The 2023 Kia Seltos's Tiny Price Increases Are Better Than Big Ones
With several competitors doling out big price increases, Kia bucks the trend.
2023 seltos news by Motortrend
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I kinda understand it. I test drove both drive trains back to back. The 1.6T/DCT was what I expected as far as grunt, and abruptness of gear changes. Especially from a standing start. I come from driving a manual so the herky-jerky really didn't bother me.
But what did catch me by surprise was just how smooth that 2.0/IVT was. One, it felt much more powerful from a stop than I expected. Not to the same extent as the SX obviously, but far better than my expectation. But the smoothness of the acceleration was an eye-opener. So I can see how someone coming from that kind of transmission may find the DCT clunky.
Going in, I was sold on the SX. I was expecting to have to talk my wife into it. The reality was that after driving both I would have been fine with the 2.0/IVT. It impressed me. It had been 10 years since my first IVT experience and they've come a long way. That being said, the wife was sold on the SX for the Audio system. Go figure.
But what did catch me by surprise was just how smooth that 2.0/IVT was. One, it felt much more powerful from a stop than I expected. Not to the same extent as the SX obviously, but far better than my expectation. But the smoothness of the acceleration was an eye-opener. So I can see how someone coming from that kind of transmission may find the DCT clunky.
Going in, I was sold on the SX. I was expecting to have to talk my wife into it. The reality was that after driving both I would have been fine with the 2.0/IVT. It impressed me. It had been 10 years since my first IVT experience and they've come a long way. That being said, the wife was sold on the SX for the Audio system. Go figure.
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I'm also coming from a manual although we traded in a regular automatic. I've also heard that it can depend on the car/drivers habits. Very occasionally I can feel it stutter it's more pronounced in reverse. The majority of the time it is very smooth shifting!
The Bose system is great. Didn't realize how much we would appreciate that (oh and the heads up display!)
I don't find the DCT (or DSG in VW speak) clunky in the slightest. I do think that a lot of people who are used to torque converter automatics get very disconcerted with the slight clutch judder at slow speeds, but I don't even notice it for the most part..just feels like I'm feathering the clutch out (real) slow.
Coming from the sluggish 9-spd automatic that Jeep uses in the KL Cherokee lineup, the Kia DCT is worlds more responsive. Drive one of those around for a while, you'll really appreciate the Kia solution. 🤣
I do find the DCT to be a little slow when driving in eco mode, but slap that gear lever over to the sport mode and this thing is snappy!
Coming from the sluggish 9-spd automatic that Jeep uses in the KL Cherokee lineup, the Kia DCT is worlds more responsive. Drive one of those around for a while, you'll really appreciate the Kia solution. 🤣
I do find the DCT to be a little slow when driving in eco mode, but slap that gear lever over to the sport mode and this thing is snappy!
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Yes exactly! Even in rush hour traffic I've only felt it shudder once. For the most part it's very smooth and responsive. With gas at 2.12 a liter I've been a little hesitant to spend much time in sport mode.
The car is such a significant improvement for us, the self driving features are great for highway driving as well.
Admittedly, I probably shouldn't have used 'herky-jerky'. Makes it sound a whole lot worse than it is. I guess the point I was attempting to get across was that though I choose the SX, not in a small part due to the extra power, I can see how people can appreciate a good IVT. And the 'abruptness' of acceleration when flooring it, well that's as much the turbo kicking in as it is the shifting of gears.
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