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-   -   Should I replace my used Kia Sonet iMT with a used Sonet DCT? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/suvs-muvs-4x4s/272237-should-i-replace-my-used-kia-sonet-imt-used-sonet-dct.html)

I have a Sonet iMT HTX turbo. It is pre owned and well maintained. It's a July 2021 manufactured car. Condition is great and it works flawlessly and haven't encountered even a minutest of niggles. It's run 16 K kms.

Recently came across a Feb 2021 top end Sonet GTX + DCT ( Old kia logo). Its completed 12 K kms. I have seen the pics and it looks in great condition. It's priced attractively as well, so attractive that I can sell my Sonet and buy the GTX+ and I believe I would need to shell out a max of 1L. I would gain following over my sonet-

Ventilated seats
Auto dimming irvm
Inbuilt tpms
A 4.2 inch colored MID with more functions (opposed to black and white in my sonet)
Loaded 10.25 inch touchscreen vs 8 inch in my sonet
Front parking sensor
Wireless charger
Air purifier
Rear wash wiper
Mood lighting
DCT gearbox without paddle shifters
Connected car tech
Bose sound system with 8 speakers vs non Bose and 6 speakers in my Sonet

I would lose following -
Wireless Android auto
Rear sun shade
New logo of Kia

I would be inspecting the car thoroughly, and also intend to take it to a Kia service centre and perform thorough diagnostics. If everything looks great, should I replace my current sonet with the GTX+ ?

Yes, go for it.

Gtx + also has a better aesthetic appeal like good-looking alloys, red inserts bumper, better interiors etc. Apart from the long list of features which you have mentioned.

These looks and features will help you keep the car for a longer period without feeling that the car is outdated.

Most important- Get it checked at KIA ASS thoroughly and take a long test drive before finalizing the deal.

The rear sun shade is the immediate useful feature that you would miss. Charging you may not use regularly - and you would have cable based charging option. You can replace the logo, may be ?

If the car checks out, why not ?

Go for it if the service history checks out well. The GTX+ has a distinct visual appeal and the features that you would gain are much more, as opposed to what you would lose by selling your existing model. As far as Rear Sun Shade is concerned, you can always get it installed from an accessory shop.

Especially given you are so very well satisfied with your iMT car, I would advise retaining your iMT. Further, I would advise against trading any iMT with any DCT, the former being far more reliable as (the most important factor viz.) transmission technology.

Sharing some further thoughts that might help:

In my case, I wanted a pure automatic so that my wife would find it easy to drive, and even though i20 (or i20 N-Line) DCT sounded perfect for our requirements, I have been skeptical of DCT, especially with ever-increasing traffic conditions and bumper-to-bumper traffic being encountered regularly (I see your location is Pune, same as mine).

Massive traffic jams would become more and more frequent, howmuchever we might hate that! Just search on "DCT heat" issues on Team-BHP. That's what made me steer clear from it (very thankful to Team-BHP members and threads).

In my case, since I wanted a full automatic, I chose Honda Jazz CVT while it was still on offer. It has been a lovely decision. During my trips especially to dense areas in Pune/Mumbai, it is so comforting and reassuring that the car is not a DCT one, and I would never get a transmission overheat warning! I would have had the same feeling with an MT or an iMT as well, but never with a DCT!

A lot of additional features you have listed are a definite plus, but in my humble opinion even collectively they don't give the "peace of mind" that an iMT would offer against a DCT, especially for our weather conditions + traffic conditions. Goodness forbid, but you might be losing the peace of mind you have got today.

This opinion might differ from the mainstream opinion. Best wishes with whatever you finally decide. :)

One lac is nothing when you compare how much better Seltos is compared to Sonet in terms of space and extra features mentioned by you. You set to lose nothing to be honest as all three features can be added too (logo doesnt matter honestly).

There are three main aspects that you need to factor:
1. Larger size of Seltos in urban traffic and parkings.
2. DCT v iMT: DCT will sure need higher maintenance (overall).
3. Your pre-owned Sonet is already tested to be guaranteed reliable. Buying a Seltos will again bring a period of uncertainty for a few weeks/months regardless of how it feels during inspection.

Whatever you choose, I wish you have a wonderful/ happy ownership experience.

