Kia Sonet: 5 features that sets it apart from rival Hyundai Venue
Kia Motors is all set to launch its third offering in India - the Kia Sonet sub-compact SUV - next week. Since its unveiling in August, Kia Sonet has garnered a lot of attraction already. Sonet sub-compact SUV garnered more than 6,500 bookings on opening day, hinting that it might have enough firepower to shake up the crowded segment.
While its looks and how it drives obviously matter, much would also depend on how Kia will price the Sonet. Known to price its vehicles aggressively, Kia is likely to launch Sonet at a starting price of ₹7 lakh, and may go up till ₹13 lakh. That pits it directly against its key rival Hyundai Venue. The Venue SUV starts at a price of a little under ₹7 lakh and goes up to ₹11.5 lakh.
Both Venue and Sonet have brought something new for the Indian customers, that will change the way people are accustomed to driving cars. The much talked about iMT transmission is a shared technology between the two. Besides, there are several other features and elements, like turbo variants, that are common between the two sub-compact SUVs.
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But there are elements that promise to set Sonet apart from Venue and can be a dealmaker or deal-breaker.
Diesel torque converter anyone?
A 1-litre turbo engine with iMT or regular transmission in a car of this size always promises to be peppy and fun to drive anywhere. But Kia decided to bring in the 1.5-litre CRDi diesel engine that powers the Seltos SUV in Sonet as well. This specific engine, mated to a 6-speed torque converter, is one of the biggest differences between Sonet and Venue. It can produce 115 PS of power and 250 Nm of torque.
‘Drive anywhere’ modes
No. Sonet is not a four-wheel drive. So no need to get excited about different terrain modes it offers. However, it can prove to be helpful when required. The three modes - snow, mud and sand - will not make a major difference in performance when the Sonet is pushed into such scenarios where you need such modes to kick in, but may well edge out of a sticky situation.
Bigger is better?
Kia Sonet boasts of a bigger touchscreen infotainment system than the one that comes inside the Hyundai Venue. The 10.25-inch screen is similar to the one inside Kia Seltos. Besides Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and AI voice recognition, it has a connected car technology called UVO, which is not too different from Hyundai Blue Link connectivity found inside a Venue.
Light and sound show
Kia Sonet gets 7-speaker Bose sound system which comes with LED Sound Mood Lights that keeps changing. Hyundai Venue comes with 6-speaker Arkamys audio.
Front proximity sensors
Besides the regular rear parking sensors that are common in most cars, Kia Sonet comes with a front parking sensor too. It not only helps while parking the car in a tight spot, but can also help the car negotiate narrow lanes or start-and-stop traffic in the city.
