Which car to replace my Kia Seltos GTX Plus DCT

The same thing has been happening in my life again and again. Not anymore.

BHPian sandygordon recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Circa 2019, I was hunting for an automatic. Eighty thousand kilometers in my humble remapped 1.3 S-Cross had spoiled me. Age was catching up and the left knee was hurting during my routine drives. Budget was 20-25 lacs.

It was then that the Seltos was dropped from mid air with a certain unimpressive Bollywood star protégé showing off his muscles in a classical Indian “baniyan”, impressed my kids. The red color stuck, there was no looking back. My sensible friends chose the Gen 3 Octavia 1.8 TSI. The driving position was low in the Octavia and back then, I wanted a commanding driving position. Moreover the Skoda dealer at Cochin had just shut shop and I had to get the Octavia delivered and serviced at Thrissur, 70km from Cochin. Dropped the Octavia plan. Then came the MG Hector. Wifey and Kids wanted the Hector. It was huge on the inside and there was this huge panoramic sunroof that they fell in love with. For me, the Hector looked like one of those fancy European Coffins with a large steel grille on the front. Would be a fitting coffin for a “pseudo SUV” enthusiast. Jeep compass had impressed me, but the gearbox just put me off. Moreover only the Trailhawk had an automatic tranny. Never entertained the thought of a German car, as at that moment, all of them were out of my budget. Infact, choosing the Seltos over the Hector was a cakewalk for me, not for my family. For them I did the mistake of choosing a small and uncomfortable “Jeep” over a large and luxurious “Innova”.

The Koreans had never impressed me. We had an Accent 1.5 GLS for around a decade. Except for the air conditioning and plush ride, everything about the car was a disappointment, especially the cotton ball steering and unimpressive noisy NA petrol engine. Then some one said KIA was different. Took the test drive of the Kia Seltos GTX DCT. Was not a fan of interiors, but the engine characteristics impressed me. It was tractable, more like a GT TSI than my old Accent. Confirmed GTX Plus DCT and come November 2019, GTX Plus DCT in “unimpressive RED” was in my garage. We had all the Customary Pooja done and people around were impressed. My boss was not particularly happy as he felt that I spent too much on a “luxurious car”.

The beginning of DCT troubles.

The DCT gearbox was a dream to drive. As I got used to the gear box characteristics, I enjoyed it at the same time. Troubles started showing after 2-3 months of usage. The DCT gearbox started to skip gears and gave me the headache of the decade. Finally after 2 months, got the car repaired and DCT stopped giving me troubles.

The Global NCAP Performance

After spending 21 big ones, once you start to feel that you are settled, here comes the paltry 2 star GNCAP rating for the Seltos (For me its still 2). I travel 40-60km a day through narrow single laned highways of Kerala darting in and out of container lorry lines. Never have I felt so low or so cheated in my life. I thought that for a product feature rich and expensive as the Seltos, a 4+ star rating is a must and Kia should have ensured that. I have never been able to enjoy my Seltos after this. Just wanted to sell off the car at that moment. However I had this apartment furnishing coming up and we were moving to a new home. My bank balance was a joke and I could not close the loan. Stuck with the Seltos for another 10k km. We have settled in our new home and everyone around seems to be happy. Now would be the perfect time to close the loan and sell off the Seltos. Seltos does have a very long waiting period and used car market prices are quite good. So “Sell-Toss” it will be. Then comes the next question. What car are you going to buy next?

Budget: 50L max

Down payment : Seltos GTX Plus DCT – “Intense” Red

I have compromised so much till now. I want a car that can impress me with driving dynamics and I don’t want an SUV. I chose the Accent GLS over Ford 1.6 ROCAM (for my dad) in 2004, I chose the Wagon R over Swift ZXI in 2006, I chose the Dzire VDI over the Swift ZDI in 2009, I chose the S Cross 1.3 alpha over the 1.6 in 2015. And in 2019, I chose the Seltos DCT over Octavia 1.8 TSI. This could not happen again. The same thing has been happening in my life again and again. Not anymore. I would request respected BHPians to chip in with their suggestions and save my day.

The cars I test drove till now:

Jeep Compass Model S 9AT 2.0 Diesel 4x4

Pros

• Well within my budget
• Ample space
• Good dynamics

Cons

• Poor refinement
• Noisy engine
• Gearbox was a disaster
• Performance of AT not worth asking 36 lacs

Skoda Octavia 2TSI L&K

Pros

• Nimble to drive
• Okayish suspension

Cons

• Sea of Beige
• “Oh that shift by wire shifter”
• A bit too low for my liking
• No thrill to drive

BMW 330 Li / 330i M

Pros

• Everything about it

Cons

• Price
• Expensive spares and service

Hope I can find my answer here.

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

Get the BMW, reasons?

• You are not satisfied the way Jeep Compass diesel AT drives, this will always remain at back of your mind even after purchase, especially when the situation arises and car fails to perform as per your expectation.
• Skoda Octavia is a good package sans DSG woe. You have already tasted the sour part (i.e. reliability) with Kia Seltos and it can be more worse, hence will suggest to be away from DSG technology.

A bimmer (BMW) will surely be expensive to keep, but a drive and experience of RWD pushing you into the seat will make you realise it was well worth the additional expense.

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

Two sedans stand out in the current market:

BMW 330i: Absolute driver's delight. The gap between Octavia and 330i is a lot now in terms of overall feel and it makes sense to skip Octavia to get to 330i directly even if pre-owned. Of course, this is a luxury segment, so one needs to do the math on budgeting - but given 50L range it is within reach if you do proper research.

Camry Hybrid: Fantastic car if you have family on mind. I would say Camry is making some giant leaps with each iteration. Design (esp front is not universally liked) + wait-time might be the issues. Test drive it before saying it's a Toyota.

Skoda has been the "default" choice for great sedans (Octavia and Superb) for a value conscious buyer but BMW 330i and Camry Hybrid are truly exceptional in their current iteration and one doesn't have to put up with the poor customer service of VW group.

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

Looks like it's time for the BMW. No cons except for the price? Done deal right there!

Get the beemer, take good BSI coverage and enjoy. End of story. Just retain it longer to offset the high initial costs.

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

Always map your car requirement to the roads you drive them on - your driving cycle. A car may be a good drivers car but you wouldn’t be able to reap that advantage if you are going to use the car on narrow single lane highways daily trying to avoid trucks and buses that would come at you with reckless abandon increasing your stress levels substantially.

A BMW would have been ideal if you had the roads to drive them on, but given your situation for use on narrow single laned roads with trucks and buses coming at you, it would not fit the bill.

I would suggest the Jeep Compass amongst your selection or other large SUV such as a Fortuner that would get you the respect and space on single laned roads from trucks and buses and wouldn’t increase your stress levels every day.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.