Kia India has launched the new Sonet in the country. Prices for the 2021 Kia Sonet start at Rs 6.79 lakh, ex-showroom (India). The company has several changes to the refreshed Sonet compact SUV including some new variants.
Starting with the biggest change made on the 2021 Sonet, the compact SUV now receives a new brand logo and two new variants. The HTX trim is now offered with 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine paired with the 7-speed DCT and the 1.5-litre diesel mated to a 6-speed AT. These new trims are now placed below the top-spec trims of the compact SUV the HTX+. and the GTX+.
Additionally, the company has added a couple of new features to the new Kia Sonet. This includes paddle shifters, a segment-first voice-assisted sunroof operation and rear window sunshades.
The paddle shifters are offered on the HTX 7DCT, and GTX+ 7DCT petrol trims and HTX AT and GTX+ AT diesel trims. The voice-assisted sunroof operation feature is only offered on the top-spec HTX+ and GTX+ trims. Finally, the rear window sunshades are offered on HTX, HTX+ and GTX+ trims.
Some other changes made by Kia on the new Sonet are the addition of existing features to lower-spec trims of the company SUV. Here are the variant-wise changes.
New Kia Sonet HTX & HTX+ Additional Features Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Vehicle Stability Management (VSM), Brake Assistance (BA), Hill Assist Control (HAC, Smart Key with Push Button Start, Remote Engine Start, Electric Sunroof, Chrome Door Handles, 16-inch Alloy Wheels.
New Kia Sonet HTK+ Additional Features Smart Key with Push Button Start Remote Engine Start Electric Sunroof Chrome Door Handles.
Additionally, the petrol trims HTX 7DCT, GTX+ 7DCT and the diesel trims HTX AT and GTX+ AT have received the multiple drive modes and traction control safety feature as well. While these are the feature changes, there have no mechanical changes made to the compact SUV apart from the introduction of paddle shifters on the automatic variants.
The Sonet is offered in four various engines configurations: the 1.2-litre naturally-aspirated petrol unit, 1.0-litre turbo-petrol unit, 1.5-litre WGT diesel unit and the 1.5-litre VGT diesel unit. The 1.2-litre petrol engine produces 84bhp and 115Nm of torque mated to a standard five-speed manual. The 1.0-litre turbo-petrol unit dishes out 119bhp and 172Nm of peak torque; mated to either a seven-speed DCT or a six-speed iMT.
On the other hand, the 1.5-litre diesel engine is available in two configurations: a (WGT) Waste-Gate Turbo and a (VGT) Variable Geometry Turbo. The 1.5-litre WGT produces 99bhp/240Nm of torque, while the superior VGT engine produces 114bhp and a peak torque of 250Nm.
The new Kia Sonet now features a host of updates over the previous model including many segment-first additions.
