The Indian Automotive market in the last year has witnessed the entry of two new auto giants, namely – Morris Garages and Kia Motors. Both these manufacturers are on a spree with new products on cards. While MG is targeting the premium segment with its SUV, GLOSTER, Kia Motors India has launched their sub-four meter SUV, SONET at 6.71Lakhs!
Kia Motors India has achieved considerable success with their much loved compact SUV Seltos, marking its inclusion in India’s top 10 cars. After the tremendous success of the Kia Seltos and the people mover-style versatile Kia Carnival, Kia has introduced the all-new Kia Sonet. The pricing for the starts from Rs 6.71 lakh and goes upto the mark of Rs 11.99 lakh (ex-showroom) for the top-of-the-line.
Kia has really hit it out of the park with Sonet ‘s pricing and can lure a lot of customers with this aggressive pricing. It will be sold in two trims – GT Line and Tech Line. The GT Line will feature all the premium features such as drive and traction modes, front parking sensors, etc. Kia Motors India expects to breach the 1,00,000 sales mark in the first year alone.
Two petrol engines – a versatile Smartstream 1.2-litre four-cylinder and a powerful 1.0 T-GDi (turbocharged petrol direct injection) – are offered along with two efficient 1.5-litre CRDi diesel engine (WGT & VGT configurations).
The Sonet comes with five transmission options; this includes five and six-speed manuals, an intuitive seven-speed DCT, six-speed automatic, and Kia’s revolutionary new six-speed Smartstream intelligent manual transmission (iMT).
The latter is a technological breakthrough from Kia, offering fatigue-free driving thanks to the absence of a clutch pedal, yet the same driver control as a conventional manual transmission.
For the first time in this segment, the 1.5 CRDi diesel motor is also available with a six-speed automatic transmission.
In addition to this, the Sonet comes loaded with multiple segment-first features offering complete comfort, convenience, safety and optimum driving pleasure to customers. This includes:
· Largest and best-in-segment10.25-inch (26.03 cm) HD touchscreen with navigation and live traffic information
· Smart Pure Air Purifier with virus and bacteria protection
· BOSE Premium seven-speaker sound system with sub-woofer
· Front Ventilated driver and passenger seats
· 4.2-inch (10.7 cm) colour instrument cluster
· LED Sound Mood Lights
· Remote engine start via UVO Connect and Smart Key (Automatic and Manual transmission)
· Over-the-air (OTA) map updates
· Multi-drive & traction modes for automatic models
· Wireless smartphone charger with cooling function
Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Kookhyun Shim, MD, and CEO at Kia Motors India said “Given the enthusiastic reception it has already received, we are extremely excited about introducing Kia’s latest made-in-India car for the world, the Sonet, in India. The aggressive pricing has been arrived at to bring delight and offer incredible value to the young and the young-at-heart customer of the Sonet. As our endeavor has been to ensure there is a Sonet for virtually all customers in this category, it is being offered with the widest choice in this segment. With its class-leading features, emotional design, exceptional quality, and latest technology, the Sonet once again brings alive Kia’s commitment of ‘The Power to Surprise.’ We are sure it will revolutionize the compact SUV segment in the country.”
“The launch of the Sonet in India, as we emerge from these trying times, is the result of incredible resilience and hard work of Kia’s Indian and global teams, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. I would also like to acknowledge the efforts of our employees at our state-of-the-art Anantapur plant who are also hard at work to ensure uninterrupted production of the new Sonet so that it reaches the homes of eager customers all around the country, and later, around the world. It is a testament to Kia’s commitment to developing advanced products with the technological prowess and world-class quality born out of India,” he further added.
To offer a safe, hassle-free experience, Kia Motors India ensures a completely paperless, physical contactless end-to-end digital platform for the new car buying process. Kia pioneered this feature right at the inception of its retail business in August 2019.
With all the features, the Sonet is loaded with bells and whistles to the brim. It looks stylish, is modern and offered in plethora of options. We believe Kia has a winner on hands.
It is expected to lock horns with the likes of the Hyundai Venue, the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, the Mahindra XUV300, the Ford Ecosport, and the upcoming Toyota Urban Cruiser.
