Kia Motors unveils the Sonet – an all-new smart urban compact SUV, made in India for the world

The world premiere of the production-ready model follows the global unveiling of the Sonet concept at the Delhi Auto Expo in February 2020. Sales of the new car will commence soon in India, with sales in many of Kia’s global markets due to follow.

“Kia Motors continues to be recognised globally through products which offer exquisite design and world-class quality, along with ‘The Power to Surprise’. Everything about the all-new Sonet is uniquely Kia and is sure to delight both drivers and passengers,” said Ho Sung Song, President and CEO at Kia Motors Corporation.

“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. The Sonet 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.”

“We are extremely excited to introduce the Sonet, which is made in India for the world. After the success of the Seltos and Carnival, we are confident that Kia will revolutionise yet another market segment in India with the Sonet by addressing the unmet needs and aspirations of customers,” said Kookhyun Shim, MD and CEO at Kia Motors India.

“The Kia Sonet is designed and developed to deliver a best-in-class experience in quality, design, technology, features and drivability to attract a wide spectrum of customers across segments. The Sonet will be produced at our state-of-the-art Anantapur plant to Kia’s exacting global standards, and we are sure it will be received with enthusiasm by new customers and existing fans of the brand alike.”

The all-new Sonet incorporates Kia’s DNA of emotive styling along with a premium and youthful appeal to create a strong road presence. Displaying a dynamic stance in a confident, compact body, the Sonet showcases a range of styling attributes to make it stand apart on roads around the world.

This includes a fresh interpretation of Kia’s signature ‘tiger-nose’ grille, flanked by ‘heart beat’ LED DRLs (daytime running lights), shaped like the electric pulse of a heart, with a stylish front skid plate beneath.

Its sporty silhouette is enhanced by the unique design and structure of its C-pillar, matched with a wraparound rear-windscreen. The ‘heart beat’ LED tail lamps also adorn the rear.

Inside, the Sonet is designed around the driver, with a well laid-out, easy-to-use connected infotainment and cluster interface, and high quality materials all around. Despite compact exterior dimensions, the interior of the Sonet offers ample, ergonomic space for all passengers.

The Sonet will be offered with multiple powertrain options to suit virtually all requirements in this segment. A choice of two gasoline engines – a versatile Smartstream 1.2-liter four-cylinder and powerful 1.0 T-GDi (turbocharged gasoline direct injection) – and an efficient 1.5-liter CRDi  diesel engine are available with a choice of five transmissions.

This includes five- and six-speed manuals, an intuitive seven-speed DCT six-speed automatic, and Kia’s revolutionary new six-speed Smartstream intelligent manual transmission (iMT).

The latter is a technological breakthrough from Kia, offering fatigue-free driving thanks to the absence of a clutch pedal, yet the same driver control as a conventional manual transmission. For the first time in this segment, the Sonet also offers its 1.5-liter diesel engine with the six-speed automatic transmission.

The Sonet’s dynamics and suspension set-up have been tuned by Kia engineers to match its exuberant design and Kia’s sporty and youthful brand image, offering high driving pleasure for enthusiasts.

To suit the requirements of a wide array of customers, the Sonet will be offered in a dual trim concept. This includes the sporty GT-Line trim which enhances the Sonet’s racy appeal for enthusiasts via its multiple design and functional elements, both inside and out. GT-Line models offer an extra dash of sportiness to the Sonet and highlight its dynamic presence on the road.

What’s more, the Sonet is loaded with multiple segment-first features offering complete comfort, convenience, safety and optimum driving pleasure to customers. This includes:

• Largest and best-in-class 10.25-inch (26.03 cm) HD touchscreen with navigation and live traffic
• Smart Pure Air Purifier with virus protection
• BOSE Premium seven-speaker audio with sub-woofer
• Ventilated driver and front-passenger seats
• LED Sound Mood Lighting
• Remote engine start for automatic and manual transmission via UVO Connect and Smart Key
• Over-the-air (OTA) map updates
• Multi-drive & traction modes and grip control for automatic models
• Wireless smartphone charger with cooling function

The all-new Kia Sonet is testament to Kia’s focus on consumer insight-driven product innovation and orientation.It is targeted towards the young generation who are tech-savvy, aspirational and highly connected socially. The Sonet will be launched in India this festive season, in line with Kia Motors India’s promise of offering an all-new product every six to nine months.

Key highlights

The Sonet is all-new, developed and engineered from the ground-up jointly between Kia Motors India and Kia’s global R&D headquarters in South Korea.

The production Sonet has been built following extensive market input from India, especially relating to its design, engine and transmission tuning and characteristics, suspension attributes, and the high-tech features it offers.

The Sonet has been through extensive road tests in India, where Indian and South Korean engineers in Sonet prototypes covered over 100,000 kilometers across diverse terrain, driving situations, and climatic conditions.

The outcome is a compact SUV designed to turn heads on the road, engineered to offer driving pleasure, built to world-leading quality standards, and offered with segment-busting convenience, comfort, safety and features.