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Kia Sonet SUV Review (First Look): Can It Replicate The Success Of its Larger Sibling In India?
Kia Motors India has just globally unveiled it's brand new SUV, the Sonet in India. The new Kia Sonet is the brand's first sub-4-metre compact-SUV offering in India and is also said to be their second 'Made-in-India' product, following the Seltos.
The Kia Sonet has been a much-awaited product in the Indian market, ever since its concept was unveiled at the 2020 Auto Expo. The Sonet will be positioned in the highly-competitive compact-SUV segment at the time of launch. Ahead of its arrival in the Indian market, here is a quick first look review of the brand new Kia Sonet.
Design & Styling
The Kia Sonet compact-SUV comes with an extremely sharp and stylish design, yet retaining the signature elements of the brand. Kia states that the Sonet offers a bold, disruptive and dynamic styling all around.
Starting from the front, the Kia Sonet features the brand's signature ‘tiger-nose' grille up front, with the two indentations at the centre. This grille comes with a three-dimensional mesh, giving an extremely premium look.
The grille is further flanked on either side by a set of crown-jewel LED headlamps with integrated ‘heartbeat' LED DRLs. Lower down, the Kia Sonet also sports a pair of LED fog lamps on the bumper, which also houses ‘turbo' shaped skid plates.
Moving to the side profile, the Kia Sonet features a clean design with minimalistic styling elements. The SUV features squarish wheel arches which house a set of extremely stylish 16-inch dual-tone alloy wheels.
The Sonet also comes with a two-tone paint scheme with a blacked-out roof, which with the uniquely designed C-pillar gives it a floating-roof appearance. The roof and feature silver rails, adding to the bold styling from the side.
Finally, the rear profile of the compact-SUV is characterised by a set of ‘heartbeat' LED taillights, connected together by a unique reflector strip. The boot-lid is clean and features just the brand logo, along with the ‘Sonet' badging. The ‘GT-line' trims of the Kia Sonet further come with a dual muffler design, along with sporty diffuser-fins on the rear skid plate on the rear bumper.
Overall, the new Kia Sonet comes with a very attractive design and is sure to turn heads everywhere it goes. The styling is further accentuated by the wide range of colour schemes the Sonet is available in, 10 to be exact.
These include seven single-tone options: Glacier Pearl White, Steel Silver, Gravity Grey, Intense Red, Aurora Black Pearl, Intelligency Blue & Beige Gold. The three dual-tone paint schemes: Red/Black, Beige Gold/Black & White/Black.
Cockpit & Interiors
Moving to the cabin of the Kia Sonet, the compact-SUV continues to carry forward the bold, stylish and premium design theme. The interiors of the Sonet look extremely premium and offer a bunch of segment-first features and equipment.
Starting off with the cockpit, the Kia Sonet features a stylish leather-wrapped three-spoke steering wheel (D-cut on the GT-line). It further comes with a number of mounted controls for the audio and other functionalities.
Behind the steering wheel is the instrument cluster, which features a 4.2-inch digital display surrounded by an analogue tachometer and fuel gauge. The central display also provides additional information such as turn-by-turn navigation, TPMS and a few others.
The central console of the dashboard also features a large 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The display also comes with in-built navigation, along with the brand's UVO connected technology. This UVO Connect technology further brings with it a host of additional features and functionalities as well.
The dashboard itself features premium soft-touch materials all around. Below the infotainment system, the Kia Sonet also features vertical AC vents, with the physical climate control switches at the centre. Lower down there is also space for wireless phone-charging as well.
The central console also comes with silver accents around the gear lever. These silver accents can further be seen on the steering wheel and around the AC vents as well.
The cabin itself offers a spacious feel, allowing for four passengers to travel comfortably. The seats on the top-spec are wrapped in leather and the front seats also come with ventilated function. The rear seats also offer good support and come with a central armrest as well, further enhancing the comfort-levels.
Features
The Kia Sonet compact-SUV comes packed with features and equipment, making it an extremely attractive offering in the segment. Here is a list of features available on the Kia Sonet:
- LED lighting all-around
- 16-inch dual-tone alloy wheels
- Electric sunroof
- 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- 4.25-inch instrument display
- Ventilated front seats
- Wireless charging
- LED mood lighting
- BOSE 7-speaker system with subwoofer
- Smart-Air purifier
- Multi-drive modes
- Six airbags
- Traction control
- ABS with EBD
- Tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS)
- ESC, HAC, VSM and brake assist
- Projector fog lamps, and
- ISOFIX child seat-anchors
These are just some of the features expected on the Kia Sonet. The GT-line trims will further offer a number of additional styling elements, along with a bunch of other features as well.
Safety Equipment
Apart from the comfort and luxury features on offer, the Kia Sonet also comes packed with a host of safety equipment. These safety features are standard across all variants and trims. Some of the safety features on offer, include:
Engine & Transmission Options
The Kia Sonet compact-SUV is said to carry forward the same three engine options, which are offered on its cousin, the Hyundai Venue. This includes the 1.2-litre petrol, 1.0-litre T-GDi petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel engine options. All three engine options are BS6-compliant and are expected to produce the same power and torque figures as on its cousin, the Hyundai Venue.
The 1.2-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel will come standard with a manual gearbox; five-speed manual for the petrol and six-speed manual for the diesel. The 1.5-litre CRDi unit also receives an optional automatic transmission unit as well.
The 1.0-litre T-GDI petrol unit, on the other hand, will receive a choice of either a seven-speed DCT automatic or the latest six-speed iMT gearbox, which was recently debuted on the Venue SUV.
Kia Sonet Rivals
The Sonet SUV is expected to go on sale in India sometime later this month or by early-September. Once launched in India, the Kia Sonet will be positioned in the highly-contested sub-4-metre compact-SUV offering. It will take on rivals such as the Hyundai Venue, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Ford EcoSport, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300 and the likes.
Thoughts On The Kia Sonet Compact-SUV For India
We have high expectations for the Sonet SUV in the Indian market. If the success of its elder sibling, the Seltos is anything to go by, we expect the compact-SUV to storm the sales charts and give the segment-leader a real run-for-its-money.