Kia Motors will be globally unveiling the Sonet compact-SUV on August 7 2020. It’s market launch in India is expected to be sometime around September with prices ranging between Rs 7-12 lakh, ex-showroom.
Kia unveiled the Sonet compact-SUV concept at the 2020 Auto Expo and it surely was one of the most important unveils of this year’s Auto Expo. The Kia Sonet is the Hyundai Venue’s sister car and it is one of the most anticipated and important new launches of 2020. Kia Motors has now announced that the production-spec Sonet compact SUV will make its world premiere on August 7. It comes sooner than we expected and that’s despite the ongoing Covid-19 crisis and resulting lockdowns.
The Sonet will be under four meters in length and it will be sharing its underpinnings with the Hyundai Venue. From what we saw at the Auto Expo, it boasts of a completely unique exterior design. The concept version shown at the Auto Expo was in fact a close-to-production version and the final product will not look very different. Of course, it will not have the massive 18-inch wheels with 255-section tires, flush door handles and tiny wing mirrors, but most of the body panels will largely be the same.
The Sonet certain looks more muscular and chunkier in comparison to the Venue’s rounded proportions. While looks can be quite subjective, we really liked the detailing on the Sonet as we saw at the Auto Expo with Kia’s signature ‘Tiger Nose’ grille meshes, smart looking LED headlamps, a sculpted bonnet, a very stylish C-Pillar and LED light bar linking the tail lamps at the rear.
As for the interiors, we have seen some spy images of the interiors of the production-spec Kia Sonet earlier and it looks largely similar to the Seltos. And that’s a great thing. The Seltos always had a very likable and premium dashboard design and its great to see the same being carried forward to the Sonet. Some of the expected features include a 10.5inch touchscreen infotainment with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, UVO connected-car tech, Bose Sound System, climate control, wireless phone charger, engine start-stop, cruise control, as well as an electric sunroof.`
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The Kia Sonet will be offered with the same powertrain options as the Hyundai Venue. That means there will be a 1.2L Kappa petrol engine with 83bhp, a 1.0L Turbo-petrol engine with 120bhp and a detuned version of the 1.5L diesel engine that is offered in the Seltos. The diesel engine is expected to produce around 100bhp. Transmission options on the Sonet will include a 6-speed MT for petrol, a 6-speed MT for the diesel and the DCT for turbo motor. The 1.0L turbo-petrol engine will also be offered with Hyundai’s new iMT clutchless-manual gearbox that will debut on the Venue this month itself.
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Kia however intends to take the game a notch higher with the Sonet. Kia will be offering a 6-speed automatic transmission with the diesel engine of the Sonet, something the Venue does not get. Prices for the diesel-AT variant of the Sonet will be quite high (as it automatic gearbox will be imported) and closer to that of the entry-level Seltos. Kia however wants to at least offer this option to its customers who are willing to shell out the extra money. We expect the Kia Sonet to be priced between Rs 7-12 lakh, ex-showroom, and after its global unveil on August 7, its India launch is expected to be sometime around September.
