Kia Sonet set to launch in India by August 2020

The Indian market welcomed Kia with its debut model Seltos that was followed by the Carnival MPV that was recently launched at the Auto-Expo 2020. Kia now plans to launch the Sonet, Kia’s smallest SUV.

The Sonet will be available with three engine options - 1.2-litre petrol, a 1.0-litre turbo-petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel and will share its platform with the Hyundai Venue. It will come with several transmission options including a manual, a torque converter and a DCT along with an iMT- Intelligent manual transmission with auto rev-matching for smooth gear shifts.

The Sonet borrows its platform and most of its underpinnings from the Hyundai Venue. However, Kia’s design embellishments make it stand out. The tiger-nose grille in the Sonet gets a fresh design and looks sharper and gets a unique ‘stepwell’ pattern in the centre. Below it is the central air dam that is flanked by silver fog lamp inserts and air vents. Sleek headlights with integrated LEDs merge with the grille seamlessly and together with the high bonnet and muscular creases make it look very different from the Venue. The wheel arches are neatly filled up by the large alloy wheels and in combination with the window line that rises sharply at the C-pillar, make for an arresting side profile. Concept car elements like the barely-there wing mirrors, flush door handles and even the large section tyres will understandably not make it to the production version.

From the rear, the Kia Sonet grabs attention with elements like a sloping C-pillar and a sharply raked rear windshield with blacked-out textured inserts. The sweptback taillamps are connected with a horizontal LED bar with the Kia logo in the centre. The Sonet also gets black plastic cladding on all sides, giving it a butch appeal.

Although interior details haven’t been revealed yet, Kia has announced that the Sonet will get a 10.25-inch infotainment display and a Bose sound system, like the one seen on the Seltos. Also available will be front ventilated seats and Kia’s connected car tech.

The Sonet will go up against the likes of the Hyundai Venue, Maruti Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon, Ford EcoSport and Mahindra XUV 300 in the compact SUV segment and is expected to be priced at around Rs 7 lakh.