Here’s a very clear look at the rear portion and side profile of the upcoming Kia Sonet ahead of its global unveil on August 7. Do you think Kia has done a good job in sticking close to the concept?
Just a couple of days ago, we reported to you that Kia Motors will be globally debuting the Sonet on August 7, 2020. The Kia Sonet has to be one of the most exciting new launches of this year. It was showcased in near-production from as the Sonet Concept at the 2020 Auto Expo. The road going model will be a little toned down from what we saw at the Auto Expo which looked like a very handsome car indeed. Now, ahead of its unveil, the Sonet has been caught on camera nearly undisguised, revealing its entire rear portion and almost all of its side profile as well.
As per these new spy shots, the rear end of the production-spec Sonet looks quite close to that of the of the concept. The LED light bar joining the two sleek tail lamp units from the concept has been replaced by a simple red reflector. The tail gate seems identical and is in fact quite raked. The roof gets an integrated spoiler with stop lights and you can also see the small kink in the rear quarter glass area. The bumper however is quite simple looking as compared to the concept and the gloss black trim has been substituted with a silver finish.
This spied test mule seems to be a base-spec variant as is evident by the steel-wheels with wheel covers. We will still have to wait for some time to find out the alloy wheel design, but apart from that, the side profile looks pretty neat. There’s generous body cladding around the wheel arches and door sills and the very attractive C-pillar design has also been retained for the production SUV. The images however do not reveal the face of the SUV, but based on a teaser Kia Motors dropped a couple of days ago, it sure promises to be a very handsome looking SUV.
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.
