Kia Sonet Spied Testing — Launch Could Be Delayed

However, the Sonet was snapped testing by Rushlane at the company's manufacturing facility in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. As seen in the spy pictures, the car is under heavy wraps and is still in its early stages of production. The shots revealed a new alloy wheel design different from the one showcased at the Auto Expo. It is also seen that the Sonet gets silver roof rails and silver ORVMs. However, the other test mule does not get the roof rails and diamond-cut wheels, which indicated that it could be a lower variant.

The Sonet is expected to get similar aesthetics as its larger sibling the Kia Seltos. However, if one looks closely at the interior of the spy shots, there is a long panoramic panel housing the touchscreen infotainment system and driver's instrumentation.

Since the Sonet shares its platform with Hyundai's Venue we are expecting the Sonet to get the same engine options. A 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine, a 1.0-litre turbo petrol unit and a 1.5-litre oil burner pumping out 82bhp and 114Nm, 118bhp and 172Nm, and 99bhp and 240Nm respectively.

We are expecting the Sonet's base model to carry a price tag upwards of the Rs 7 lakh mark (ex-showroom). However, once the car is launched it will go up against the likes of the Mahindra XUV300, Ford EcoSport, Mahindra TUV300, Renault Duster and the Tata Nexon.

Thoughts on the Kia Sonet

Kia had showcased a number of cars at the recent Auto Expo, but the center stage was taken by the Kia Sonet. We hope that Kia launches the Sonet soon as we are eagerly waiting to get our hands on the sub-4 metre SUV.