Kia’s smallest SUV a new chapter in waiting

Kia has confirmed that it will be introducing yet another SUV later this year in India that will slot-in below the Seltos (pictured) as the brand’s smallest model.

According to Autocar India, the newcomer will touch down in the second quarter of this year and ride on the same platform as the Hyundai Venue, sporting the brand’s Tiger Nose grille and measuring below the four metres in overall length.

Despite the lack of technical details, indianautosblog.com, in a related article, claims that the new model, which carries the internal codename QYI, will be known as the Sonet based on the filing of a trademark application in December last year, thus falling in line of its SUV and crossover model’s initials beginning with ‘S’.

The online publication has gone a step further by revealing possible drivetrain options for the Sonet, namely a normally aspirated 1.2-litre petrol rated at 61 kW and paired to a five-speed manual gearbox, a 90 kW free-breathing 1.6 mated to a six-speed manual or CVT, the Venue’s 88 kW 1.0 T-GDI connected to a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch ‘box, and a 66 kW 1.4 CRDI turbodiesel that will be teamed with the six-speed manual only.

Like the Venue, Volkswagen T-Cross, Ford EcoSport and Toyota C-HR, which it is expected to rival, the Sonet will be front-wheel-drive only and could premiere as early as next month at the Auto Expo in the capital New Delhi as a concept model.

With the Seltos, which, for South Africa is sourced from Kia’s Anantapur Plant in Andra Pradesh, having gone on sale in November last year, it remains to be seen whether the Sonet will be given the green light for the local market as well.

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