[vinitadikonda]

My first post! Thanks for making me a part of this community

I have pre-booked Kia Sonet HTX iMT - Steel Silver in August, the dealer has promised me to deliver in about a week after launch. Its gonna be a month next week, still waiting. But after couple of escalations through the Kia Care email address I got a call from dealer that vehicle would be ready early this week (around 13th or 14th).

I have moved to India last year and was in search of an affordable automatic car, gave a shot at Big New WagonR AMT, no doubt its a terrific car with great space and unbelievable mileage, months after I bought that Kia Seltos was launched in India but I wasn't interested in a car of that size and price. I was waiting for Kia to launch something 'compact' and then Sonet arrived.

I was very skeptical about iMT as I have to slot in gears again (last time I ever drove a Manual was 4 years back). I was looking for DCT and then came my friend with his iMT Venue and I was blown away! I have gone in for Sonet iMT TD and was convinced!

AMT is a great tech (apart for lags and jerks), but I feel its kind of dangerous on Highway drives with you try to cut in on small overtakes and even when you kickdown.

The third gear of Venue/Sonet iMT is really tall and it kind of works like an automatic :P

I would like to know views of other members here, would you prefer iMT over an AMT (after driving both)?

Also, HTX doesn't come with Alloy Wheels. It'd be 35-45k extra bump if I'd be wanting one, is it worth? Apart from looks, what is the other 'significant' value it will offer?

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by vinitadikonda

My first post! Thanks for making me a part of this community


The third gear of Venue/Sonet iMT is really tall and it kind of works like an automatic :P

I would like to know views of other members here, would you prefer iMT over an AMT (after driving both)?

Also, HTX doesn't come with Alloy Wheels. It'd be 35-45k extra bump if I'd be wanting one, is it worth? Apart from looks, what is the other 'significant' value it will offer?

Originally Posted by Saitama

Thank You tBHP Mods for letting me be a non-silent member of the tBHP family. After almost a decade of silent lurking in these threads I can finally share a word two with tBHP.

Attachment 2065981

Welcome to TBHP and wish both of you Happy Motoring and great journeys. Also Congrats on your new cars!
Tbhp is a wonderful forum where we can all openly share our views and take helpful advice from the community.
Be sure to read the TBHP thread on advice for newbies before you begin!

Looking forward to your ownership reviews. The diesel AT is definitely a stonker engine and in this compact car, should deliver great mileage and performance too.
On the other side the Turbo 1.0 L IMT is a very interesting proposition and may just be the right combo to keep petrolhead happy about having control of their cars performance for people who like manual shifting.
Most of us are now getting tired of pressing clutches in back to back traffic and need better options. I for one am really keen to read the IMT ownership threads!

[r.joshi]

Skip to 14:04. Sonet indeed comes with Wireless CarPlay. I wish to this update on Seltos as well as there is no point in having a wireless charger in car which doesn't support wireless CarPlay.

https://youtu.be/L-nEzUvcCKQ?t=844

[RaceHorse]

I want to downgrade my booking to HTK+ Diesel AT from GTX+ Diesel AT, is this a wise move?

Based on the feedback from other users I am assuming that HTK+ variant is not rolling back on slopes. Need to check how long it can hold,
I am already driving a Verna AT without Hill assist or ESC.

My driving will be purely in city and my previous car Micra had only 2 airbags. Assuming Kia build quality will be similar to Hyundai,
I believe HTK+ with 2 airbags should be safer within city speeds!!

Except rear wiper and D-cut steering I am not missing any other feature that much from GTX+.

my other choice is Polo HL+ AT.

Please provide your opinions, will it be a wise move to shift to HTK+ or Polo is better compared to HTK+.
I know both are different cars but my requirement is just a sub-4M AT car with TC box which my wife can drive easily.

[PaddleShifter]

Originally Posted by RaceHorse

Please provide your opinions, will it be a wise move to shift to HTK+ or Polo is better compared to HTK+.
I know both are different cars but my requirement is just a sub-4M AT car with TC box which my wife can drive easily.

