[speedfreak01]

Gave my 2021 sonet a slight makeover. Got it dechromed, debadged, ceramic coated, tail lights and reflectors smoked out, etc.

[rickygupta2]

I'll be getting the delivery of Sonet GTX Diesel AT (Black) tomorrow. Just want to know the basic PDI checklist that I should be ready with. Or should I just leave it to the showroom guys to do the same?

[bijims]

Anybody got their Sonet ceramic coated or graphene coated, which do you think is better and what are the advantages,
I got the following quotation/offer from the Kia dealership in my city for Ceramic/Graphene coating for my Black Kia Sonet, Which one of these would be the best option. Is Graphene worth the premium over Ceramic. I have never applied Graphene/Ceramic on any of my cars (none of them have been black and I never felt the need for coating then) and with Black being quite difficult to maintain, I decided to get it coated, so Kindly advice me the best option to go for.

*Ceramic coating or Graphene coating - 2 years full body warranty and Free recoating every 10 months*

Thanks in advance.

[jasjotbains]

Originally Posted by rickygupta2

Hello everyone,
I booked Sonet GTX + AT yesterday. The booking representative told me that I will have to take the insurance from the dealership only and if I don't do so then I'll have to sign an undertaking stating that I won't be given the facility of cashless claim at any Kia dealership.

Not true. The dealership is taking you for a ride. Most insurance companies have cashless tie ups with dealerships and you can choose the one which has it with Kia.

You can ask the dealership to give it to you in writing. That'll put them in place.

Also, i hope you've transferred your NCB from your previous car? My insurance cme down from 47k to 31k due to it

[hrman]

Originally Posted by rickygupta2

Hello everyone,
The booking representative told me that I will have to take the insurance from the dealership only and if I don't do so then I'll have to sign an undertaking stating that I won't be given the facility of cashless claim at any Kia dealership.

How true is this?

Ask them to give this in writing and write to the KIA customer service with 2 questions.
1. Is it mandatory to take insurance from the showroom?
2. Can the showroom deny a cashless claim if the insurance is not taken from them?
And forward this response to the showroom.

Alternatively, keep quiet for now. When the car is allocated and you are asked to pay the full money, then raise a ruckus on this point. All the best!

Edit: Saw that you are an insurance advisor yourself, so you probably know better how to handle the situation.

[rickygupta2]

I escalated to Kia India and received a call from them that insurance isn't mandatory. Also got a call from my RM saying that I complained against him and he is getting to hear a lot. Told him that I enquired about the dealership T&Cs from the company. Also, I canceled by booking with this dealership (Dada Motors Ludhiana) as I didn't want to deal with them (I had an option).

Another Kia dealership is located in Patiala (~100 km from my place). I contacted them and told them upfront about the insurance thing, they told me that they are concerned about selling the car and I'm free to buy insurance from anywhere. Gave them the booking amount and they arranged the car in 5 days. Took delivery on Thursday.

Originally Posted by hrman

Ask them to give this in writing and write to the KIA customer service with 2 questions.
1. Is it mandatory to take insurance from the showroom?
2. Can the showroom deny a cashless claim if the insurance is not taken from them?
And forward this response to the showroom.

Alternatively, keep quiet for now. When the car is allocated and you are asked to pay the full money, then raise a ruckus on this point. All the best!

Edit: Saw that you are an insurance advisor yourself, so you probably know better how to handle the situation.

[yedukrishnan199]

Originally Posted by bijims

Anybody got their Sonet ceramic coated or graphene coated, which do you think is better and what are the advantages,
I got the following quotation/offer from the Kia dealership in my city for Ceramic/Graphene coating for my Black Kia Sonet, Which one of these would be the best option. Is Graphene worth the premium over Ceramic. I have never applied Graphene/Ceramic on any of my cars (none of them have been black and I never felt the need for coating then) and with Black being quite difficult to maintain, I decided to get it coated, so Kindly advice me the best option to go for.

*Ceramic coating or Graphene coating - 2 years full body warranty and Free recoating every 10 months*

Thanks in advance.

Get the MENZA PRO Ceramic Coating done, the Graphene coating is just a ceramic coating with a few graphene particles mixed in, doesn't give pure benefits of graphene, it's just a marketing gimmick, and with graphene being the new technology, everybody's going behind it, you would be better off financially and use-case wise with the Ceramic coating.

[wadewilson]

Hello dear fellow BHPians, we had booked Fronx but cancelling it due to the price. So, the plan now is to get the Sonet GTX+ (1.5L AT) which is around Rs. 35,000 more in my state (excluding roughly 20,000 for accessories, and roughly 20,000 for extended warranty).

I just wanted to ask a few questions from Sonet owners:
1. My brother told me that the GTX+ doesn't get wireless AA and Carplay whereas the lower variants do? Is that correct?
2. How reliable has the AT been? Any issues experienced by diesel owners so far with regards to the tranny or DEF?
3. Parts cost - is it almost at par with or more than Hyundai?
4. What sort of mileage are you all getting on your diesel AT sonet?

