Teased for the first time exactly one week ago, Kia has released yet more sketches of the new Sonet ahead of its debut in India on 7 August.
Despite the depiction of the front revealing nothing new from the original teaser, the first sighting of the rear doesn’t come as much of a surprise either as it once more appears lightly toned down from the concept shown at the Delhi Auto Expo in February.
The biggest highlight though is the long awaited preview of the interior, which sports an H-design centre console similar to that of new Sorento, with pride of place going to the freestanding 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system mounted on top of the dash.
“Designed to maximise driver and passenger comfort”, the South Korean marque states that the Sonet will make extensive use of “high quality materials”, adding that the cabin itself is both “sophisticated and lively”. Aside from the infotainment system, a digital instrument cluster features, along with a multi-function steering wheel taken from the Sorento, and aluminium-look inlays.
Set to make use of the same platform as the Hyundai Venue, the Sonet will be built alongside the Seltos at the Anantapur Plant and possibly have the choice of three engines; a 61kW/115Nm normally aspirated 1.2-litre petrol, the Venue’s 1.0 T-GDI that pumps out 88kW/172Nm and the 1.5 CRDI turbodiesel from the Seltos that makes 85kW/260Nm. Expect the choice of transmissions to include the new clutchless intelligent six-speed manual, a conventional six-speed automatic, a seven-speed dual-clutch and even a CVT.
Although final specification remains to be confirmed, what is known is that the Sonet will be coming to South Africa near the end of this year.
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