Kia Sonet 2024 is a compact SUV with a variety of engine options and body colour options to choose from. Here are our first impressions.
Kia has been one of the brands that tend to offer more features for the price. The Kia Sonet is no different as the brand has launched the latest sub-4 meter, Sonet facelift for 2024 in India, and we got to drive the GTX+ variant, powered by a 1.5l CRDi VGT 6AT engine that produces 85 kW of power and 250 Nm of torque, for a brief time. In this first impression article, I'll tell you if the 2024 Kia Sonet is worth checking out.
Kia Sonet 2024 doesn't look very different from its predecessors, however, the brand has updated the grill, the headlights, and the tail lamps, and added a new rear spoiler. It's still a distinct Kia look, and you can easily tell this is a Sonet. The new Signature Tiger Nose Grille makes the Sonet look much more sporty and adds a premium factor to it that might appeal to buyers.
Kia Sonet 2024 is available in 11 colour options
We got to test drive the Kia Sonet 2024 in the GTX+ trim and the Intense Red colour option that comes in a dual-tone design with glossy paint, black matte-finished splash guards, and chrome accents. On the front, the car sports a new chrome-black grille that resembles a tiger's nose, according to the brand. A 360-degree camera is placed at the centre of the grille, with L-shaped LED DRLs and crown jewel LED headlamps that look sporty and give a premium feel. The car also gets slim LED fog lamps.
Kia Sonet 2024 uses chrome accents all around the body. The rearview mirrors sport a dual-tone colour scheme with LED indicators. The doors have body-coloured handles that do not feel cheap. At the back, the car sports the Kia logo and uses Star Map LED-connected tail lamps with aerodynamically designed rear skid plates.
One thing that I noticed while driving the car at around 80kmph, is that the cabin is very quiet for a car in this price range. This is not something that I can say about its competition.
The car is 3995 mm long, 1790 mm wide, and 1642 mm tall. The Sonet 2024 GTX+ variant comes with 16-inch Sporty Crystal Cut alloy wheels that look premium and do justice to the price.
The Kia Sonet 2024 will be available with a variety of engine options to choose from. These include the Smartstream G1.2 5MT, Smartstream G1.0T-GDi 6iMT/GDi 7DCT, or the 1.5l CRDi VGT 6MT/ 6iMT and 6AT engine options.
The engine is tuned well and performs decently on highways
I drove the GTX+ variant for a good 2-3 hours on the highway as well as crowded city roads, covering almost 60 kilometres. It drove fine, with just the right amount of acceleration needed even in ECO mode, however when I switched to the SPORTS mode, the difference in performance was negligible and there was a noticeable lag from the turbo.
This variant of the Kia Sonet 2024 comes loaded with a lot of features that a consumer buying the other lower-end variants might not be able to enjoy. These include leather upholstery with ventilated driver and front passenger seats, an electronic sunroof that can be controlled using voice commands, an in-built air purifier, Qi wireless charging for compatible smartphones, a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen system that supports wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 10.25-inch colour LCD MID dashboard display, and a 7 speaker sound system by Bose.
There's little to no noise in the cabin, even while in crowded places
The car boasts fast USB Type-C charging ports in the front as well as the rear, which is a plus, but for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connection, the car still requires you to connect a USB Type-A cable that is fairly dated for a car launching in 2024.
It is equipped with disk brakes on all four wheels and features a parking assist with a 360-degree camera that shows the entire car. This is very helpful in reversing or taking the car out of a tight spot.
The car comes equipped with ADAS level 1 and gets a total of 10 safety features, including Forward Collision Warning, Lane Keep Assist, High Beam Assist, Driver Attention Warning and more. These are particularly useful for new drivers and for long drives on the highway.
The Kia Sonet 2024 comes with 6 Airbags as standard, ABS with EBD, and Brake Assist, which can be controlled to a degree and monitored with the Kia app for a better driving experience and getting the best out of this car.
The Kia Sonet 2024 is a good refresh for a car that's already approved by consumers. This refresh does pack in quite a bit of additional features like ADAS level 1, a fairly new-looking body kit, voice commands for the car, etc. The Kia Sonet 2024 is priced starting at Rs. 7.99 lakh ex-showroom, and these are the features that you'll only get in the top-end variants of the Kia Sonet 2024 and not in the lower-end variants, which puts it in the sub-Rs. 15 lakh price category. The car will feel comfortable to drive on city roads and could be used for daily commutes as well, with all the latest additions. If you do want to check out other options, you can look at the Hyundai Venue, which has a higher starting price tag but does offer a good set of features in the base variant. There's also the Renault Kiger as well that comes with similar features and an affordable price tag.
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