The hill hold definitely helped boost the confidence during the uphill drive in Shimla amidst stop and go traffic.

BHPian gpagedar recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Completed a 4500 km trip of Shimla, Manali and Dharamshala in the Sonet GTX DCT.

Took off from Mumbai on 12-Nov and returned on 26-Nov.

The car was fun to drive both on the plains and on the hills too. Used a mix of Eco and Sport mode and the car returned an average of 15.5 kmpl. It was 17 kmpl when I reached Manor (about 60 km from Mumbai) before I hit the Mumbai traffic a km before the Vasai creek bridge which brought down the final average to a shocking low value of 15.5 kmpl.

Had a great drive and the car drove well throughout. Also completed the 20,000 km milestone along the way.

The one drive it could not do was on an icy slope at Narkanda where the car kept skidding. It has snowed a few days before and some of the snow had melted to form ice due to which the Sonet could not drive up.

We had to leave the car mid-way and joined another group to the top (Hatu Mandir). They made it because of the 4x4 that they were driving.

Also enjoyed the drive through Atal tunnel on the way to Sissu.

The hill hold definitely helped boost the confidence during the uphill drive in Shimla amidst stop and go traffic.

A very satisfying drive to be sure.

Looking forward to more such drives.

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I charge my electric vehicle often when electricity is the cheapest.

BHPian Indian2003 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

The car has done 14,400 km so far and I will have the first service done on Friday this week. I pay a fixed sum every month to KIA for service, about ,025 euro cents a kilometer.

The total cost of electricity has come to about 150 Euros. I drive a total of 130 km to work and back every day. 7000 km of this distance has been work-related. I am paid 40 Euro cents a kilometer to drive to work and back.

I never pay more than 7 Euro cents a kWh. Looking at the chart, I charge often when electricity is the cheapest.

Here are my charging details from April when I bought the car.

I did a long trip this summer. I drove on cruise control and regenerated when possible. The car did very well. 10,84 kWh/100 km. Total use for 466 km one way was 50,55kWh which should have given me a range of 600 km. With normal driving, I get between 450 and 480 km on 1 charge.

This is the range shown with a full charge. The meter is quite accurate in the summer.

The one thing that irritates me with the car is all the beeping sounds it makes when driving. I never know why sometimes it is not possible to deactivate all of them.

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The features on offer, fit, finish and quality levels are also exemplary. It's definitely a mini-Seltos in every way and an excellent value-for-money proposition at the same time.

BHPian bijims recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Kia Sonet Diesel AT- Purchase experience and initial ownership review:

Introduction:

The Kia Sonet is one of the most stylish and well-rounded compact SUVs in the market right now. After experiencing every other compact SUV in the market, the Kia Sonet was the one that struck my heart the most. Its fun and frugal diesel engine with a smooth 6-speed torque converter AT gearbox sealed the deal for me. The only diesel AT with a proper 'auto' box in the segment, the Kia Sonet diesel AT is a value-for-money proposition, especially in its diesel AT form.

Booking:

I initially booked the Kia Sonet on the first of July 2022 from the Incheon Kia dealership in Thrissur and the booking was made for the 7-speed Turbo DCT HTX variant. The test drive had gone well and I booked it without any further thoughts. Still, over the next few days, I began to hear excellent reviews of the Seltos and Creta's diesel engines and thought why not go for the diesel with the Sonet, I immediately asked for the test drive from the dealership and the same was arranged within the next day. The test drive changed my opinion about diesel altogether. The car was so silent with hardly any vibrations unlike the diesel of old and the instant torque and smooth torque converter AT gearbox of the car made me switch from petrol to diesel, moreover knowing that the engine and gearbox are the same as the one on the Seltos and Creta with the same tuning made me feel that it definitely was the better choice, So the booking was revised and a tentative waiting period of 3 to 4 months was given to me and the wait began.

