Kia Sonet will go on to rival the likes of the Hyundai Venue, Tata Nexon, Ford EcoSport, Mahindra XUV300 and Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza in the Indian market
Kia Motors confirmed its plans of launching the third product in the Indian market when it showcased the ‘Sonet’ sub-4m SUV concept at the 2020 Auto Expo. The Korean carmaker then went on to officially debut the production-ready version of the said car earlier this month, and a launch is expected to take place soon.
However, ahead of the Kia sub-compact SUV’s official launch, the brochure of the upcoming Sonet has been leaked, revealing some crucial information apart from what we already know. We previously reported that the Kia Sonet will be offered with four different powertrains, which include two petrol engines as well as a diesel engine that will be offered in two different state of tunes.
The engine options will include a 1.2-litre 4-cylinder NA petrol unit rated at 83 PS/115 Nm; a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine producing 120 PS and 172 Nm; and a 1.5-litre diesel engine that will produce 100 PS power and 240 Nm torque in its lower state of tune, and 115 PS & 250 Nm in the higher one.
The NA petrol engine will come mated to a 5-speed manual transmission as standard, while the turbo-petrol unit will be offered with either a 6-speed clutch-less manual transmission (Intelligent Manual Transmission) or a 7-speed DCT. In its lower state of tune, the 1.5-litre oil burner will get a 6-speed manual gearbox as standard, and the one with the higher state of tune will come with a 6-speed AT only.
Some of the car’s external highlights include Kia’s signature tiger-nose front grille, Crown Jewel LED headlamps with Heartbeat DRLs, Heartbeat LED tail lamps, an electric sunroof, R16 crystal cut alloy wheels, front parking sensors and a dual faux muffler design.
On the inside, the Sonet has been equipped with a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with smartphone connectivity, UVO connected car-tech, Bose premium 7-speaker sound system with LED Sound Mood Light, ventilated front seats, Smart air purifier with virus protection, wireless smartphone charger, 4.2-inch colour instrument cluster, multi drive modes and much more.
Kia will be offering the Sonet in two trim lines – GT Line and Tech Line, just like its bigger sibling, the Seltos. The sub-4m SUV will be offered in 8 different monotone paint schemes, namely Beige Gold, Intense Red, Steel Silver, Clear White, Intelligency Blue, Aurora Black Pearl, Glacier White Pearl, Gravity Grey, apart from dual-tone options.
The GT Line will get an all-black cabin with leatherette sports seats and contrasting red stitching. The Tech Line variants, on the other hand, will be available with four different interior colours and seat patterns including two beige and black dual tone options as well as two all-black themes.
Kia is all set to launch the Sonet in the Indian market soon, and the sub-compact SUV will go on to rival the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Ford EcoSport, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300 as well as its cousin, the Hyundai Venue. The car will also get some new rivals in the form of the Toyota Urban Cruiser, Nissan Magnite and Renault Kiger soon.