Hi RaceHorse, I'd recommend Sonet over Polo in your scenario. Although both cars are easy to drive for the ladies, Sonet scores better in terms of cabin space when compared to Polo. Speed breakers etc. can be tackled better in a crossover SUV. Seating position is also a plus point compared to a hatch.

[bhansali_hardik]

Got home the baby elephant!



So, we were in the market to buy car. We had no segment or the budget in place when we started looking. This was of course pre-pandemic lockdown days and we had to replace our loyal 10 year 1,80,000 KM driven MS swift. The search dragged on for ages I believe!
Every car in every segment was carefully followed and every new launch was being tracked. We went around shopping during the lockdown (on the internet) and we baselined our needs.

1. Even though we are a family of 6 now, we hardly would use the car together in as the office times and weekend schedules usually don’t match. We would rather take both the cars for the road trip or hire a self-driven car if need be. The economics of maintenance and the ease of use in city was the driving factor.

1. Should have newer features than the existing second car (Brezza ZDi). An automatic if possible.
   Given that we will be giving away the petrol Swift we wanted to replace it with a petrol car.

Cars considered:
This is going to be a huge list, because we were seriously considering every car in the market and then we narrowed it down to these:

Tata Nexon
a. Why we considered it
i. Amazing proposition, sorted looks from the front and side profile. However, the rear was a big put off!
ii. Great safety.
iii. Great space in the rear
b. Why we dropped it
i. Nothing exciting and the VFM factor played in, we already had a Brezza ZDi and this seemed a little overpriced for what it offered
(considering the sunroof and other additional feature which we wanted over and above our current car)

Tata Altroz
a. Why we considered it
i. Looks
ii. Safety
iii. Wanting to genuinely buy a Tata Product!
b. Why we dropped it
i. Weak, weak engine! Did not feel like an upgrade for the Swift in driving dynamics and a turbo petrol has been on cards for a long time. Did not want to buy this engine knowing the turbo is around the corner.

Skoda Rapid TSI
a. Why we considered it
i. The engine!
ii. There were n number of things which were working out for this one - we were considering the Ambition line, there were many things which were missing, but we were very close to buying it.
b. Why we dropped it:
i. None, none of the people whom I know vouched for Skoda. They simply asked to drop this first batch with the TSI engine and rather wait for a while to see the service related expenses and the kind of shady deals these guys have cut with other consumers.

I was intrigued by Kia since the start and we did seriously consider buying a Seltos too, but the budget restrictions were in place for the kind of money we would spend for a car like Seltos/Creta/Harrier and we could only get the 1.5L petrol Manual in our radar. But had to drop it because there were no Test Drive vehicles available anywhere across Bangalore for this!

Got in a tough situation with the dealer, you can read about that here :
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post4823271 (Kia Seltos : Official Review)

Then came along the real hype for the Kia Sonet and we were all working from home. We saw the launch event live and this product seemed to tick all the boxes and the apparent rumours/leaks considering the product line and the kind of engine and transmissions were already out. The only thing that remained unknown was the pricing. We were genuinely excited for this one. It was refreshing to look at and feature rich.

Looking at the long list of features, I was sure the top end variant would be out of our budget and too close to the Seltos and it would not make sense to buy it unless the pricing was good. I did not pre-book it, neither did I register my interest for it. The biggest factor going against this was the C-SUV segment itself. The first question my better half asked was “Why would we want 2 Brezzas in our garage?”

I was closely monitoring the threads, the YouTube channels and all the media. We were almost sold on this product , but not convinced totally about the purchase.

We have a Kia dealer next door, but after knowing how they would potentially treat new cars, we swore to never step back to the showroom. We wanted to check out the car in flesh, but the other dealers were pretty far away! However, one Saturday we blocked half a day just for this and went to Advaith KIA on JC road. We saw the car in flesh and were sold. It looked better than expected from the front, the rear was acceptable and the rear three quarter look was hmmm... TBH SAD.