PDI and delivery:

It was on 12th October when I finally got a call from my sales executive that the car had completed production and was ready for dispatch. On 17th October, the vehicle arrived at the dealership, we immediately went for the PDI, and funds were transferred for the car as well after the PDI. The car was ready for delivery on 25th October 2022 but since it wasn't the best day for delivery due to a solar eclipse on that day, we went for delivery on 26th October. The dealership organized a delivery ceremony and cake-cutting as well, they even had a present for us at the event too. The joy of driving the car out of the dealership was out of this world.

Drive, features, and initial thoughts:

Moving on to the car itself, our car is a Black HTX Diesel AT which I feel is the most value-for-money diesel automatic you could get in the segment. The features on the HTX variant are just a notch below that of the GTX+ variant. The car is definitely feature-packed for the price with an 8-inch touchscreen with reverse camera and wireless Android auto, semi leatherette seats, sunroof, rear AC vents, all requisite safety features like ABS, EBD, Hill Assist, VSM, Traction control modes, drive modes, 4 airbags, etc. The car is reasonably spacious and has a large 392-liter boot as well. On the exterior, led headlamps, tail lamps, DRLs, foglights, diamond cut alloys and shark fin antenna all add to the flair of the car.

Moving forward to the drive over the past two weeks, it is definitely super smooth and the mileage over the past two weeks has been great too. The car starts up silently, while on the move, the initial pickup is great too, on the highways, it gains pace quickly, and overtakes are seamless as well. Android Auto and Apple Carplay both connect wirelessly, the 6-speaker audio system by Arkamys are good enough for most people in my view, and the rear view camera is of high clarity and helps especially when parking in tight spots. The features on offer, fit, finish and quality levels are also exemplary. I am absolutely satisfied with the car and would recommend anyone looking for an automatic compact SUV to try out this vehicle. You would definitely be impressed. It's definitely a mini-Seltos in every way and an excellent value-for-money proposition at the same time. No wonder it's selling like hotcakes and why Kia has been a hit in the market in such a short time.

I have attached a few pictures of my car during PDI and at the time of delivery and after puja. Didn't have enough time to take more pictures with it.

A detailed review would be coming up soon!

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The best fuel efficiency I could extract on a long trip of 325 km, fully loaded, driven very sedately and hardly ever touching 100, was 16.5kmpl.

BHPian ImranHyd recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

4200 km update:

It has been around 75 days since I got my Kia Carens diesel automatic (Aurora Black).

Pros:

• Engine is butter smooth. NVH levels are low. Difficult to observe when the gear changes except while climbing up on Cruise control when RPM shoots up.
• Seating is spacious. For a family where no one is > 5'6", it is the ideal car.
• Ingress and egress for elderly is not bad.
• I was initially driving on Eco mode but when I started using Normal mode, I never went back to Eco mode again. Never tried Sports mode though.
• People do observe the car on roads.
• Enough luggage space.

Cons:

• There is a huge difference between fuel efficiency displayed on MID vs actual mileage using tankfull-to-tankfull method. The difference observed is from 2.5 to 4 kmpl.
• The best fuel efficiency I could extract on a long trip ~ 325 km, fully loaded, driven very sedately and hardly ever touching 100, was 16.5kmpl. When driven in city+highway, which is my daily ride to office, the best I could extract is 14 kmpl. I used to get 19 kmpl from my Vitara Brezza on the same route.
• TPMS is never correct. Even though all the tyres are set to same pressure, TPMS always shows a difference between them.
• Head lights are worst. Haven't driven yet on highways at night but I dread that day (or night).

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I opted for the red black dual tone finish, but Kia is telling me that it would take a long time to deliver that color since the demand for dual tone is not that much.

BHPian souvik das recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello esteemed BHPians,

I am from Kolkata.

I have booked my first car, a KIA Sonet GTX+ from Easter KIA in New Town. I opted for the red black dual tone finish, but Kia is telling me that it would take a long time to deliver that color since the demand for dual tone is not that much. It may take till February 2023 to have it delivered. Today I got a call from the dealership saying that a red color model is available and if I want, they can have the roof painted black as per KIA specification, that is, I will have the dual tone finish.

My query is, will it be ok to go ahead with this? If yes, then what should I be looking for while taking delivery of the car specially regarding the paint? I am also thinking of doing a ceramic coating after getting the car. Will there be any issue with this repainting?

