Buying a Kia Sonet: Confused between the petrol DCT & diesel AT

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

BHPian FHM recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

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.

Here's what BHPian bijims had to say on the matter:

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.

Here's what BHPian epiccross had to say on the matter:

As rightly pointed out, as an HTX owner who has Wireless Android Auto/Carplay, it's absolutely not a dealbreaker. Battery drains fast with Wireless AA and I eventually plug it in anyways.

VW Taigun etc. has reliability issues and Aircon is pathetic, to say the least. The AC in Sonet is terrific, just turn it out and it cools the cabin within no time. Plus the drive is great, I would recommend if you don't have reservations in going with Diesel. I did, and yet I went for Sonet as the engine/gearbox combo is SO good!

Here's what BHPian ArijitGupte had to say on the matter:

As far I understand, CarPlay and especially Android Auto are battery hoggers.

With wireless charging the charging rate might not be at the same level as the battery drain and will actually defeat the purpose.

As for wireless feature coming in the older cars, I have a GTX and whenever I step in the car, my phone auto connects and has a notification that Android Auto is available please connect a cable. So the phone knows about the cars capabilities, guess the cars infotainment may already have the wireless feature just not fully enabled.

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