We got handed the keys to the Kia Sonet in late July and now it's been with us for a little over a month. For the most part, the Sonet has played the part of a daily commuter either in my hands or in the hands of some of my colleagues in our daily trips from home to the office. Yes, it’s been out for some video and photo shoots both as a star and as a support. But it's largely found itself as a commuter in and around Mumbai.
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Sonet has primarily seen duty as a daily commuter with generally just me in the car
Having used this car for almost three weeks now, I’ve come to like the Sonet for what it offers. The one we have is the turbo-petrol with the DCT gearbox and it has been a boon to drive particularly with my trips between home and office - an almost 35 km journey one way - bracketing smooth highway stints with bumper-to-bumper traffic on either end. The DCT has taken a lot of the stress of rowing through the gears out of the mix and while it’s not as smooth as say a VW DSG, to get the SUV rolling, there is little to complain about. If there might be a gripe here is that turbo-petrol engines and bumper-to-bumper traffic do not gel well with fuel economy always tumbling as speeds slow to a crawl.
Bright red colour is a pain to keep clean during the monsoon.
The cabin in this fully loaded model - though not the range-topping X-Line - also leaves little to complain about. In this GTX+ spec, the small SUV has almost every feature you could want in your commuter. The 10.25-inch touchscreen is feature-loaded, the digital dials look premium, there’s auto climate control, ventilated seats, a powered driver seat - though height adjust is manual, an air purifier, cruise control and even Level 1 ADAS tech.
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Sonet GTX+ has all features you could ask for - auto climate control, ventilated front seats and 360 degree camera.
The ADAS functions too work well - I’ve sampled the lane keep assist and steering assist and it does work well even on gentle curves. The collision warning however does get irritating especially in our bumper-to-bumper traffic so it’s best left switched off. Interestingly the system remains deactivated once you turn it off even when you shut off and restart the vehicle and that's a plus in my books.
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10.25-inch touchscreen lacks wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay; It's wired only.
As far as cabin space goes, there have not been any real complaints. Daily commutes have typically involved just me in the vehicle with additional passengers sitting in on rare occasions. As a self-driven car, there are no complaints in the daily scenario with seating comfort and space up front more than ample. The storage spaces are also worth noting with Kia offering not just a wireless charging pad but a second storage shelf and two cup holders in the centre console - with a slot in the centre where your phone can fit in - so there’s ample space to store odds and ends. The second shelf comes in handy to place your phone especially as you will always be plugged in considering there is no wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Yes, the 10.25-inch touchscreen does get smartphone integration but it's wired only - a miss in our books considering the smaller 8.0-inch unit in lower variants offers wireless connectivity.
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Two-level deck at the base of the centre console; top deck houses the charging pad, lower deck for the phone that's plugged in.
The boot too is quite decently sized though I can’t really comment on useability as it’s yet to be properly used. And that’s what we will be looking forward to checking out in the next report. We will also see how it takes on monsoon-hardened Mumbai roads and how it fares as an everyday driving companion with occasional outstation trips thrown in.
For now, the Sonet has proven to be a comfy and feature-loaded commuter. Yes, there are a few initial gripes like the lack of wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and some of the ADAS functions feeling intrusive but the former is a minor gripe and the latter can just simply be turned off. So for now there aren’t any major complaints with the subcompact SUV and I look forward to more time with little complaint.
