Kia Sonet premiered: What we know so far-

 With its stunning looks, generous equipment list, and plenty of engine and gearbox options, Kia’s Sonet looks set to carry on the company’s winning streak.

• The Sonet will be feature loaded, with segment firsts like cooled seats
• Petrol and diesel engines on offer along with manual, automatic and a clutchless manual gearbox too.
• Shares common platform with sister brand Hyundai's Venue
  
  
  
  
  

Kia Sonet Exterior

At the front is the Kia signature Tiger Nose grille, with a knurled and chrome-finished lower edge, and multi-segmented 3D inserts, with the GT Line variant getting red highlights. Flanking the grille are slim LED headlamps, accentuated by the signature ‘heartbeat’ DRLs. The sharply cut bumper houses fog lights in what were intakes on the concept, and the large air intake area below has a hexagonal mesh and an aggressive silver-finished garnish. Topping off the front is the bonnet, with a muscular-looking power bulge.

Unlike the front, the sides are simpler, with more curvaceous doors devoid of any sharp design flourishes. Another interesting element retained from the concept is the blacked-out treatment applied to the top and lower edge of the C pillar, and the inset quarter glass that makes the pillar look nice and sharply swept back. The 16-inch alloys, too, are very similar to the concept’s.At the rear, the LED tail-lamps also feature the ‘heartbeat’ signature, and are connected by a reflector strip, lending them a continuous, single-element look. The bumper has a silver-finish faux skid plate and faux twin exhaust trims.

On the whole, the Sonet has a lot going for it visually

Kia Sonet Features

the siblings share very little – the dashboard, steering wheel, door pads and seats have their own unique style. Plastic quality is good, especially at the top; the lower half has some hard bits around, but on the whole, perceived interior quality is top notch.

Kia has not shared detailed specs or features, but it does look it has had the advantage of following Hyundai. Kia has matched the Venue on equipment and then added on some more too like, for example, a 7-speaker Bose sound system and ventilated front seats for both driver and front passenger.

he highlight, though, is definitely the massive, 10.25-inch touchscreen, which has the usual set of features, and also comes with in-built navigation, Kia’s Uvo connectivity suite, and controls for the ‘sound mood lights’ a la the Seltos, and the perfumed air purifier that the company says offers virus protection. Other prominent features include auto climate control, a sunroof, auto headlamps, a tyre-pressure monitor, cooled wireless phone charging, front and rear parking sensors and safety equipment like 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, ESC, hill assist control (HAC), vehicle stability management (VSM) and brake assist.

Kia Sonet Price

Thus, as things stand, the Sonet looks well suited-up for battle in the hot compact SUV space. It’s a smasher to look at, it’s got plenty of kit, and will offer a wide choice of powertrain options too. We’ll have to see how it drives and how much will Kia ask for it. Given the brand’s success so far, they could get a bit ambitious on pricing, but then again, with so much competition and a lot of sibling rivalry too, Kia probably isn’t going to leave any loose ends, so expect a competitive price and a tight battle ahead.