Motoring Discussion > KIA Cee'd II - DCT review
Thread Author: movilogo Replies: 1

 KIA Cee'd II - DCT review - movilogo
Recently changed from my 2007 TC auto Kia Ceed to 2014 DCT 3 1.6 petrol Ceed.

This is my review of DCT after few days of driving.

The gear changes are imperceptible. It has got 6-speed dual clutch transmission. Compared to my old 4-speed TC auto, it feels smoother.

There are few differences though!

It creeps bit faster than TC auto. This is mentioned in handbook. I guess because it is dry clutch, the ECU needs to keep the rev bit higher to prevent stalling.

In my TC auto, I often kept the car stationary in slight uphills doing nothing. The TC forward force usually cancelled out roll back due to gravity. This is not possible in DCT (in fact handbook advises not to do so). Just like a manual clutch, it will burn the clutch. So car has to be placed in neutral during all stopping. It has got HAC (Hill Assist Control) so will prevent rolling backward during uphill start from rest. More so, car should be placed in N for all stops including stoppage at traffic lights on flat ground. Leaving the car in D and then using parking brake is not advised in the handbook (if you do so, the car will possibly move it to N from D internally as handbook says you must do D-N-D routine to move the car again if you apply parking brake while in D).

Engine braking can be felt more strongly when I take my foot off the accelerator pedal (just like a manual) - which is a good thing IMHO. In TC auto it was not so perceptible.

There is a "Sport" mode where I can manually up/downs shift using flappy pedals. Tried few times and don't think I would bother, except downshifting before steep hills.

While you can manually shift gears in Sport mode, if engine RPM is not within suitable range, the ECU will not accept your changes.

Overall the car shifts gears as expected from an auto. Can't comment on long term reliability but I have the 7-yr warranty if things go wrong. Although I bought a year old car, being approved used, Kia bundled full 7-yr warranty from the date collected.

There is a button for ECO mode which limits torque for best fuel consumption. This makes the car noticably sluggish compared to performance when ECO mode is off. However, I shall use the ECO mode most of the time :)

Being "3" spec, it has got many features like built in sat nav, climate control, rear view camera, TPMS, passenger seat height adjustment etc. Not yet explored all features.

If you are interested, please note that since 2015, Kia has stopped offering petrol DCT for Ceed. It is now only available as 7-speed diesel.

There are some niggles though. The temp gauge is now digital which you need to manually show by pressing few scroll buttons. The instant fuel economy is now a digital bar (instead of actual number) and only displayed in MPG (in old model you change change units to km, L etc.) On plus side, I can see the bonnet by leaning a little bit which is advantage when parking (didn't try any tight parking yet).
Last edited by: movilogo on Mon 4 Jan 16 at 10:40
 KIA Cee'd II - DCT review - movilogo
I have discovered that paddle shifters work during normal "D" mode as well. Although if not in correct RPM range TCM overwrites manual selection almost immediately.

The auto light is nice feature (even though I thought I'd hate it) but auto wiper is not of much use. Too slow to clear droplets.

There is a separate switch for clearing front windscreen - this clears mist much quicker compared to old model.

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