But the interiors looked plush and neat. The steering wheel itself felt really good! The rest of the car was also good and there are small bits which genuinely surprise you. (More on this later)

So, we were very sure we would go to Advaith KIA JC Road to take a TD and then buy one from them if the pricing was right and the car drove well. With the variants list out, we were sure that the HTX iMT would be the right fit and tick all the check boxes for us. But iMT was a BIG IF. So, the rather exciting proposition was looking gloomy because of this combo.

Another Saturday was wasted for the test drive as there were people swarming at Advaith in huge numbers and we waited for 2 hours to get our TD and it was a mere 10 minute ride through traffic. But the iMT really did work better than expected! I was shocked at the ease of using it and how natural it feels to use. Have driven AMT’s and the head nod is certainly present. Though contained and subtle, it is always present. Also, the nightmare of upshifting or downshifting using the break/accelerator never made me feel confident!

The pricing was out, the media went into a frenzy and called it a brilliantly priced product. But I thought otherwise and the top model's pricing was skipped, which made me uncomfortable with their approach. However, since we were looking at the HTX iMT, it was priced close to what we had expected. Rs. 9,90,000 is what I had expected it to be at, but it was at Rs. 9,99,000. It was very evident, why. They had skimped on the alloy wheels but given a sunroof. They would give a cruise control or many such things but skimped on the alloys!

We followed up with the Advaith KIA and told them to get the car for a TD to our place so that we could show it to our family and seal the deal. But with the volumes they were dealing with, they asked me to give them a week's time to arrange the TD at our place. But, they were persuasive about placing a booking as there was huge demand. I was almost about to make the payment, but I gave a call to the TL of my sales executive and tried to check if there were any slim chance to send the car over, early in the morning. But, he told me that there was no chance the car could come over for another month at least!

I made enquires using the KIA’s website for TD and JSP KIA, who I chose as a preferred dealer, was at my doorstep in 2 days. The sales exec was a very easy person to talk to and communicate. He had clearly told me the date and time when it would be possible, and he did show up as committed.

My family saw the car, they took the TD in out apartment complex (a 2 km ring almost around the complex blocks). All of them were a little skeptical about the iMT, but were ok to try it out. The budget/criteria was there along with a list of features which was a certain upgrade. But the family was concerned about the rear bench which seemed a little cramped.

I was offered to take a TD as well, I decided to take a spin on the road and chose a stretch where I could see how it would perform at a slightly higher speed. The car just moves after the turbo kicks in! It was very planted during the short drive. Tried taking U-turns as well in narrow spots and it faired well. The iMT was a real winner and in many senses, did not feel out of the place or weird and I was OK to experiment with it and throw my money in it.

But if there was a manual transmission I would have picked that because iMT honestly, is a little daunting. The reliability and the costs associated are still a big unknown. But the ease of driving and the cost at which it comes is known! So, we picked it.

The Buying saga:
The SE told me that if I made a booking on the spot, he had the UPI QR code right there on his phone. It was easy to make a booking as I was the one giving the money. All I had to do was transfer a sum of 25,000/- and identity proof over Whatsapp. He told me I could take finance and the insurance on my accord. However, he asked me to visit the showroom to check out their offers to have an easy transaction.

Later that day, the SE told me that there was a white HTX iMT in the stockyard and he would be able to block the VIN if I was sure about sorting my finances and buying it within a week. I was affirmative about it and the SE told me clearly that he would take 4 days at least from the day of full payment to deliver the vehicle and he did not want to give any false commitments at all.

I was excited and was feeling lucky. I gave a go ahead over the call and within few minutes my SE was able to send a ton of OTPs to me and the next thing I knew was I could log into KIA’s website and see the status of vehicle as VIN Blocked! This was a great buying experience until now and I had not anticipated it to be this transparent at all!

Well, this got jinxed a couple of days later. I went to the showroom and when I went for the finance options and since I am a HDFC customer the HDFC loan proposition looked good at 7.9% and other charges were coming up to 6,000/- INR.