1 lac in nothing in return to what you will add on to the car, however I will suggest you to get the car thoroughly checked, specially so since it is a DCT gearbox. Have not heard much about the Sonet's DCT giving up like the Skoda's do but still one point to check.

Also, does this car have extended warranty, if not can it be extended now?
Having an extended warranty will surely give you peaceful years of ownership experience.


He is asking for higher variant Sonet GTX+ not Seltos :)

Thanks for pointing this out. One small error has entirely changed the meaning of the post.

I stand corrected in that case and would not recommend a swap unless a proper automatic is a mandatory requirement.

Actually the alloys of HTX and GTX+ are similar being diamond cut in both. But I agree the red accents do make the GT line look slightly better.

Thanks, I was specifically looking for inputs regarding the DCTs. I know the DCTs have been troublesome, however, as rightly pointed above by Ayush, have seldom come across DCT issues in Hyundai/Kia cars. The VW/Skoda group is a different story altogether.

I believe, people facing DCT issues are one's who don't shift to neutral in B2B traffic, which heats up the DCT. I shift to neutral at >3 sec stop even in my iMT. If that would make me safe WRT DCT, I think it can be a great bet. Please correct me if I am wrong.

The VW DCT has been here for a very long time so theres more evidence to it. Hyundai ones were more recent and it just might not have enough data of long running to show issues. Not saying that they are problematic. Like you mentioned the problem with DCT is mainly the b2b traffic. You should just take a calculated risk and consider the worst case where DCT fails. What would be the expected cost of repair. And also consider that the car is less than 3 years old. Even if you see a repair it should realistically be after the 6 year mark assuming heavy usage. I think its worth the risk considering the much better package this car is.

Well, they strongly suggest taking the following precautions while driving any DCT (regardless of the manufacturer):

1) Avoid crawl/creep in stop-and-go traffic, as that's the main culprit when we engage half brakes or release them only partially while the car is in gear. This is what makes the DCT heat up considerably. Hence they recommend point 2) below.

2) Do not engage the gear (OR keep the brake pedal fully pressed, as doing that also apparently disengages gears). Only once there is enough space equal to accommodating "several" vehicles ahead of you, engage the gear and/or release the brakes fully, so that any friction is avoided and so that no heat builds up.

Unfortunately it is very difficult to practice the above in bumper to bumper stop-and-go traffic. We can't put the car in neutral (as we are not waiting at any signal and we need to keep moving albeit at a very slow pace), because if we stop crawling/creeping and wait to have adequate gap to "get created" in front of us, we can never move as adjacent cars would continue filling that gap rl:, and we would also irritate vehicle drivers behind us.

Coming to VW/Skoda versus Hyundai/KIA, while the latter combo seems to have lesser issues reported, but lesser number of issues are still issues which have made their owners run from pillar to post. Here is an example of the ordeal a fellow BHPian had to go through for his KIA Seltos DCT: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...eltos-dct.html

An opinion poll on DCT was also launched in 2021 where a lot of folks have shared their experiences and opinions. You can check it out here, and decide for yourself.

If you are thinking of a change then why go for the same car especially when there are better ( read safer ) options?

You can go for Nexon which is the segment leader and the flag bearer of safety in the segment. You can also try out Brezza which is the safest car in Maruti’s stable.

If you are not satisfied with iMT, only then go for DCT with a valid reason. While things like air purifier or mood lights et al are nice features, they do not warrant a car change.

I can't agree more with you on this assessment. This is the real traffic scenario in Pune and I believe in all metros in general. Even in the manual car, you will often find need to drive it with half clutch because releasing full clutch will have unacceptable speed even in first gear. Also, if you wait for sufficient gap to be created between you and vehicle ahead of you, if not other cars then some two wheelers will try to occupy that space and you will not be able to move forward. Ultimately, out of frustration, you will either drive with half break and half clutch for the manual car or just half break for DCT car and both will result in clutch deterioration in long term.
I have voted yes in this poll assuming OP knows all the risks associated with DCT and is willing to take it. Because otherwise, this is value for money decision.

In that 1L INR you can cover a distance of 15K which is good enough for whole country road trip 😃 On the other hand, the deal is very tempting and that's the beauty of going the pre owned route.