Kia Sonet flies flag for Indian-built SUVs amid Chinese influx

It appears the best way for local manufacturers to combat the influx of attractively-priced vehicles from China is to source cars at a lower cost from India.

Low taxation on vehicle production has seen manufacturing in India bloom in recent years. And while the collaboration between Maruti Suzuki and Toyota makes up the bulk of local imported stock from countries other than China, other carmakers have a finger in the Indian pie too.

One of them is Kia. And the Korean carmaker’s timing with the introduction of the Kia Sonet was perfect. When the Sonet was rolled out in May 2021, the compact crossover/SUV segment was not nearly as densely populated as it is these days. That afforded it precious time to entrench itself as Kia’s top-selling local model and become a household name just before the Chinese influx exploded.

Kia Sonet goes under the knife

The Kia Sonet recently received its first facelift and The Citizen Motoring sampled the 1.0T EX derivative for a week. This is the “entry level” turbo derivate which serves alongside the 1.5-litre naturally aspirated on the model range.

The facelift means that the Kia Sonet’s Opposites United styling language is more in tune with other recently updated models from the stable. At the front it features a new Tiger Nose grille flanked by new LED headlights and daytime running lights diodes that extend to the bumper flanks, a restyled bonnet, new front wings and a restyled bumper.

At the rear, new taillight cluster connected by a full-width LED light bar on the tailgate is like on the updated Kia Picanto.

The Kia Sonet EX also rides on new 16-inch alloy wheels.

Classy interior finishing

Moving inside, we thought the cabin was one of the updated Kia Sonet’s highlights. Featuring a good selection of new materials and patterned black cloth seats, the interior is not only stylish, but also very uncomplicated. Physical buttons underneath the 8-inch infotainment system and old-school turning climate knobs again show you can be classy without being all tech-happy these days.

The infotainment system features six speakers and include Apple Carplay and Android Auto as well as voice recognition. Other niceties include a leather wrapped steering wheels and gear lever, 4.2-inch instrument cluster, reverse camera, rear parking sensors, rake and reach steering column and height-adjustable driver’s seat.

Leg and headroom in the rear is decent enough to keep adults comfortably, while the 385-litre boot handles daily life with ease.

Standard safety features include ABS with EBD, electronic stability control, hill-start control and dual front airbags.

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Kia Sonet packs a punch

The four-pot T-GDi blown mill in the Kia Sonet 1.0T EX is mated to seven-speed dual clutch transmission which sends 88kW of power and 172Nm of torque to the front wheels. Those numbers not only look good on paper, but it gives the car very decent urge out on the road too. There is very little turbo lag, while the DCT box does a great job in keeping things smooth in traffic.

The smooth power long with comfortable suspension and easy handling make it a delight to pilot the Kia Sonet, even if you have to sit in traffic.

We thought that our average fuel consumption of 7.7 litres per 100km was very decent as we made no attempt at saving trees and hardly took it on the open road.

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Conclusion

It was easy to see why the Sonet has overtaken the Picanto as Kia’s top-selling local model. You could argue that the R436 995 you have to fork out for the Kia Sonet 1.0T EX will buy you more car in Chinese stables.

But what it won’t get you in Chinatown is the impressive pedigree that Kia has built up for itself. Nor the peace of mind that goes with it.