I had given a call to my RM at HDFC and she was affirmative that I should never take the loan from the dealer as there are many places where they would not be of any help after the loan is processed. She was trying to upsell herself. I was ok with that and my SE confirmed that I can give him an answer in a couple of days.

My RM was sure that since I’m a preferred customer I will be getting n number of benefits and the other charges which are proposed by the dealer (documentation, processing etc) will be cut down. I was on call with the load head and asked him not to read out breakups but give a round figure about what I’m looking at to cough up. He told around 3,500 is the max what I would end up paying. They would also cut an insurance deal for me where I would effectively get the same policy offered by the dealer but at 25,000/-.

It was a Monday and I asked the HDFC folks to send out the exact quote, t&c of insurance and wanted to close the deal. But, guess what, the HDFC folks were charging me more than the dealer! A few thousands certainly do matter and if you are trying to con me after calling me a preferred customer. I’m certainly going to see it as a red flag and leave you! That’s what I did. I abandoned the ship. I don’t want to be conned for a few thousand rupees! I had issues that they spoke ill about the dealer and then they themselves turned out to be worse!

I was going through other banks and what they had to offer. I was surprised to see that SBI has an app and was waving off processing fee and they would also give a ROI 7.5% if we availed the loan through app! Like, this was a forbidden fruit, everyone I know has always cribbed about this bank and how the process works!

I was about to make a call to the dealer to get the loan through them and talk about insurance as well. But I got a call from the dealer telling “you cannot take loan or insurance from outside. We might allow you to take the loan, but for insurance, there is no chance”
This statement irked me to an extent where I obviously called my SE and told him that we had a clear discussion about this and why was I getting these kind of calls. Feels like you are goons. He says “Sir, I’m not sure why they are imposing this on the Sonet, but you can certainly take insurance or the loan on your terms. Give me 5 minutes I will get back to you.”

“Sir, I’m sorry but they are telling me that you have to buy insurance from us. I know the difference is almost 10,000/- for the same deal but there are a few advantages if you take it from us. But, I get your point. Please let me know how do we take this forward.”

I was certain that I would not buy it from them and would go ahead with the cancellation. I placed a cancellation request (they needed canceled cheque, passbook, address proof that matched and what not) and started enquiring with other dealers.

Other dealers were trying to sell insurance more too, but they told OK when I told I would buy one only if I have it my way. They were so reluctant that they did not even call me back to follow up!

It was 2-3 days since I placed a cancellation request and there was no confirmation yet! They were avoiding my calls as well. I dropped mails and phone calls to KIA and the same person who was avoiding my calls, called me asking for cancellation and pretended like nothing had happened. I was then told “please give us a day. We will cancel your booking.”

I got this in a mail and was relieved that the cancellation would go through.

The next day I got a call from the same person again and she goes “Sir, our GM sir wants to talk to you. Can you please talk to him?”

Sure, why not!

“Sir, I’m blah blah. I hear you are cancelling the booking just because you want to buy insurance from outside. I will take special permission from the company for you and let you take the insurance from outside. it’s a company rule sir. What do we do?”

ME : Which company, KIA? Please give it to me in writing. This violates my rights as a consumer.

Him : “No, no sir. This JSP KIA’s rule, not the actual KIA.”

ME : Who are you to impose such rules? Give it in writing!

Him: “Sir, please. It would be a pleasure for us to serve you, I’m not happy about it either. Please reconsider the cancellation.”

I was ok to buy it, as I did not want to go over this process all over again and other dealers were also very cold about it.

ME:“Need a no nonsense Proforma invoice. You have added accessories and what not in it.”

Him : “Within 10 minutes your SE will get it to you.”

My SE was a sane knowledgeable guy who was well sorted. I did not wait for him to get it to me and I applied for a loan through Yono and within 3 minutes or so, I could choose my home branch and also choose a branch which I would like to go to! The bank is next door to where I live and walked to them with the online application form and the mentioned documents.

