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The Kia Sonet is a brand new sub-compact SUV offering that has got off to a great start in the Indian market. How does it truly match up to its formidable rivals in this category? Let’s find out.

Design

All the compact SUVs sport attractive designs. The EcoSport has a way edgier look in its Thunder and S variants after the facelift in 2018. It is the sole one with the wheel mounted onto the tailgate and the side-opening boot door. The VitaraBrezza seems larger with its reworked design and is proportioned like an SUV. The Toyota Urban Cruiser replicates the same design with a chic front grille while the XUV300 is styled dynamically and looks somewhat cut short at the back although the lighting seems nice across front and rear alike. The Venue has the contemporary Hyundai design template and has a sports variant complete with a black grille as well. The Sonet is the one that looks absolutely stunning on the road with its lovely stance and muscular body lines. It is the most contemporary of the lot and wins in this department.

Kia Sonet vs Rivals: Petrol Specifications

Performance

Most SUVs here have both fuel options although the VitaraBrezza has chosen only petrol along with the Toyota Urban Cruiser, its rebadged counterpart. The Ford EcoSport has a three cylinder 1.5 litre petrol and four cylinder diesel engine. The EcoSport offers a fun driving experience and handling and ride quality are also good. The VitaraBrezza has the K15 B 1.5 litre engine with 5-speed and 4-speed manual and auto options. The Brezza is more refined now although the automatic leaves one wanting. The XUV 300 is the safest car in India as per its safety tests. The XUV300 offers a sporty driving experience with good handling, steering and ride quality and overall drivability. The engines are punchy and the car feels bigger.

The Hyundai Venue has its 1.0 litre turbo petrol mill with the dual clutch transmission along with no auto options for the 1.5 litre diesel and 1.2 litre petrol engines. The Venue feels most like a modern car without a typical SUV-esque feeling and solid dynamics along with superb ride and handling. The Sonet however, packs a punch with its multiple gearbox and engine options along with new technology, ample drivability and ample sportiness. However, since the height is more for that SUV-like feeling, ride quality is compromised a little along with handling.

Interiors

Most SUVs here are sized almost similarly although the XUV300 has the most comfortable rear. There is better knee and legroom along with thigh support and headroom. The only thing is that there are no rear AC vents which most cars have in this category today. However, the XUV300 scores with the three-point seatbelt for the passenger in the middle while the others only have lap belts. The Sonet has the biggest list of features including segment-first offerings such as the Bose audio surround system, wireless phone charging (present in the Venue but the Sonet has a cooling function as well), air purifier with virus protection, steering mounted controls, seat ventilation, sunroof and also tyre pressure monitoring. The XUV300 has a decent feature list as well. The Venue also gets several features and the VitaraBrezza misses out on a lot of these with the EcoSport getting slightly more kit than it.

Ford has tilt and telescopic adjustment, the only one in this category. There is a 7 inch touch screen for the XUV300 with smartphone connectivity, tyre pressure monitoring and reverse camera. However, the Sonet beats everyone else with its UVO connected car suite while the Venue matches up with its own BlueLink connectivity suite as well. The VitaraBrezza lacks proper connectivity and technology features although it does have a 7 inch touch screen infotainment unit named SmartPlay Studio with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay alike.

Safety Features

The cars all have ABS, dual airbags and seat belt reminders as standard offerings. The EcoSport, Venue and Sonet all have 6 airbags for top-end models while the XUV300 has 7 airbags for the top-end model as well. The VitaraBrezza only has dual airbags all throughout. Prices in this category hover between Rs. 6.70-13 lakh on an average (ex-showroom). The EcoSport is value for money still although prices are not as competitive as one would have hoped. The VitaraBrezza is priced attractively although it misses out on several features and feels slightly dated in spite of a facelift. The XUV300 is costlier and this pinches due to the lack of automatic options. The Venue has a wide price band below the Sonet although offers good value with ample features and a striking design. The Sonet starts off as the most affordable model in this category although prices shoot up thereafter with major gaps between some variants as well. The top-end and mid-range variants are feature packed in the Sonet. The Sonet starts getting costlier as one goes up the list of variants although it is the cheapest model in the segment with its base variant. However, the feature list is hugely generous as well. Yet, the Venue retains its position as the leader in this segment with better overall pricing, almost similar features, good safety and excellent drivability.

Source - Carandbike