving lovely suzuki manuals, this is very close in transmission department. Hope it will last like suzukis.

The absence of clutch pedal actually reduces the use of brakes. I believe the moment you lift your feet off the A pedal, the engine braking kicks in and the intensity is stronger than manual. The 3rd gear has the best setting, 1st and 2nd may be only for speeds till 25-30. 3rd gear is very tall as it can run at 15 kmph till well over 100kmph. You can technically drive in 3rd gear all along in city.

[gks777]

Apologies if this is not the right thread for it, but I wish to ask if the Manual Transmission SX(O) turbo petrol offers Hill Assist Control? The brochure for the Venue says it does but I cant find any confirmation on the web. Can anyone care to confirm? Thanks

[Ketan_R15]

Excellent review!
Covers pretty much all the points.

In MT cars, we can cross small monsoon water loggings where the water is above the exhaust pipe, by keeping the revs little higher and slowly managing the clutch lever. How does that work in an AT or iMT? Am not sure if this question sounds stupid but it's coming from someone who has never driven an automatic before.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by Ketan_R15

Excellent review!
Covers pretty much all the points.

In MT cars, we can cross small monsoon water loggings where the water is above the exhaust pipe, by keeping the revs little higher and slowly managing the clutch lever. How does that work in an AT or iMT? Am not sure if this question sounds stupid but it's coming from someone who has never driven an automatic before.

One can keep the car in the 1/2nd or L gear of AT to keep revs going. But generally should be avoided as much as possible. Better to take a detour than to be stranded.

[Artyom]

God Knows how much of that is true

https://youtu.be/qdPrPed57sQ

[agm]

Thanks for the this excellent and in-depth review of the Venue IMT

Have booked Venue SxO imt on 25th of August and will be taking the delivery of the same on Dussehra(15th Oct)

Got the cash discount of 5k. Sales executive have promised me to provide me basic accessories worth 5k at the time of delivery. Final on road price I’ll be paying is 13.29 lakhs, which includes 5th year extended warranty!

[Mafia]

Does the IMT make a good choice compared to the DCT? I am sure IMT is not a perfect system, just want it to be more reliable and smoother than the AMT in the long run without failures.

I have reliability and high maintenance concerns with the DCT as I tend to hold on to cars for more than 5 years.

[callmeneo]

The IMT would be reliable as its a fairly simple concept when compared to a DSG, of a controller/actuator to control the clutch. And 5 years can be easily achieved. At most is you would have to replace the clutch earlier if the controller keeps slipping clutch frequently.

[akshaygambhir1]

Took delivery of my Venue SX(O) iMT on 19th Nov. It was a bit of a punt to opt for iMT which is relatively new in the market. Below was my thinking:

1) Was apprehensive of dual-clutch due to all the heating and reliability concerns highlighted on TeamBHP. Didn't even test drive Venue DC for this reason. It was also significantly more expensive
2) Nexon was the other option being considered. Test drove Nexon AMT while scoping out options. Between AMT and iMT I felt both had its pros and cons. No AMT jerkiness in iMT, while AMT is relatively closer to an automatic experience. Ultimately I realized I/m fine with either. So decision to buy Venue ended up being influenced more by other factors
3) The other proper automatic option in the segment - CVT, having driven Jazz and Baleno in the past (on Revv / Zoomcar) I didn't find it to my liking at all. You have very little control if you want to accelerate quickly to catch the green light about to turn yellow or overtake a bus in city driving

So far have driven Venue iMT for 300 kms, and sharing a few initial impressions for those considering iMT:
1) Even though it's not proper automatic, clutch-less driving is SO convenient still. I don't mind having to shift - I feel it gives me control in situations described above. To be fair, manual mode in AMT would give this too, but...
2) There is no jerkiness in iMT like in AMT. In my Nexon AMT TD I could feel the head nods but in iMT there's nothing like that.
3) Didn't take me much to get used to clutch-less set-up. I've only driven manual before this but the transition was fairly smooth for me. On occasions I end up putting the gear in 3rd instead of 1st when the car is stationary. But I guess with time muscle memory will build in. The car has a warning sound when this happens forcing me to correct the gear, so no problem of trying to get going in 3rd gear
4) So far have found gear shifting slightly stiff only in certain gears. 1-2 and 3-4 feel stiffer than 2-3 and 4-5. I've been shifting at a slightly higher RPM (between 2k-3k RPM) than what the MID prompt suggests (because the driver manual suggests driving in 2-4k RPM as much as possible for 1st 1k KM) and maybe that has something to do with this. But definitely not stiffer than a manual.

Overall, happy with my choice so far. But obviously long-term experience will tell overall verdict.