Tuesday 6th October
The bank guy, who was supposed to process my loan, took 10 minutes to sort out the papers, typed something on the computer made a few calls and said, "You applied for it here, but the application went to home branch (RR Nagar). So got it transferred here. Give me a day's time. Your money will be disbursed tomorrow. By evening there was a guy doing verification at my door step!

Wednesday 7th October
There was a document missing, I had to mail it to the SBI in the evening and the next day, we went to sign a few more forms and an arrangement letter with the sanction letter was handed out (we were given a choice to get 0.1% stamp duty or pay them 850 and they would take care of it). We obviously payed 850 and by evening the money was transferred! We were either lucky or the system has changed! But things started working out.

Thursday 8th October
Next day, the dealer tells us that they cannot invoice it as the address in the sanction letter has a mistake. Oops, I will lose 2-3 days again is what I thought. But, no! The SBI manager was really helpful and sent over the new letter with the correction over WhatsApp within 5 minutes at 6 in the evening! Talk about luck?

My SE was on leave for 2 days, but he constantly coordinated over the phone and the process was seamless. But he never gave a guarantee about the delivery date, he was scared of me for sure as well. He know that I would be OK with getting the car later, but not false promises.

Friday 9th October
My SE gave a confirmation about the car delivery and asked me the time / date I wanted. I was ok with anything during the day time on Saturday and conveyed the same to him

Saturday 10th October

I gave him a call and confirmed if he was giving the car. He was sure about the delivery and said that the car will arrive soon. Also, he had asked me to give a call an hour before I intend to reach.

I gave him a call around 12 and was planning to reach by 1. When we reached, there she was standing in the delivery area in all her glory with my SE overseeing the cleaning process. Then he greeted me. He asked me to go over to the vehicle and check if everything looked good and in place.

After the confirmation he asked if there are other things I would like to check or we can go ahead with the documentation.

I gave him a go ahead and we signed the documents. None of the accessories were in stock! We did not pay in advance. Wanted a sill guard, mats and mud flaps for sure!

If this was not enough, the CRM came to the delivery bay to butter us up and wanted me to flick the phone out and rate them there and then on Google! ARE THEY SERIOUS? The car is standing under the red drapes and we are ready to drive off and you want me to stand there and give a review? SERIOUSLY?



Elaborate delivery ceremony, but it was just 3 of us to receive the car. Pandemic times are a little crazy!

We were offered a walk though of the car, but we like exploring all the bits ourselves so we asked them to skip it! We were excited to take it on the road and get it fueled a, there was a meagre 5L put into it!



The only freebies and chocolates :





Coming to the Car itself:
We love our new buy and it’s a little hard to not be in love with it. In my case especially, the whole purchase was driven by heart and not head obviously!

Initial Drive Impressions:

Just to clarify yet again, this is a HTX iMT model. So, the engine churns out 120 PS of power and is a 3 cylinder unit with iMT a.k.a Almost manual transmission?



Push the start button and the idling comes close to 1K rpm. There certainly is a vibration felt at cold starts and it’s not very heavy but there are certainly some sorts of vibrations creeping in and you can feel them near your legs.

There are a ton of bells and chimes here. So it might take me a while to get to know what is where! But the 2 most, rather 3 most important objects are clearly visible:



1. Tachometer, so that I do not get carried away during the run-in period!
2. Which gear I’m in and when I should upshift (if you have to down shift there is a chime that goes off with message on the MID asking you to shift to a lower gear.
3. Speed - the digital speedometer has a great readability.

The odometer, distance to empty, avg fuel consumption are put all over the place and will take a while to have the eyes to read them quickly.

The odo was at 30km when I took the delivery and now it’s at 150. So all these impressions are based om the first 100 km of driving. Let’s not focus on kitna deti hai yet, That can and will be answered after 5000 kms on the odo.

While in neutral, press the brake and hit the start button. Slot it in first and drive away! On cold starts, I feel the engine and transmission have a prominent lag initially (below 1.5K RPM). But once warmed up, it actually moves effortlessly, and it has a seriously fun engine. Just can’t wait for the goddamn 2000 kms to be over. Just keep slotting the gear as you would would do in a manual and this will work and respond similarly.

