KIA's third vehicle in India, the Sonet, has been finally unveiled in its production form today. It was first showcased at the Auto Expo 2020 as a concept, whereas the world premiere took place today. The company is claiming many first-in-segment features, and we'll tell you all in this article, but let's talk about the design first.
Kia Sonnet Design
Like its elder brother Seltos, the Sonet is the best looking vehicle in its segment, hands down! It has a bold demeanor which will defintely impart a commanding road presence. Kia says that it's an absolutely new design from the ground up. The company also notifies us that the Sonnet's Tiger Nose grille (a signature design trait of the company) features three-dimensional geometry inspired by India's 'step wells'.
According to Kia, the Sonet's distinctive 'Crown Jewel' LED headlamps give it a powerful appearance, while its 'Heartbeat' LED DRLs with integrated turn indicators and 'Heartbeat' LED tail lamps will make the Sonet hard to go unnoticed. We'll verify the claim by gauging reactions of onlookers when we get to drive it in the near future.
Kia calls the Sonet's front skid plates as 'Turbo' shaped, while the rear sports a dual muffler design and diffuser fin skid plate. The tail lamps are connected with a reflector strip, which not only makes the rear appear wider, but also helps in avoiding it looking bland.
Kia Sonet Interiors, Features, and Equipment
The interiors of the Sonet again appear to be the best in its segment. The cabin looks posh (for the segment) and feature-rich without being either too dark or cluttered.
Talking about features, it gets a whole lot of them, some of which, according to Kia, are the first in segment. In fact, Kia claims that the Sonet is loaded with 30-plus segment-first features across design, performance, and connectivity. Let's take a look at some of them:
– Biggest-in-segment 10.25 inch (26.03 cm) HD touchscreen with navigation and live traffic information
– Smart pure air purifier with virus protection
– BOSE premium 7-speaker system with sub-woofer (Kia claims that the subwoofer is from the loudest range made by Bose)
– Front driver and passenger ventilated seats
– LED sound mood lamps
– Remote engine start for automatic and manual transmission through UVO & Smart Key
– Multi-drive traction modes & grip control in automatic versions
– Smartphone wireless charger with cooling function
– Over The Air (OTA) map updates
Most importantly, the Sonet will have a diesel automatic as well, which is not available in the Hyundai Venue as yet. The Sonet also comes loaded with Kia's native suite of UVO connected technology with 57 features including the seamless UVO – Voice Assist. Additionally, the information displayed by the 4.2-inch (10.67 cm) instrument cluster panel includes navigation turn-by-turn, High Line Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), Multi Drive Modes, and Grip Control.
Kia Sonet Safety
Kia says that the Sonet will feature an extensive list of active and passive safety equipment. The company claims that the vehicle's body structure constitutes more than 2/3 high strength and advanced high strength steel, which translates to a lightweight but robust structure for the compact SUV. Kia has sent the following list of active and passive safety features to us in its product note of the Sonet:
– Six Airbags
– ABS with EBD
– Front & Rear parking sensors
– ESC (Electronic Stability Control), HAC (Hill-start Assist Control), VSM (Vehicle Stability Management) and BA (Brake Assist)
– Highline Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
– Projector foglamps
– Auto headlamps
– ISOFIX child-seat anchoring points
Kia Sonet Engine and Gearbox options
If you're reading this, there is no denying the fact that you WILL have the Hyundai Venue on your radar as well. Therefore, to keep matters simple, let me tell you that the Sonet will have the same engine and gearbox options as the Venue, but with one major difference—the Sonet will have a 6-speed automatic diesel (1.5-liter) as well, which, as mentioned earlier, Hyundai doesn't offer yet in its Venue. In fact, no other manufacturer offers a diesel automatic in this segment! The Kia Sonet diesel will also have a six-speed manual gearbox option.
The other Sonet variants, as expected, will have the same 1.0-liter turbo petrol with the three gearbox options (6-speed iMT, 7-speed DCT, and 6-speed manual), and the same 1.2-liter naturally aspirated petrol with a 5-speed manual.
Kia Sonet Price, Launch, Booking, and Deliveries
Strangely, none of it was disclosed or discussed in the Sonet's LIVE World Premiere today. However, there are no prizes for guessing that the prices would be on a par with the Venue's. For reference, the Venue prices range from Rs 6,70,000 to Rs 11,58,400 (ex-showroom, PAN India). We expect Kia to open bookings sometime next month with the deliveries to begin at the onset of the festive season in India. Of course, we shall keep you posted.
