2024 Kia Sonet First Drive Review

Why I would buy it?

Great value addition to the feature list
Diversity of drivetrain options
Level-1 ADAS

Why I would avoid it?

Rear seat space
No wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto

Engine and performance

The Kia Sonet will continue with its three engine options. The base is the 1.2 petrol producing 82bhp/115Nm and offered with a five-speed MT. The more powerful petrol is a 1.0-litre GDi turbo producing 118bhp/172Nm and can be had with a six-speed iMT or a seven-speed DCT. Finally, the diesel is Kia’s 1.5-litre unit producing 114bhp/250Nm and can be had with a six-speed MT, six-speed iMT or a six-speed AT, the last of which is what’s being featured in our video today.

The diesel engine is common for the Kia range and produces 114bhp/250Nm. The combination of diesel and AT has always been a welcoming prospect as it combines mileage with the ease of use that an AT gives you. You get a nice wave of torque quite low down but have to keep it pinned for a bit to let the torque converter shift up to build up speed for you to overtake. This means you do have to plan a bit especially if the vehicle is a large one. You get paddle shifters and a manual mode if you want more control but for the most, the AT is smart enough that you can bank on it to let it do its thing in the background as you cover the kilometres.

As a part of the deal, you also get 3 driving modes- eco, normal and sport. Each of them alters the response of the throttle with action most lively in the sport mode, as was the case earlier. There are also 3 traction modes snow, mud and sand. Both the drive and traction modes are accessible via buttons on the centre console.

Ride and handling

As a vehicle to drive, the Sonet is remarkably car-like as compared to an SUV experience that one would expect seeing the body style. The steering is reasonably accurate with a nice weight and quick responses when you are going fast. It doesn't roll much in the corners and there is an assured progression as you complete the turn.

Even with these 16-inch wheels, the Sonet rides pretty well taking most of the stuff on its path without upsetting the occupants or the car. The ground clearance too is more than enough for you to not worry about big potholes or speed breakers. The magic of a diesel AT is that it's an enabler for covering long distances with minimal effort. With a claimed mileage of 18.6kmpl and a 45-litre tank, this car is more than capable of doing almost 850km in a single run.

The Sonet is the second car in the segment to get level-1 ADAS and it is pretty effective. You get everything except the adaptive cruise control and in this price bracket is a lot of external help. As ADAS systems go it does its job very well as we got to test out both the lane keep assist and blind spot monitor. On the smooth but slightly chaotic highways out of Bhopal, the lane keep had to work overtime to keep us in line while the blind spot monitor managed to catch at least two motorcycles that managed to position themselves in the exact same spot in succession. Even though it has been around for almost 2 years now, ADAS is still a luxury and should be used with a pinch of salt due to non-controllable external factors.

Exterior

Up front, the Sonet gets a new grille, tri-beam LED headlamps and rectangular DRLs that give the car a sharp look. The layout of the headlamps and elements on the grille vary as per the trim you choose.

Moving over to the side, we can see that the Sonet now gets body-coloured door handles and a completely new design for the 16-inch alloy wheels. The rear retains the same shape as before but now gets an LED lightbar connecting both ends of the vehicle.

Interior and features

The cabin of the Kia Sonet has been retained in terms of elements but with some new touches and new features. The biggest changes are new dual digital displays. Like the Seltos, the Sonet’s infotainment system retains much of the previous interface which is not a bad thing as the interface is easy to access and quick to use but it does feel slightly dated when you look at the competition.

What does look very fancy though is this instrument cluster which is now a full-digital HD job and displays a lot of information apart from the speed, fuel and RPMs. It shows the level-1 ADAS at work and is also the display for the blind-spot monitor. It changes colour depending on the driving mode and can be operated via buttons on the flat-bottom steering wheel.

A common issue for the Sonet was that the rear was cramped when looking at the rivals and Kia had addressed this by scooping out the front seat back in a bid to liberate additional space. This has not made a difference in terms of making the second feel more spacious and overall it is more or less a two-person affair at the back. You can fit a third person but they have to deal with the AC stack protruding into their legroom.

The fully loaded GTX+ variant that we have driven has all the bells and every whistle that Kia offers for the Sonet and then some more. This list includes ventilated front seats with a power function for the driver, a full HD instrument cluster, a 360-degree camera and a blind-spot monitor. The biggest additions to the feature list are level-1 ADAS which we checked out in the driving section and a new connected car system with over 60 commands and support for Hinglish functionality. At the time of making this video, Kia was currently working on adding commands in other languages too!

On the safety front, all versions get six airbags, ABS with EBD, ESC, and highline TPMS. ADAS is only offered on the top-spec variants, though if we go by the Seltos’ progress then we can expect it in at least one more lower-spec model going forward.

Conclusion

Kia has gone down the road of value addition rather than a complete overhaul. The bits and pieces it selected do up the value of the Sonet, especially at the higher end of the trim scale where Kia gets good demand. The ADAS effectively keeps you on track and will go a long way in pushing driver assistance systems down the food chain.

Consequently, the rear is still cramped, you don't get wireless phone mirroring and there is no MT option for the 1.0-litre GDi turbo petrol which is not a complaint per se but more of a that is the truth of the situation. The Kia Sonet is a big player in the segment with major numbers since its launch in 2020. It takes on the Maruti Brezza, Maruti Fronx, Hyundai Venue and the Mahindra XUV300.

Photography: Kapil Angane