It has a crawl function. Have driven in a bit of traffic as well. From the moment I took delivery, it was a relief that we did not struggle to drive it in dense Silk board traffic!

The handling until now has been precise and to the point. The steering feedback is there and it’s easy to maneuver it. I have taken it up to 60 kmph and it does weigh up a bit to inspire confidence to put the pedal down. But, sabar ka phal meetha hota hai Is what I have heard.

Suspension feels mature. It’s not soft, it’s not too stiff either! It’s a little on the stiffer side as compared to the Hyundais. But it’s to my liking and I wouldn’t mind if it was a little stiffer as well. It’s kitted with the MRF Wanderer rubber. The tyres are just plain BAD. Too much of road noise creeps in - too loud for my liking. I will be swapping them for Contimax5.

Small things that might now matter, but stand by the company's tagline POWER TO SURPRISE YOU

1. With the key on you, just walk you to the car and the ORVM’s Open! Isn’t that magic?
2. The lock / unlock beep is great. It’s heavy, it’s got bass and it feels top notch! Remember the presentation which talked about horn? Yes, it actually works great.
3. Doors are solid! So, is bonnet. I can even call it a super heavy to be honest!
4. The steering wheel. God it screams quality and sturdiness!



5. The door pads have a nice material and stitching.



6. The rear on the white car actually looks hot!



7. The neat integrated camera.

8. Gimmicky start using the key fob is a great party trick! Why Gimmicky you ask? Well, let’s see after a year how many times you actually use it!



9. Look at the smart slot between the cupholders, phones sits really well here.



So is all great? No, not at all!

Here are the annoying bits:

1. A million rupee car does not get rear wiper or washer!
2. Neither does it get alloy wheels.
3. Oh, the system is still buggy. The wireless car projection does not work with OnePlus7, OnePlus7T or the OnePlus Nord. I'm not buying an Apple! Android Auto works great through USB.



4. No rear wiper, we are reminded every time we use the stalk! They have the same stalk from the top-end variant here.



5. Obviously, the tires.

6. The volume up and down is in one direction but changing tracks is in another. You have to pull the knob down to go to next song, but push it up to increase the volume.



Well, it still screams quality and has a ton of things going for it aptly at the price point. The manual variant would have wiped out the competition with that engine and price. I’m sure the manual, if priced on par with the iMT would also sell in great quantities. The manual should not be far away. The eventual price hike will get the manual config here as well at a lower price slot nearing the 1 million mark.

[PaddleShifter]

Great first impression. Dealers are offering TD in GTX+ (mostly) trims with leather seats. The seats are very comfortable.

How about the HTX with semi leather seats (seating part is fabric)? Are they equally firm and comfortable?

The base model of 2013 Punto in our family has soft seats compared to my 2010 Punto Emotion variant although both came with fabric seats.

[Saitama]

Originally Posted by ashvek3141

Many congratulations buddy! Sweet ride there.
Looking forward to your ownership review.

These are some seriously good efficiency figures for a 1.5L Diesel AT!
I had also seen the same on the Insta story of Sirish, from evo India; wherein he showed a picture of full tank range of a 1000 kms!!

Wish you blissful miles ahead.

Thanks!. I was expecting max 18kmpl on highways. On my return drive to Bengaluru from Chennai, I was a bit more confident with the car and did a lot of cruising at 120+. Tank full to tank full gave and FE of 17kmpl for Bengaluru-Chennai-Bengaluru trip. (This includes city driving of about 15%)

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Congratulations! .Can you please elaborate more on the driving experience - in terms of power, accelerations, ride quality on bad roads, gearshift quality, engine noise and refinement etc?

I have done only a short test drive, and would be happy to know in more detail actual owners on the D-AT driving characteristics. Look forward to hearing from you on the above.