Thank you

[bijims]

Originally Posted by wadewilson

Hello dear fellow BHPians, we had booked Fronx but cancelling it due to the price. So, the plan now is to get the Sonet GTX+ (1.5L AT) which is around Rs. 35,000 more in my state (excluding roughly 20,000 for accessories, and roughly 20,000 for extended warranty).

I just wanted to ask a few questions from Sonet owners:
1. My brother told me that the GTX+ doesn't get wireless AA and Carplay whereas the lower variants do? Is that correct?
2. How reliable has the AT been? Any issues experienced by diesel owners so far with regards to the tranny or DEF?
3. Parts cost - is it almost at par with or more than Hyundai?
4. What sort of mileage are you all getting on your diesel AT sonet?

Thank you

1. Yes, GTX+ has a 10.25-inch screen and it doesn't support wireless Android Auto and Apple Carplay while the 8-inch screen on the lower variants supports it.

2. The 1.5 Diesel AT is the most reliable variant of the Sonet you can get, it also does the job on the much bigger Seltos, Creta, Carens, and Alcazar. No issues so far and a smooth ride. No DPF issues or anything as such.

3. The parts cost can be said to be at par with Hyundai, nothing overly expensive.

4. I am getting mileage of around 20 on average, it purely depends on your driving style, but mileage is definitely much superior to the petrol variants.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by bijims

Anybody got their Sonet ceramic coated or graphene coated, which do you think is better and what are the advantages,
I got the following quotation/offer from the Kia dealership in my city for Ceramic/Graphene coating for my Black Kia Sonet, Which one of these would be the best option. Is Graphene worth the premium over Ceramic. I have never applied Graphene/Ceramic on any of my cars (none of them have been black and I never felt the need for coating then) and with Black being quite difficult to maintain, I decided to get it coated, so Kindly advice me the best option to go for.

*Ceramic coating or Graphene coating - 2 years full body warranty and Free recoating every 10 months*

Thanks in advance.

Never get any kind of ceramic or detailing work done at the dealership. I don't trust a dealership to wash a coated car properly, much less buff, do paint correction etc and then apply the coating. Their staff are not trained well and it's just a way to generate easy money for them. And no, it doesn't matter how high end the dealership is, the people they employ for doing this work is generally the lowest rung of the ladder, being paid pennies to make their margin as high as possible. Even a Mercedes dealership managed to ruin the ceramic coating on a brand new GLA because of their overenthusiastic washing.


Get it done at a reputed detailing shop. The price would be about the same but the quality of work will be much better.
Graphene is just a meme, don't fall for it. There is no such thing as recoating a ceramic coating every 10 months, you will get a maintenance wash with a few chemicals to ensure the coat remains in good condition. 2 years is way too low a warranty too.

[epiccross]

Originally Posted by wadewilson

I just wanted to ask a few questions from Sonet owners:
1. My brother told me that the GTX+ doesn't get wireless AA and Carplay whereas the lower variants do? Is that correct?

True. This is an issue with all Hyundai/Kia top trims including EV6 & Ioniq. Limitation with the infotainment they're using I guess.

2. How reliable has the AT been? Any issues experienced by diesel owners so far with regards to the tranny or DEF?

Absolutely zero issues. This is the best engine/gearbox combo you can get in the segment - creamy AT + refined diesel engine.

I mostly use it for city use (it's a tier 3 city), and occassional highway rides, and so far so good. I think it automatically raises RPM and does active regen whenever possible. I'd still recommend taking it out to open roads, it's so much fun as well!

3. Parts cost - is it almost at par with or more than Hyundai?

Yes, and there's a lot of part sharing as well between Kias and Hyundais. Generally it's almost at par for sure.

4. What sort of mileage are you all getting on your diesel AT sonet?

Really depends on driving style. If I go for city drives with a hard foot and constant braking, I've achieved as low as 12-13 (normal mode). But drive more sensibly, and you'll easily get 14-15 in city and 20+ in highways. For a diesel, that may not be exceptional but you're getting it with a an excellent auto box that's almost never in the wrong gear + has great kickdown times for a TC. I found it superior to DCT Sonet as well.

[FNM]

1.0 Petrol DCT Automatic OR 1.5 Diesel TC Automatic?

I am planning to buy a top-of-the line Sonet with either the 1.0 petrol DCT Auto, or the 1.5 diesel TC Auto. Would those of you who have experience of both of these variants please share your thoughts?

I have briefly driven both of these, and I will of course take more extensive test drives. But in the meantime, I would be interested in your experiences.

Notes: My only consideration for choosing between the two engines is driving pleasure and the ability to overtake briskly. Also of importance to me is powerful AirCon. I like proper cooling without running the fan at high speed. I prefer keeping the fan at a speed where the noise is not intrusive, yet have sufficient cooling on hot days (I live in Mumbai). I am not concerned with fuel economy, nor am I bothered by any price difference.

My impressions of the brief test drives was that the 1.5 diesel was pretty refined. The TC gearbox felt excellent - very responsive and smooth, even with sharp kick-downs. What I did notice was the 1.5 diesel AirCon seemed to cool better at the same temperature and fan settings than the 1.0 petrol. The Sales advisor confirmed that indeed the 1.5 does cool better, though he was at a loss to explain whether that was due to a more powerful compressor, or some other reason. If any of you have noticed this difference in cooling between the two variants then I would like to know.