Positive point is if I agree, then I will get the within this month.

Thanks a lot everyone.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Blackening up the roof is the simplest thing on the planet and doing so at the dealer is almost a zero-risk exercise. Go for it. I've gotten two of my cars' roofs done up in the after-market and am happy with the end result.

I prefer to skip ceramic coating & PPF. What I do instead is get my cars detailed every 6 months. Works marvelously for me and you'd be hard-pressed to tell my car's age by looking at them. Drive carefully, park carefully & follow all the best practices listed here.

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

Not sure how much the dealer will charge for roof painting, but a simple good quality wrap can be done from 3M at 10k. If the cost difference is not significant, I would go for roof painting from the dealer.

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

Only negative I can think of, coming from a state where the MVD is breathing down your neck is that, the RC book won't reflect the colours. Most factory dual tones have the colours recorded in their RC records.

Again, just in Kerala. If Kolkata cops are okay with it, a roof wrap is the simplest thing to do.

BHPian blackwasp replied:

You just need a bill from the workshop saying so and so change has been done. Any competent agent should be able to get it updated in the RC. Once the RC is updated, you can then get the insurance done as well.

If you don't want this hassle, go for a wrap.

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

As far as I know, factory paint is baked enamel. That can rarely be duplicated in a dealer workshop, as the original baking is done on a barebone shell and not on a built up body.

So refrain from getting the roof painted, just use a wrap as suggested. Or just wait for the car to come from factory.

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

My Etios has dual tone with gloss black paint and I've had a vinyl wrap done on my indica. The factory paint is vastly superior. The wrap was done at a local place so it may be the quality of the wrap too.
Given its a new car i would go for the dealer option so that it's endorsed that way in the RC book - I too am from Kerala, so have to deal with MVD guys looking for revenue generation opportunities.

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

Keep your original factory paint, it is a brand new car after all. The best idea is to wrap.

I had this done on my Laura and it worked well for me. I used to rip and replace it every year or so whenever it lost its finish, including ORVMs that used to get the regular two-wheeler love in traffic.

Remember to detail the roof first and then wrap, so the original paint underneath does not suffer in the long run. I used to rip the wrap, detail and put a new wrap every time.

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All round visibility is excellent. Those little windows in the third row help when reversing or checking the IRVM.

BHPian heavenlybull recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

So, here are some initial observations of my Prestige Plus TGDI after completing 1,200 km in 2 months. All driving was in the NCR, with mostly 2-3 occupants.

Positives:

• Even though a turbo, the car has acceptable low-end power. It seems that the pulling power at low rpms (1-1.5k) gets better once the engine warms up after the initial 2-3 kms. Believe it or not, I find this car's low-end better than the Honda Brio, which has been my daily ride for the last 9 years.
• The AC is powerful, especially when you turn on the rear one also. Impressed.
• Passenger leg space is fine, unless all 6 passengers are over 5'10.
• The short back rests of the 2nd and 3rd rows can be a boon or bane, depending on your requirements. Since, except me (6'), all the family member are below 5'7, we have no issues at all. Moreover, shorter backrest means that I have a great rear view in the IRVM.
• All round visibility is excellent. Those little windows in the third row help when reversing or checking the IRVM.

Negatives:

• It's a 7 seater, but has only a lap belt for the middle passenger, and no headrest either. That middle space in the second row is for torture only, with a hard seatback and less thigh support.
• Useless mud guards provided by Kia/dealer. They're so small that all the mud/muck splashes onto the plastic claddings. Better get functional ones installed outside.
• Ultra-cheap hollow, plasticky click sounds when operating the horn, and also the power window switches. The official review mentions the same. Looks like it's a trait of all Hyundai cars, since our Grand I10 also has such irritating 'clicks' when using these door buttons.
• Keyless door unlock sensor button is only on the driver side! Man, this is such a horrible miss from Kia. A real convenience feature reduced to half in effectiveness. How many times I have come to the passenger side, and wish that door had the unlock button.
• The front center armrest is fixed too far back, and it's also non-sliding. So, for most people, it'll just be used as an elbow-rest.
• No roof grab handles in the third row. Maybe higher variants have them?
• The headlight leveler is illuminated, but not its dial!
• All door buttons are illuminated, but not the ORVM adjuster.
• The glovebox has a BIG gap inside at the top (refer to the image below), so if you fill it to the top, stuff will easily slide into that gap. I found this the hard way when some leaflets I had kept in there slipped through.
• There should have been an option to manually disable the front parking sensor. It comes on each time you engage the reverse; I find it a nuisance at most times.
• This is my first car with a rear camera, so I don't know if that's how it's supposed to work, but the camera shows objects further away than they really are. The field view and quality of the camera is good though.