Full power only kicks in after the turbo starts to kick in. There is turbo lag when starting from a stop, for me I got used to it and can live with it. I test drove nexxon & venue before booking sonet and both of them had similar if not more lag in first gear.

if you floor the pedal SONET AT is super fast to reach 2k rpm and gives you all the power. Roll on accelarations from 80+ is what astonished me, Overtaking on highways is so easy.

Engine noise is well contained and there is a mild growl note to it above 2500rpm. I'm actually starting to like the feel of it more I drive.

Gear shits are super smooth and had zero headnods. I find this as smooth as the 7DCT I tested. Not as quick as the 7DCT though.

Originally Posted by vinitadikonda

I would like to know views of other members here, would you prefer iMT over an AMT (after driving both)?

venue/sonet iMT > any AMTs out there now.

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Congrats on your new cars!

Looking forward to your ownership reviews. The diesel AT is definitely a stonker engine and in this compact car, should deliver great mileage and performance too.

Thanks! Yeah, stonker is the word that sums this engine up.

Originally Posted by RaceHorse

Except rear wiper and D-cut steering I am not missing any other feature that much from GTX+.

The rear glass of all hatchbacks/cSUVs are prone to be dirtmagnets (owing to its shape and aerodynamics). I find rear wipers on my old swift and Sonet extremely useful.

Originally Posted by bhansali_hardik

1. With the key on you, just walk you to the car and the ORVM’s Open! Isn’t that magic?
2. The lock unlock beeper is great, it’s heavy, it’s got bass and it feels top notch! (Remember the presentation which talked about horn? Yes, it actually works great)

Very true, every time i walk to the car, I giggle inside a little seeing the small ears open up.

The lock unlock sound was too loud for my basement parking. So disabled it using the keyfob lock-unlock button long pressed for 5 secs.

[bhansali_hardik]

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

Great first impression. Dealers are offering TD in GTX+ (mostly) trims with leather seats. The seats are very comfortable.

How about the HTX with semi leather seats (seating part is fabric)? Are they equally firm and comfortable?

The base model of 2013 Punto in our family has soft seats compared to my 2010 Punto Emotion variant although both came with fabric seats.

I will put the seats on par with the GTX+. Yes the seating part is fabric. The side portions where folks might hold the seat is leather. It's well thought out, they have used black in such areas where you might hold on to.
Also, the lighter interiors make the cabin feel roomier.

[amateurpro]

Originally Posted by bhansali_hardik

Got home the baby elephant!

Attachment 2067000


Well, it still screams quality and has a ton of things going for it aptly at the price point,

Attachment 2066998

Attachment 2066989

Congratulations on your new car. I am also looking at HTX iMT because it has many useful features and helps in valuable savings on taxes (because of sub-10 lakhs ex showroom price).

1) Sunroof
2) iMT drives the 1 litre turbo better than the DCT as I observed in Sonet iMT and Venue DCT during the test drives. iMT is butter smooth in gear shifts compared to a manual car.
3) A connected car feel (though not one, but remote start-stop is good enough for me)
4) 8 inch infotainment system
5) Stunning looks etc.

I miss the rear washer and wiper too, but not the alloy wheels.

Can you please share some details on the following.

1) Actual savings on insurance by buying it directly.
2) I have been quoted 20,095 for basic kit in Chennai but without details. Can you share what the kit contains?
3) Did you opt for extended warranty package offered at close to 20k?

BTW, white is a fabulous colour for any car in India and more for a sub compact SUV. Happy motoring.

[vinitadikonda]

Originally Posted by amateurpro

1) Actual savings on insurance by buying it directly.
2) I have been quoted 20,095 for basic kit in Chennai but without details. Can you share what the kit contains?
3) Did you opt for extended warranty package offered at close to 20k?

Let me give my inputs!

1) I saved 7k on getting my own insurance. The dealer was fine with it.

2) There isn’t even a small piece of accessory available in Hyderabad atleast (my dealer says so) and I am not charged 20,095 for that reason. But as far as the list I saw at the showroom, most of them are exterior like chrome fittings all over. I felt Mud Flaps, Cabin Mats the only ones that are essential to me.

