KIA motors have finally taken off the cover from the all-new Sonet. Yes, it was delayed due to COVID-19. Let's get it straight the compact SUV although is compact and well under sub-4-meter it doesn't look small.
The Sonet will be rivaling the Maruti Suzuki Brezza, the upcoming Toyota Urban Cruiser, Ford Ecosport, Mahindra XUV300, Tata Nexon, and its sibling enjoying the Urban Vibes Hyundai Venue. While the Sonet will take on the Hyundai head-on it will try to eat away a lot of sales for the Brezza or maybe even dethrone it all the way. That we can say once the sales figures come in.
The Korean company appears to be pleased with their product. This time the company has designed the vehicle to be India centric with inspiration taken from various parts of India. Also, the Sonet being a Global product will be manufactured in India at the KIA's Anantpur plant in Andhra Pradesh and exported to various markets around the world.
The Sonet boasts of many best-in-class and best-in-segment features at a competitive price. Remember the Venue is its sibling and its rivals are some of the stable ones in the market.
From the initial looks, one can say the vehicle has its own character. The LED headlights and the 'heart beat' LED DRLs looks prominent to make it look WILD!.
The front tiger-nose grille is even more prominent with the Sonet than it was with Seltos. Blackened-out pillars, HMSL (high mounted stop lamp), blacked out ORVM's and those tail-lamps which are similar to the front to maintain the symmetry. The wrap around rear-windscreen stands out in the market making the design unique and attractive. Let's not forget those 16-inch crystal-cut alloy wheels they look fantastic and can make you exclaim WOW!.
The grille mesh beautifully crafted to pay respect to India's historic strength in the field of sophisticated Mathematics, Science, and Architecture. Hmm gives the essence of ride through India's rich culture and heritage.
Hop in the interior and you will find a lot of resemblance from its elder brother the Seltos. The 1st thing you notice is a 10.25-inch touchscreen that supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The silver and glossy black combination on the dashboard, steering wheels, and doors make it sporty and looks appealing to regular eyes. The vertical AC vents make the cabin funky to look at. Ventilated seats, Bose seven-speaker audio with subwoofers, Smart Pure Air Purifier with virus protection (need of the hour). Phew!
Oh, wait! I forgot to mention the auto anti-glare rear-view mirror (IRVM) with integrated UVO controls.
With inclusive of Auto climate control, ambient lighting, wireless charging system, push-button-tart, and sunroof the Sonet is really loaded with features. Oh did I forget to mention UVO connect? Well yes, the Sonet gets UVO connectivity suite like its brother Seltos. The connected smart features host a range of security and safety features. Got your car towed? Worry not the UVO tech will help you trace it for you. Given the key to your college-going son? Track his movements with the vehicle. Geofence alert if you have a driver at home, speed alert to monitor if they over speed. Live tracking, find my car, maintenance alert, and vehicle health before preparing for those long drives. Oh yes, it also comes with voice commands. The navigation gets OTA updates just to keep your maps up to date. Smarty.
Damn! That's a lot of technology present in the vehicle.
Safety above everything is what SHOULD! matter when you go to the market for buying a car. Glad that Sonet has six-airbags, ABS, EBD, ESC, Vehicle Stability Management (VSM), Hill assist control to name a few. Apart from these the vehicle also has projector fog lamps, automatic headlamp, cornering lamp, brake assist, park assist with dynamic guidelines, tyre-pressure monitoring system, keyless entry, and more to make your life a bit simpler. Hey, it gets rear parcel shelf. Cheetah left the chat.
Talking about the skeleton of Sonet, the compact SUV is built with a combination of AHSS (Advanced High Strength Steel) and HSS (High Strength Steel) which ensure effective protection and the crumple zones are expected to act the way they should, unlike some manufacturers. Since this vehicle will be exported to many international markets we could expect good results when crash-tested in the future by the NCAP's. The company has thought of your little ones and also provided ISOFIX child-seat anchors. Nice touch.
All this ensures your family safety making every drive relaxing, safe and confident all the courtesy to their five pillars of safety: Active, Passive, Health, Security, and Maintenance.
Which brings us to the vehicle's reliability the company claims to have clocked one lakh kilometers at various terrains and the various climatic situation in their prototypes which speaks for its reliability.
Finally, all this brings us to what powers the Sonet.
1.2-liter petrol unit producing 83Ps and 114Nm torque output.
1.0-liter turbo petrol unit pumping out 120Ps with 172Nm torque which makes the drive enthusiastic.
1.5-liter CRDi diesel churning out 100bhp with 240Nm torque.
All these are offered with five-and-six-speed manuals, a seven-speed DCT, and iMT. Wow, a that's lot of transmissions to offer considering some still think it's okay not to launch an Autobox during the launch. Now that's what one says "Go all guns out".
Note:- Sonet offers first-in-class diesel six-speed automatic.
The Sonet will be made available with a dual trim concept which includes a sports-inspired GT-line. For those who want that little more sportiness, safety, and an attitude. So ready to be the Vampire to your date in the wild-by-design KIA Sonet?