A class apart

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A class apart

Friday, 18 September 2020 | Kushan Mitra

A class apart

The Kia Sonet blows the competition out of the water. No, really it does!

In a chat with Kia Motor’s chief designer Karim Habib at the Auto Expo, he spoke about the Kia Sonet whose concept had just been unveiled at the show. While the Sonet retained the brand's signature and smart ‘Tiger Nose’ grille design, Habib indicated that it had been inspired by a baby elephant for the Sonet’s design. After spending a day with the new car from the Korean carmaker, let me assure you of two things. One, it is an elephant because it is going to trample the competition. Two, it certainly doesn’t handle like an elephant on the roads.

Why? Because it is saying a lot when you compare a car, whose highest spec variants would cost around 12 lakh rupees to a luxury car that costs four times as much. But in terms of trim and cabin refinement, particularly on the GT-line cars, the Sonet is unbelievably good. You really have to start nitpicking to find a flaw in the cabin of the Sonet. You could argue that it is a bit busy and that the plastic on the bezel of the screen is a bit shiny, but overall in terms of how nice the Sonet feels inside, it really blows the competition away. Possibly the Hyundai Venue, the Sonet’s mechanical brother from another mother can face up to it because the engine and gearboxes are the same. But I prefer the Sonet’s cabin. Over here, there is a case to be made that the vehicle that is launched later has superior interiors, I feel the Creta is better than the Seltos for example. But as far as subcompact SUV-design cars go, the Sonet leads the pack.

Some say that I can prattle on about plastics, the metal feel, the quality of the infotainment system and the seats more than I do about the extreme speeds and handling characteristics of cars. But the Sonet will for 99 per cent of owners be a daily commuter. While you might want your daily commuter to be able to go very fast and stick to a corner like industrial glue, most importantly, you want it to be comfortable. After spending four hours driving around Delhi and Gurugram, the Sonet’s cabin is one that I really would not mind being stuck in. Given its sub-four meter length, it isn’t the most spacious car but has more space than most competitors.

Another aspect of this car where it literally beats the competition is in its choice of kit, starting with a huge high-quality 26-centimetre widescreen. With Apple Play enabled, you can use the split screen mode to get other bits of information. On Android Auto, there is an option to use the entire screen. You do not get such screens in cars that cost 50 lakh and you do not get a branded sound system as well unless you are paying 60-70 lakh. The GTX+ specification of the Sonet doesn’t just have wireless charger, ventilated seats and a panoramic sunroof but also a BOSE sound system. Then there is an air purifier that Kia claims has a virus shield. You sit inside and you really get amazed at just the level of kit you get on the Sonet. Maybe the top-spec cars will cost a lot, but even if they touch 15 lakh, it is impossible to argue that they are not good value.

But how is it to drive? Quite nice actually! I drove the 1-litre 120PS turbocharged petrol with the intelligent manual transmission and well, my thoughts on the IMT aside, I’m still not quite used to the concept of a clutchless manual. The engine did its job well and once you do figure out the IMT, you realise that the ability to control the torque makes a difference to an AMT gearbox car. This turbo petrol engine puts the Sonet (and venue) at the top of the performance charts for sub 4-metre cars, and it comes with the IMT as well as a seven-speed Dual-Clutch automatic. The Sonet also comes with a naturally aspirated 83PS 1.2 petrol engine available with a five-speed manual transmission as well as a 1.5 CRDi diesel in two power levels, 100PS for the six-speed manual and 115PS for the six-speed automatic. I also got to drive the diesel automatic, but let us get to that later.

The 120PS turbo engine is plenty fast and once you get the hang of it, that is how to ride the turbocharger. It can be extremely great fun to drive since it is a small and relatively light car. Also, yes, it does feel slightly floaty around the corners at speed. Genuinely, I can’t wait for the turbo engines in something like a Hyundai i20, but it is fun on the Sonet. Coming back to the IMT, once you start getting the hang of the car, you can have some fun if you know nice empty stretches of tarmac, but it will still take me some time to really get to grips with the fact that while my left hand is working my left foot isn’t. The diesel automatic with the 115PS engine also feels nice to drive, and the larger engine block in the front does give the front slightly more bite. While you can have fun and go fast, the Sonet is not a racer but it is a great, comfortable ride.

Toyota made some noises about not expanding in the Indian market earlier this week. While the Innova and Fortuner have done very well in the Indian market thanks to their bulletproof reliability and superb resale value, the world’s largest carmaker has failed to crack the meat of the market. The Etios Liva was a cop-out and while the Etios sedan was a good reliable car and became very popular with taxi drivers, it got caught out by the four-metre rule. To blame high taxes when your product strategy failed is not exactly fair because you see the Hyundai-Kia group. Both carmakers, neither of them ‘well-known’ in India when they came, have cracked the market. Toyota executives in India can buy a Kia Sonet and see for themselves where they went wrong in India. The 6,500 plus orders it got on the first day, well those guys bet on a winner before they knew just how good it would be.

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