Kia Motors on Thursday unveiled the all-new Sonet facelift, with the car making its global debut at an event in New Delhi. The 2024 Kia Sonet is the South Korean auto giant’s third offering in India, behind Seltos (2019) and Carnival (2020).
It will be launched in India in the first quarter of 2024; pre-bookings will commence from December 20.
Variants
The new Sonet is being offered in three variants, namely X Line, GT Line, and Tech Line. While the X Line is a single variant, the GT Line gets GTX+, and Tech Line has five sub-variants (HTE, HTK, HTK+, HTX, HTX+).
Design
Even in this updated avatar, the compact SUV continues to sport Kia’s signature Tiger Nose grille, though the manufacturer has made some tweaks to the DRL placement and design. The headlight units and front bumper, meanwhile, have both been refreshed.
On the back, there is now an LED light bar connecting the two tail lights, with both getting a refreshed design. The alloy design on the 16-inch wheels too has been refreshed.
Features
The facelift comes with features such as a 10.25-inch main touchscreen display, an LCD driver display unit (also 10.5-inch), a 360-degree camera, a smart air purification system, a seven-speaker Bose sound system, an electric sunroof, the Kia Connect Skill with Amazon Alexa, and more.
The car’s biggest highlight, however, is the addition of the ADAS (advanced driver assistance system) with Forward Collision Warning and Avoidance Assist, and Lane Keep Assist.
Powertrain
Powering the model will be two petrol engine options (1.0-litre turbo petrol and 1.2-litre petrol), and a third, diesel one (1.5-litre CRDi). Their respective maximum power output and peak torque, in that order, are 118bhp and 172 Nm, 81bhp and 115Nm, and 113bhp and 250Nm.
Also, this Sonet too continues with a 5-speed manual gearbox, 6-speed manual gearbox, 6-speed automatic transmission, 6-speed iMT, and a 7-speed DCT unit.
Colours
There as many as eight single-tone colour options (Black, Blue, Clear White, Grey, Olive, Red, Silver, and White), two dual-tone hues (red with a black roof and white with a black roof) and a matte shade (exclusive for the X Line).
Rivals
When launched, the car will take on Nexon (Tata Motors) and XUV300 (Mahindra), the leaders in the compact SUV segment.
