Connected tech in cars: Pros, cons & usage of subscribing to them?

So do you think spending INR 6.5 a day (that's going by Rs 6990 for a 3-year plan) on Kia Connect with it?

BHPian bharathreddyt recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello car owners!

Like most Kia owners, I used the Kia Connect until it was free, 3 years in my case, and now contemplating if I should renew it.

I like the app mainly to:

• Check vehicle status - if it's locked, the range available etc.
• Then to be able to start or stop the engine - set the climate control to get the car prepped for a ride.
• Also to find the car in a huge parking lot by blaring the horn.

But I don't like the fact that you can't control Windows from the app or from the key fob. The vehicle status doesn’t report windows or the sunroof. How silly is that? What's the point of knowing doors are closed while no clue if I forgot to roll the windows and shut the roof?

The voice assistant I guess is tagged to Kia Connect. It's mostly a miss rather than a hit. I only opened the sunroof once with it nothing else.

I'm guessing the updates to the in-car system and navigation happen OTA via Kia Connect, but pls correct me.

I never used the roadside assistance or SOS features - I understand it will work only when the vi sim has reasonable cell reception.

So bottom line: I use it for locking when I forget to, start the engine to cool the car down on occasion.

So do you think spending INR 6.5 a day (that's going by Rs 6990 for a 3-year plan) on Kia Connect with it?

Would you subscribe? Why or why not?

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

Hi,

I have renewed my KIA Connect service in Jan this year for the next 3 years.

Did I do it only for the tech features it keeps enabled that way? No!

It also bundles it up with supplementing services which I think are very crucial in owning any car in this country:

Under premium plan @ 7,999/- for 3 years:

Road Side Assistance offers National Coverage + Taxi facility up to 300 kms + Hotel accommodation + Repatriation of the vehicle in case of Accidents.

Under Basic plan @6,999/- for 3 years:

Road Side Assistance (National coverage) + Taxi facility up to 100 kms

I chose the former.

Here's what BHPian saket77 had to say on the matter:

In my 5th Gen City, this is definitely convenient. Apart from car status like doors, windows, sunroof, headlamps, etc, the app also tracks the current location and maintains a log of all trips. This is a great feature to analyse your driving and gather more facts like average speed, timing of start/ stop, the route taken, etc. In the Honda Connect app, you can also maintain a fuel log- which will help you keep complete details of fuel filled, distance travelled, fuel economy, etc. If you take the services of a paid driver, then I will totally recommend this subscription. In fact, it is good to have even for one's own records. The app also features a 'geofencing mode' where it can alert the owner in case the car leaves a marked area.

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

I use it for safety reasons, the brake pedal gets jammed if I don't use the remote start for at least 5 minutes in the morning. The app will help me save time, and that's about it. On rare occasions, the app is useful to lock and unlock the car to get something and gives alerts about punctures.

The marketing Kia has done is commendable, they've put dummy pictures for functions like AC and defogger which don't work. Every review mentions the convenience, without checking if it works, the ASC just confirmed that lock and unlock is the only thing it does, with remote start being unnecessary is you can't run the ac.

I'm going to renew it as insurance, an accident if the brakes don't work will be much more expensive in terms of repair costs.

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

The free subscription of two years to Adrenox in my XUV 7OO ended this March. The In-Car Alexa also stopped working once the subscription ended.

M&M has even reduced the renewal price by a few thousand, however, I am not too keen to renew it since I wasn't using the app to its full capacity.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.