Other points:

MID showing a mileage of 8-8.5 kmpl. Totally acceptable in the short city runs (AC always on) that I have done (the Brio gives 11). Haven't gone beyond 2K RPM yet, but the turbo does kick in at around 1.5, and gives a strong push!

Overall, the Carens is looking to be an excellent family car. I think it's virtues will really shine on the highway trips with our 6-member family aboard. On the other hand, the little negative observations I have made till now means that real attention to detail is lacking in some places.

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City runs have increased a bit with the hybrid work model. The funny part is that I always get higher FE in cities rather than highways.

BHPian guyfromblr recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

30,000 km service update:

It's been a while since the last update. No news is good news. The car is just running fine without any issues. It completed running 30K kms last week and got the fifth service done at Advaith Kia, Lalbagh. The only complaint I had was that there was a faint squeaking noise heard from the rear of the car when driven over uneven surfaces. SA did a small TD and identified the issue to be with the torsion beam axle bush. It was replaced under warranty. Since the replacement required some time, I was asked to keep the car in the service center overnight. The noise is gone for good. The overall service experience was great as usual.

SA was constantly sending videos and images of all the work being done in WhatsApp:

Service costs - The costs can indeed be brought down by getting things like wheel alignment, polishing, etc done from outside but I don't have time to do multiple runs for those jobs and hence try to get everything done at just one place:

The running is mostly on highways to places around Mangalore which has roads in horrible condition.

City runs have increased a bit with the hybrid work model. The funny part is that I always get higher FE in cities rather than highways. I drive to the office at odd times and it's not uncommon to see such FE statistics while I get only around 15-17 kmpl on highways:

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The engine & gearbox now seem to have settled down. Notchy shifts have reduced drastically and the engine pulls more freely. I believe the engine will open-up even more after the first oil change.

BHPian furyrider recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Update after 4.5 months of ownership and 7000 Km (PP 1.5 diesel for those wondering the variant):

The engine & gearbox now seem to have settled down. Notchy shifts have reduced drastically and the engine pulls more freely. I believe the engine will open-up even more after the first oil change. Mileage has now settled down to around 18-20 highway and 14-16 city depending on the load. For those interested in my mileage logs, please find the screenshot below. Please note that all these were measured using tank-full to tank-full method.

There seems to be a faint rattle from one of the doors which I am unable to locate. It is not irritating, but one can hear it if they pay attention. Yes, it is that faint.

As many have already pointed out the plastic cladding is a pain to maintain. Since it is raining every other day, I have stopped worrying about it for now.

Regarding NVH, the engine which was silent earlier seems to have gotten a wee bit vocal these days. It is not irritatingly loud, but can hear that familiar diesel clatter under hard acceleration. This is more pronounced in the city though. On highways, the engine is barely audible. Most of the noise you hear is tyre/wind noise.

The headlights seem to be the weakest link on an overall good package. I am contemplating to switch to Philips H4 Xtreme Vision or Hella H4P50TB. Any suggestions are welcome. Noob question: Owner's manual says socket is H19L. Googling reveals H4 will fit the socket. I am not sure if both are the same. Experts, please guide me on this.

C in Carens stands for condensation. This is a universal issue and so far, based on social media reports, Kia is still experimenting on owners to find a fix. Mine is not as severe (cold to touch mostly) as others have reported, but given the right set of conditions, it will rear it's ugly head.

