After the success of Seltos and positive aura around Carnival, Kia motors has launched its third car in the Indian market -- Kia Sonet. Kia Sonet is a sub-compact SUV that is all set to compete in what is a rather congested segment. Hyundai Venue, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Breza, Ford EcoSport, and Tata Nexon all will be the Sonet's direct competitors.
The Kia Sonet comes with a Tiger-nose grille, 3D stepwell geometric grille mesh, swept-back LED headlamps with LED DRLs, clamshell bonnet, and flared wheel arches. The SUV also gets split taillights.
Color options: Kia Sonet will be available in 3 dual-color and 7 single color options.
The model would be manufactured at company's Anantapur-based (Andhra Pradesh) facility and would also be exported to other markets.
Sonet, which is Kia's third product in India after Seltos and Carnival, would compete with the likes of Hyundai Venue, Maruti Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon and Mahindra XUV300 in the domestic market. The segment is also going to see more products like Toyota Kirloskar Motor's Urban Cruiser and Nissan's Magnite.
“With its aggressive and modern design language, fun-to-drive dynamics, and Kia's latest high-tech features, the Sonet puts an exclamation point on our ambition to make Kia the brand of choice, especially among millennial and Gen Z consumers," Kia Motors Corporation President and CEO Ho Sung Song said.
The model fills a need in the growing SUV market, in India and further afield, and will attract a wider number of consumers to the Kia brand, he added.
Kia Motors India MD and CEO Kookhyun Shim said that after the success of the Seltos and Carnival, the company is confident that it will revolutionise another market segment in India with the Sonet by addressing the unmet needs and aspirations of customers.
The Sonet will be produced at the company's Anantapur plant as per Kia's exacting global standards, Shim noted. The Kia Sonet will come with multiple powertrain options to suit virtually all requirements in this segment.
It will also come with a 1.2 litre and 1 litre turbo petrol variants besides 1.5 litre diesel trims mated to a choice of five manual and automatic transmissions.
The compact SUV would also come with first-in-class diesel six-speed automatic transmission, the automaker said.
The Sonet would also come with a range of connected features.
The Sonet is developed and engineered from the ground-up jointly by Kia Motors India and Kia's global research and development headquarters in South Korea.
Here's the first look of Kia Sonet
