The Kia Sonet delivers a deadly one-two of an excellent price tag and stunning features Abhishek Benny / evo India

Kia Motors India launches the Sonet at Rs 6.71 lakh

Kia’s much-awaited compact SUV contender comes with a long list of variants, but with plenty of kit on offer

Kia Motors India has launched its third offering in the country, the Sonet sub 4-metre SUV, at an introductory price of Rs 6.71 lakh (ex-showroom, pan-India) for the base HTE variant. The Sonet, like its elder sibling the Seltos, can be had in the Tech Line and GT Line variants, all of which spoil the customer with a combined choice of three engines and five gearboxes!

Starting off, we have the 1.2-litre nat-asp petrol with 82bhp and 115Nm mated to the 5-speed manual in the entry-level HTE variant (Tech Line), while the range-topping GTX+ variant (GT Line) gets the 1-litre T-GDi motor with 118bhp and 172Nm, with the option of either the 6-speed iMT or the 7-speed DCT. Also, there’s the 1.5-litre CRDi diesel in two states of tune, delivering either 98.6bhp and 240Nm (coupled to a 6-speed MT) or 113.4bhp and 250Nm with the 6-speed AT (a straight pick from the Seltos), making it the first compact SUV ticking the diesel-auto option.

Additionally, Kia claims best in segment mileage for all the engines, with the 1.5-litre diesel mill delivering 24.1kmpl in manual guise and 19kmpl with the auto 'box, while the 1.2 petrol (manual) is quoted at 18.4kmpl and the 1-litre turbo-petrol (iMT) stands at 18.2kmpl.

The sheer number of features dwarfs some cars from even a segment above!Abhishek Benny / evo India

The USP of the Sonet, however, is on the inside, where the Kia says the Sonet boasts many segment-first features. First of all, there’s the 10.25-inch touchscreen (borrowed once again from the Seltos) with wireless Apple CarPlay. Then, there’s the Bose sound system with 7 speakers, wireless charging (as well as an AC outlet to cool the mobile while it charges), ventilated driver and front passenger seats, the UVO Connected car system which responds to the “Hello Kia” voice prompt and can be integrated into your smartphone for the SOS and concierge services as well as remote starting, remote cooling, geo-fencing and alerts, all of which we have already seen on the Seltos.

Below is a variant-wise breakdown of the Kia Sonet’s prices

Variant-wise list of prices for Kia SonetKia Motors India

The Kia Sonet enters into a heavily contested space, and goes up against the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Mahindra XUV300, Ford Ecosport, Tata Nexon, Honda WR-V, and of course, the Hyundai Venue. Now, though the first drive impressions were very, very positive, and it gets a killer price tag, we won’t be recommending it over the competition just yet.