Have been driving in the rains a lot lately. The stock MRFs are holding up well for my highway speeds (read as 80-100). The wipers are another story. I could see streaks already. Looks like I have to change them during the first service. I am contemplating frameless wipers, but may stick to stock ones for now.

The rear hatch door is a dirt magnet. Drive for 5 mins in rain and the entire door + mirror will be covered in dirt. The rear wash/wipe is a must on this vehicle. Sometimes, at the end of long trips, I even wonder how bad the visibility must be if I did not have a wiper at the rear.

There seems to be an issue with how Kia has configured the hill-hold on the vehicle. The issue is mostly reported by 1.4T owners, but I hardly saw 1.5D owners complaining. A month ago, I had to stop on a incline which was not that steep. When I tried to accelerate, the vehicle stalled thrice and would not move. Luckily the road was wide enough for the traffic to safely pass around me. I gave a pause of 30 sec and tried restarting the vehicle. This time, hill hold was working as intended and the vehicle moved forward without problem. On the three occasions when the vehicle stalled, I felt as if the vehicle was applying brakes even harder if I pressed the throttle. Ideally, the vehicle should release the brakes when it senses that the driver wants to move forward. However, on this rare occasion, the vehicle probably held on to the brakes and did not move forward/back resulting in shuddering and stalling with the vehicle not even moving an inch forward. I tried this multiple times afterwards, but am unable to replicate it. I think this can be fixed with a software update, but am not sure about it. Will report it during the second free service though.

Regarding the crash tests, enough has been said and discussed on this forum before. Although I am disappointed, I was not expecting more than 3 stars. So, I was sort of mentally prepared for what was to come. Quoting myself from a previous post below:

I do not expect a rating above 3 though since the Creta and Seltos fared equally poor in crash tests.

My concluding remarks: This is a true blue family vehicle and remains the sole long distance runner and preferred choice in the family for highway runs. I was one of the few lucky ones who got this at the introductory price. So, for the price I paid, I am pretty happy with my decision so far. Sure, it has it's own drawbacks like mediocre safety ratings, an engine that feels moderately powerful, the infamous condensation issue, non functional roof rails (for an MPV - seriously Kia?), etc. But then, the more I use it, the more I begin to appreciate the vehicle for what it is. It is spacious, practical, has decent suspension that handles highways and rough patches equally well, is decently kitted for a mid variant (barring the headlights - the guy who approved these should be asked to drive blindfolded over a cliff), has running costs equal to my old B1 petrol hatch and most importantly keeps my family happy on long drives.

Will the vehicle age well? I don't know. Will this stay with me for a long time to come, oh yes!

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I have driven on almost all terrains so far with as much as 7 full grown adults and weekend luggage and found no power issues whatsoever with the diesel auto.

BHPian guru_to_be recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi all,

Would like to post a quick few review points after almost 5 months of ownership and close to 8000 kms of running. I won't be repeating what people have already posted but would want to give some opinions for sure. I own Luxury Plus diesel auto.

Most of the reviews I've read or watched on Youtube share similar opinions whether its mileage, ride comfort, features, power etc. Its a lovely car, period! More SUVish than an MPV. More comfort & luxury than the competition. The direct competitor Ertiga is not a bad car at all, in fact the newer version aces it's game but Carens is a better car overall and the price difference is justified. In fact, it matched our requirements better than what Safari, XUV700, Alcazar had to offer overall.

Wired Android Auto / Carplay in Luxury Plus models - this to me seems like a deliberate attempt by Kia so that the users enjoy Bose speaker system. Bluetooth audio is just about okay. But if you really want to enjoy true Bose, connect those wires and see the difference. Many users are feeling less sound at the rear seats - please adjust the Fad and incline the sound more towards the rear. This would balance volume across all rows. If you're more of a Bluetooth audio user, this would also help you hear the bass coming from the woofer which is placed at the last seat making the overall music experience better.

It seems that the rear doors are lighter than the front ones. The bonnet and boot doors are decently heavy. Overall I feel the rear and front are well built but the build quality for rear doors is a tad compromised or could have been better. Recently a bike crashed my car from the rear damaging one of the taillights and putting a small dent just above the "Auto" badge. Surprisingly the rear bumper absorbed the crash really well without breaking anything. I feel the bumpers have been designed smartly to take minor crashes like these really well.

