Kia Sonet Review: From Interiors To Features And More, Know All About The Latest Compact SUV

For an expected price of under Rs 12 lakh for this top-end Sonet turbo petrol automatic or even Rs 12.5 lakh for the diesel auto, this is one SUV that you should seriously check out.

Finally we have driven the Kia Sonet and can tell you how it is to drive plus how good are the features plus the space. The Kia Sonet would be the third product after the Seltos and Carnival, while it would be Kia's second SUV. After the success of the Seltos, Kia now wants to target the compact SUV or the SUV segment of under 4m SUVs. So the question is, how good is it? We tested the turbo petrol DCT auto and the diesel automatic to give you a detailed review. How does the Sonet look? The Sonet is just under 4m at 3995mm in length, 1790mm in width and 1647mm in height. It has a ground clearance of 211mm which is the highest in class! The Sonet looks the widest and probably amongst the biggest because of the way it has been styled. Kia wanted to make the Sonet more aggressive and it works with few changes from the concept which we saw at the Auto Expo. The Sonet looks muscular and you can see the Tiger nose grille upfront while there are LED headlamps with DRLs. The grille has a chrome outer layer while the GT line has red detailing which further adds to the look. At the rear you can see the wrap-around effect while the tail-lamps are connected to each other. There are the usual skid plates and exhausts (faux) while the 16 inch alloys on this top-end look sharp. The quality and paint finish of the Kia Sonet is also very good. What about the interiors? Inside depending on the trim you have chosen you can get in all black or a beige/black dual tone. We have the GT line top spec variant which is the fully loaded one with the black interior with some red highlights. At first impressions, the design is sportier over the Seltos and has its own distinctive look with a youthful look. You can see the large air vents which are a bit vertical in shape while the centre console is dominated by the huge 10.25 inch touchscreen with a cluster of buttons below it. The steering is a three spoke unit with knurled controls for the steering while there is a digital instrument cluster with a big screen to tell you various information including give you a view of the navigation and other information that the driver needs to see quickly in his line of vision when driving. Quality at first glance is very good especially the steering finish, touchscreen, gear lever and the top half but stuff like the glovebox quality or some of the lower part of the dash are not a soft touch affair. Space at the front is very comfortable as I found the front seats comfy and accommodating plus the fact that they can be cooled is a big plus during our summers. There is no auto adjustment but the seat has a height adjust and the steering adjusts for rake only. The rear seat is much like the Venue and does not feel as airy as say the likes of the Brezza or Nexon. It is best for two passengers or a child in the middle with decent legroom/headroom.. The boot at 392 litres is class best while there are enough thoughtful storage places inside like a place to put your phone or the doors having well carved out storage places to include a bottle and an umbrella! What about features? The Hyundai Venue set the benchmark with its feature list but Kia has gone several steps ahead with its Sonet as it has a lot of segment first features. It has several of which you do not expect at this price and nearly all of them are genuinely useful. The massive 10.25 inch touchscreen is easy to use on the go plus has brilliant display and resolution plus has the spilt display. Then you get the basic smartphone connectivity, cruise control, steering controls, electric sunroof, wireless charging, rear camera, rear ac vents, six airbags and more. That is segment norm at least with the Venue. But where it goes one step ahead is the inclusion of front parking sensors, cooled ventilated front seats, air purifier with added virus protection, digital instrument cluster, driving rear view mirror, Bluetooth multi connection, Bose 7-speaker audio system, UVO connected tech with 57 features, traction control and drive modes, tyre pressure monitoring system, LED mood lighting! Yes the list goes on and on. But most of them are very useful. The Bose audio gives a crisp sound, the front parking sensors are useful in tight spaces plus you can even remote start the car with the manual along with the auto version! The UVO connected tech, much like the updated Seltos gets the voice commands feature with the 'Hey Kia' start line and you can talk to the car like you would do normally instead of giving a command- which makes using this system easier. How is it to drive? Kia has three engine options in total. The range starts with the 1.2l petrol with the 5-speed manual while there is the 1.0 turbo petrol which gets a 7-speed DCT automatic and a 6-speed iMT clutchless manual. There is a 1.5l diesel with both a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed AT. We drove the petrol automatic top-end here. The Sonet 1.0 turbo petrol makes 120 bhp and 172Nm while the gearbox is a 7-speed dual clutch auto. Refinement levels are very good since the turbo is a three cylinder one and there are hardly any vibrations. Start driving and you will like the compact size and the nice driving position.The DCT shifts up in traffic and you do not feel the smooth gearshifts. It is not jerky or laggy at low speeds- the gearbox. The engine has some turbo lag but the presence of drive modes change that. Eco is nice and pretty good for normal city cruising while normal or sport is the one you would pick for performance. For everyday low speed driving the DCT 1.0 Sonet is easy. However if you want more performance and quicker shifts, the gearbox does keep up with that but does not give the downshifts which you need at the right time and it lacks paddle shifts- which are an essential. That said the gearbox and engine are fairly sporty and with the sport driving mode, it will go reasonably quick. The Sonet also handles the speed breakers or bad roads better than some other SUVs due to its high ground clearance or the ride is pretty good over rough surfaces save for some firmness due to its sporty set-up. The Sonet Turbo DCT delivers 18.2 kmpl for the official mileage but sport mode and fast driving means 9-11 kmpl while eco mode will increase it certainly. The other engine that we sampled was the diesel automatic and that is a segment first since most car-makers shy away from launching a diesel auto as that pushed the price up. Unlike some rivals, the Kia Sonet gets a proper torque converter automatic and is paired to the 1.5l diesel which makes 115 bhp and 250Nm. The diesel plus automatic combination works very well and we found little to complain. Performance is healthy with a lot of torque plus the automatic being able to work around that with relatively fast gear changes. Unlike the DCT petrol, we did not feel the need for paddle shifters here. The diesel with the heavier engine has a bit more roll around the corners and the petrol feels the more agile in the handling department but where the diesel rules is the mileage as it delivers 16-18 kmpl in city. Verdict We hope Kia prices it aggressively (Rs 7-12 lakh expected) and yes it follows up the Seltos with being another SUV that seems to have what it takes to be amongst the segment best sellers. The Sonet has its own strengths to which it smartly plays. The talking point is clearly the design, features and the long engine/gearbox choices, which means there would be a Sonet for every price. It is also a well sorted car dynamically with a small bias towards sportiness which is seen on most Kia cars. We loved the diesel automatic and we also liked the DCT petrol turbo for its smoothness and fun to drive factor when driven hard. It may not be perfect since the rear seats lack a bit of space and we would have liked more soft touch materials used inside, but largely this is as good as it gets when it comes to compact SUVs. So just like the Seltos, the Sonet will most likely continue the good innings for Kia here and expand its reach. For an expected price of under Rs 12 lakh for this top-end Sonet turbo petrol automatic or even Rs 12.5 lakh for the diesel auto, this is one SUV that you should seriously check out. What we like - Looks, features, DCT automatic and engine performance, diesel automatic What we do not like - Lacks rear seat space, soft touch materials needed inside.