किया सॉनेट

Kia Sonet has been launched in India. Prices for the Sonet subcompact SUV start at Rs. 6.71 lakh and go up to Rs. 11.99 lakh. All prices are ex-showroom India. Do note that the prices are introductory. Kia said it received over 25,000 bookings for the Sonet and is getting an average of 1,000 bookings a day. It is the third model launch from Kia Motors after the Seltos and the Carnival. The two key USPs of the Sonet are its long list of features and sharp styling, setting it apart from its competition. India is the first country to get the Kia Sonet and it will be exported to over 70 countries from here. The company says that the Sonet has been tested for over 1 lakh kilometres in India.

The new Kia Sonet gets two primary trims which are the Tech-Line and GT-Line. The former features five variants - HTE, HTK, HTK+, HTX, and HTX+, while the GT-Line trim will only have one top-end variant - GTX+. In addition, the Sonet gets three engine options, which are a 1.2-litre petrol, a 1.5-litre diesel and a 1.0-litre turbo GDi and all engine options get manual and automatic gearbox options.

The Kia Sonet with the 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine will be offered with just a manual gearbox and it gets an ARAI claimed fuel efficiency of 18.4 kmpl along with a 0-100 kmph sprint time of 13.3 seconds. Coming to the 1.0-litre turbo GDi petrol model of the Sonet, it will be offered with a 7-speed DCT and an IMT transmission. The 7-speed DCT variant offers fuel efficiency of 18.3 kmpl with a 0-100 kmph time of 11.3 seconds. The IMT variant of the Sonet returns 18.2 kmpl and is just one second slower to 100 kmph from standstill than the DCT model. Lastly, the 1.5-litre diesel variant of the Sonet SUV gets two variants, one with a 6-speed manual and one with a 6-speed automatic, which is a torque converter. The diesel manual variant of the Sonet has a claimed fuel economy of 24.1 kmpl and a 0-100 kmph sprint time of 12.3 seconds. The 6-speed AT variant of the diesel Sonet gets a claimed fuel economy of 19 kmpl and a 0-100 kmph time of 11.8 seconds.

In terms of features, the Kia Sonet is loaded and then gets some first-in-class features as well. The top-spec models get a 10.25-inch HD touchscreen infotainment, 4.2-inch instrument cluster, a Bose audio system, air purifier with virus protection, ventilated front seats, steering mounted controls, different drive and traction modes, mood lighting, wireless charging for smartphones and so on. Like the Seltos and the Carnival, the Kia Sonet will have the company's UVO connect technology with over 57 connectivity features which include voice assist and over-the-air updates for maps.

In terms of safety, the SUV comes with dual airbags, ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors, front disc brakes, central locking, and emergency stop signal as standard. Optional features include - ISOFIX child seat mounts, tyre pressure monitoring system electronic stability control (ESC), hill assist control (HAC), brake assist, and multi-drive modes. The top-spec GTX+ variant gets 6 airbags. 

The Sonet has the potential to shake up the highly competitive subcompact SUV space, which has rivals like the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Hyundai Venue, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300 and the Ford EcoSport.

Upcoming किया Model is Rio