3) My usage is 98% city drives and 2% occasional highway drives in an year. I felt paying 20k for ‘unlimited kms’ of EW is of no use to me. I referred Kia’s website where there is an EW plan for 1,20,000kms (no way I am gonna run the vehicle that many kms, but still) and had asked my dealer to sign me up for that where I could save 5k.

[bhansali_hardik]

Originally Posted by amateurpro

I miss the rear washer and wiper too, but not the alloy wheels.

Can you please share some details on the following.

1) Actual savings on insurance by buying it directly.
2) I have been quoted 20,095 for basic kit in Chennai but without details. Can you share what the kit contains?
3) Did you opt for extended warranty package offered at close to 20k?

BTW, white is a fabulous colour for any car in India and more for a sub compact SUV. Happy motoring.

I've heard from many in Bangalore that the dealers are apparently not letting people take insurance from outside! But if you do, for the same add ons you'll save close to 7-8k.
As mentioned here, there are absolutely no accessories in stock! So, that 20k is out of the question. It's filled with chrome bits and other not so important accessories. You should certainly not buy that as a kit. Rather choose the ones you want.

I did the same thing, bought additional warranty for 1,20,000 km /5years. Paid 15,817/- for it.

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by bhansali_hardik

Got home the baby elephant!

Congratulations and nice review. I think your review deserves its own thread.

Oh, the system is still buggy. The wireless car projection does not work with oneplus7, onplus7t or the oneplus nord. (Not buying and apple! But Kudos, android auto works great through usb)

I don't think it's the problem with the head unit but the phone. Wireless projection requires Android 11. What version of Android does your OnePlus phone has? Your phone must meet these requirements in order for the wireless projection to work (check the wireless section) - https://support.google.com/androidau...48019#wireless

[bhansali_hardik]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

Congratulations and nice review. I think your review deserves its own thread.



I don't think it's the problem with the head unit but the phone. Wireless projection requires Android 11. What version of Android does your OnePlus phone has? Your phone must meet these requirements in order for the wireless projection to work (check the wireless section) - https://support.google.com/androidau...48019#wireless

Thanks for pointing that out. Yup, we don't have android 11 on any of those and the google specifically mentions this :

Any smartphone with Android 11.0 and 5GHz Wi-Fi. In the EU, smartphones must comply with additional regulatory requirements in order to use 5GHz Wi-Fi in the car.
A Google or Samsung smartphone with Android 10.0.
A Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, or Note 8, with Android 9.0.

So, looks like I will have to use it in a wired way! I have a a snug little Oneplus c type wire which works great!


Are they going to reserve this to a Google/Samsung phone? If so, it's about time we stop bashing Apple.

[car_guy1998]

Originally Posted by bhansali_hardik

Got home the baby elephant!

Attachment 2067000


Well, it still screams quality and has a ton of things going for it aptly at the price point, the manual variant would have been wiped out the competition with that engine and price point. I’m sure the manual if priced on par iMT also will sell in great quantities. The manual should not be far away, the eventual price hike will get the manual config as well at the lower price slot nearing the 1 million mark.

Attachment 2066998

Attachment 2066989

Congrats for buying the Sonet. I should appreciate Kia for bringing first-in-class features for a Rs.14L car. Had seen this car before its launch and got impressed with its Diesel AT engine (though I didn't get the TD yet) and black interiors, which is my favourite in Sonet GT Line. I prefer black interiors over black and beige interiors any day in Sonet.

My favourite pick in Sonet is the Sonet GTX+ Diesel AT. My cousin, who is planning to buy a car next year, is already considering Sonet as his next car along with Thar. Since he would be travelling alone all the times and with his mom with 2 or 3 people seated in back, I told him to get Sonet but he is confused whether he should get Diesel MT or AT though he is hell bent on getting the Diesel MT as it is Rs.1L cheaper and gives good FE. But I had suggested him to get Diesel AT as his daily ride is a Celerio AMT.