The 1.0 petrol engine was of course more smooth and refined, though not much more so than the diesel. Unfortunately I was not able to test the DCT gearbox sufficiently due to traffic conditions.

For reference, I am an enthusiast driver and I understand cars. Hence I would like to get the Sonet with an engine that is more enthusiast oriented. My current ride is a BMW 3 Series. The Sonet will second car and will be used in town as well as out of town.

I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by epiccross

True. This is an issue with all Hyundai/Kia top trims including EV6 & Ioniq. Limitation with the infotainment they're using I guess.

Is this really true? I find it incredulous that 60-70 lakh cars do not have wireless Apple CarPlay or AA!

[bijims]

Originally Posted by FNM

[h3]
For reference, I am an enthusiast driver and I understand cars. Hence I would like to get the Sonet with an engine that is more enthusiast oriented. My current ride is a BMW 3 Series. The Sonet will second car and will be used in town as well as out of town.

I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks in advance.

Is this really true? I find it incredulous that 60-70 lakh cars do not have wireless Apple CarPlay or AA!

The 1.5 Diesel AT is faster, torquey, and more frugal than the 1.0 DCT ever will be and is a better buy overall in any circumstance if the price isn't an issue, Considering the fact that it is the same engine and gearbox combo doing work on the larger Creta. Seltos, Alcazar, and previously Elantra and Verna, it is the best version of the Sonet you can get.

You wouldn't regret your purchase if you go for the Diesel AT over the petrol DCT, In my case, when I bought the Sonet Diesel AT, the price difference between the 1.0 Petrol DCT and 1.5 Diesel AT was hardly 50k, so it was a no brainer, but with Dieels becoming more expensive with the BS6 Phase 2 norms, the price difference has risen to over 1 lakh ex-showroom, this is the only reason why you may decide against the 1.5 Diesel AT or maybe perhaps the aversion towards Diesels in recent times due to the "upcoming" emission norms or a "future" ban on diesel cars.

A point to note about wireless Android Auto and Apple Carplay, initially wireless android auto and Apple car play had a limitation on working on custom-sized screens like 10.25 inch, etc, but that was ages ago, but Kia/Hyundai still hasn't fixed the same even on newer models, don't know why.

[FNM]

Originally Posted by bijims

The 1.5 Diesel AT is faster, torquey, and more frugal than the 1.0 DCT ever will be and is a better buy overall in any circumstance if the price isn't an issue, Considering the fact that it is the same engine and gearbox combo doing work on the larger Creta. Seltos, Alcazar, and previously Elantra and Verna, it is the best version of the Sonet you can get.

You wouldn't regret your purchase if you go for the Diesel AT over the petrol DCT, In my case, when I bought the Sonet Diesel AT, the price difference between the 1.0 Petrol DCT and 1.5 Diesel AT was hardly 50k, so it was a no brainer, but with Dieels becoming more expensive with the BS6 Phase 2 norms, the price difference has risen to over 1 lakh ex-showroom, this is the only reason why you may decide against the 1.5 Diesel AT or maybe perhaps the aversion towards Diesels in recent times due to the "upcoming" emission norms or a "future" ban on diesel cars.

Thank you for your reply. It so good to know the 1.5 Diesel also does duty in the larger Kia/Hyundai siblings. But price is not a concern for me so I would go for whichever engine/transmission was the nicer one to drive. The Sonet Diesel now comes with AdBlue additive so again that is less of an environmental concern.

[FNM]

Originally Posted by bijims

The 1.5 Diesel AT is faster, torquey, and more frugal than the 1.0 DCT ever will be and is a better buy overall in any circumstance if the price isn't an issue, Considering the fact that it is the same engine and gearbox combo doing work on the larger Creta. Seltos, Alcazar, and previously Elantra and Verna, it is the best version of the Sonet you can get.

You wouldn't regret your purchase if you go for the Diesel AT over the petrol DCT, In my case, when I bought the Sonet Diesel AT, the price difference between the 1.0 Petrol DCT and 1.5 Diesel AT was hardly 50k, so it was a no brainer, but with Dieels becoming more expensive with the BS6 Phase 2 norms, the price difference has risen to over 1 lakh ex-showroom, this is the only reason why you may decide against the 1.5 Diesel AT or maybe perhaps the aversion towards Diesels in recent times due to the "upcoming" emission norms or a "future" ban on diesel cars.

A point to note about wireless Android Auto and Apple Carplay, initially wireless android auto and Apple car play had a limitation on working on custom-sized screens like 10.25 inch, etc, but that was ages ago, but Kia/Hyundai still hasn't fixed the same even on newer models, don't know why.

Thank you for the explanation about lack of wireless CarPlay on the 1025” screens. I find it an unacceptable omission at 18.5 lakhs on-road price in Mumbai. I am having second thoughts now about buying the car. If the comparable VW Taigun can have wireless CarPlay then I see no reason why Kia cannot offer it (however there are other issues with the Taigun/Kushaq which make me not to want those cars).