There are hardly any rattles overall even after almost 8000kms of usage. Most of the rattles observed so far were from those little things kept here and there.

I was in the market for almost a year test driving multiple options and finally chose the Carens. Budget was never an issue, but ride comfort and body roll was paramount for us in the family. There is far less body roll in Carens as compared to the other SUVs and MPVs I test drove. The best car in terms of ride comfort and body roll (amongst all the options in the market) was Hexa followed by Carens. Though Hexa is no longer available, a used one was always on my mind. However, test driving Carens twice helped in ironing out the options quickly. I wanted to keep what I buy for a good 8-10 years and a used Hexa could have been troublesome in later years for obvious reasons hence the Carens. Those looking for ride comfort, you can buy Carens with closed eyes. Important point to note though - if you're coming from a large size hatch or sedans even, Carens will feel like having little bit of body roll at slow speeds when going over bumps, specially while going over speed breakers diagonally (sometimes you need to in those odd parkings or coming out of malls etc).

Pickup - I have driven on almost all terrains so far with as much as 7 full grown adults and weekend luggage and found no power issues whatsoever with the diesel auto. The power is just about enough and the car never has to stress. Note: I hardly ever put on sports mode!

Cold engine - There is diesel clatter like noise that filters into the cabin till the time the engine picks up it's ideal temperature. This I believe is a diesel engine characteristic. Once the temperate hits mid-point on the display, it feels like a smooth petrol engine. Revs like one too! Simply superb!

Condensation Issue - It's there, surely there! However, I am ignoring it for now. I don't want my car to be parked or played around with at the SVC till the time a confirmed solution is out. I keep the rear AC vents open as much as possible so that the air passes through rather than being stalled thereby increasing the condensation issue.

I have not posted many common opinions that have already been talked about in the forum. However, I'd love to answer any questions the new owners may have.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

It defeats my intelligence as to why was a provision for SCR and DEF not provided for sub 2.0L diesel cars in India.

BHPian Dejay recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I belong to the dying breed of car owners who chose a diesel car since the advent of BS VI emission norms in India. If you narrow it down to diesel car owners below 2.0L engine then I am sure there are gonna be much lesser pals for me. Nevertheless I am a die hard fan of diesel cars and never regretted it until....

While choosing my diesel car little did I know about the importance of a magic fluid called DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) and a process called SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) and its most critical function in diesel cars with the advent of BS VI emission norms. Add to that the substandard BS IV or below fuel that is being sold at the fuel stations all over India. These two things contribute to the lack of practicality of owning a diesel car in India (sub 2.0L engine).

So I paid the price for it as all the hazard lamps in my car started blinking because the BS IV fuel got clogged in the filters of my BS VI diesel car. The solution offered at the KIA service station was even more bizarre. They told me to drive the car for 2-3 hours over 3000 rpm.

Nevertheless, the issue was resolved but I understood that this was a problem that is going to keep coming back to me. It defeats my intelligence as to why was a provision for SCR and DEF not provided for sub 2.0L diesel cars in India. For the uninitiated, let me explain: The function of SCR and DEF is to dissolve the dirty gases, NOx, and particles that are released through the exhaust. In India, only vehicles that are 2.0L engine and above have a provision for SCR and DEF.

So I end up with a 1.5L diesel car with no provision for SCR/DEF which is a horrible situation. So if you are planning to buy a diesel car in India, please go for a one with 2.0L engine or above. I invite all my fellow 1.5L diesel car owner pals to come share with me your grief or advice to handle this situation.

My love story with diesel cars has ended. I have already used 3 diesel cars so far (Maruti Swift Dzire 1.3L with Fiat Multijet engine, Volkswagen Polo 1.5L with TDI engine, KIA Seltos 1.5L with CRDi engine). I have already decided that my next car is going to be a petrol car. Just like most love stories, mine also does not have a good ending. But what fun is there in a love story with a happy ending.

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