Kia Sonet 1000km Review: Feature Loaded SUV, Great Drive with Strong Design

Kia Sonet 1000km Review: Kia India updated its entry-level sub-4m compact SUV Sonet in 2024, with refreshed exteriors, revised interiors and a new list of convenience and safety features for buyers. Regarding convenience features, Sonet offers a regular sunroof, a wireless charger, automatic climate control, a 10.25-inch infotainment and instrument cluster, driving and traction modes, and more. Kia Sonet comes with three engine options for the buyers. There is a 1.2L NA petrol engine, a 1.0L turbo petrol engine, and a 1.5L diesel engine to opt from.

Recently we got our hands on the Kia Sonet GTX+ variant, powered by the turbo petrol engine. We drove it in the city and on highways and we covered a total distance of more than 1000km on the vehicle. Here is our experience of Kia Sonet, whether you should consider it or not.

Let’s get started!!

Kia Sonet Features and Specifications:

Kia Sonet Price:

The price of Kia Sonet starts at ₹7.99 lakh (ex-showroom) for the HTE 1.2L petrol engine variant. We drove the GTX+ 1.0L Dual Tone variant, which costs ₹14.89 lakh (ex-showroom).

Kia Sonet Exteriors:

The exteriors of the Kia Sonet get a revised LED headlamps and DRLs, which gives it a muscular appearance. The throw of the headlamps is decent and we expected better illumination at night. It continues with the tiger-nose grille and the lower parts have silver accents, and LED fog lamps as well. To enhance parking convenience, the Kia Sonet has a front parking camera and sensor to fit the car in tight spaces.

On the side, it has a similar silhouette as the previous generation. Sonet comes with five-spoke diamond-cut 16-inch alloy wheels and has all four disc brakes on offer. The gates open wide enough and ingress and egress are easily done. It has subtle roof rails, enhancing the overall visual appeal of Sonet.

Coming to the rear, Sonet has a revised tail lamp design. It has a connected LED DRL and tail lamp but Kia has cut corners by offering a single reverse lamp on the bumper. The bumper has a blacked-out treatment, to reduce the visual bulk. Since the Kia Sonet is a sub-4m compact SUV, it has a boot space of 385L, which we felt was decent enough to carry luggage for weekend trips.

Kia Sonet Interiors and Comfort:

On stepping inside the Kia Sonet, we’ll share our rear seat experience first. Kia says the rear seats of the Sonet have improved space and better knee room and leg room in this update. Well, the enhancement in space was evident and tall passengers were comfortable in the rear seats. However, the cabin width is less, so three people in the rear seats could have a tight space. To enhance the comfort of the rear seat, there are rear AC vents and charging ports to charge your smartphone.

One smart feature that Kia is offering in the Sonet is the rear window shades. It helps in cutting the sun under a hot climate and helps to enhance privacy.

Now coming to the front, the layout of the dashboard is simplistic, consisting of physical control and a touchscreen for the infotainment system. The GTX+ variant has an all-black dashboard with a gloss black finish on the infotainment screen panel, which attracted a lot of fingerprints. The AC vents are large and have a knurled finish, which enhances the premium aesthetics.

The Kia Sonet has a D-cut three-spoke steering wheel, having knurled chrome control for multiple functions. It has GT line badging and feels confident on holding. The front seats offer decent comfort and the cushioning could have been better for a better experience on long trips.

Also Read: Kia Syros vs Kia Sonet: Which one to Pick in 2025?

Kia Sonet Features:

Kia is always known for loading its vehicles with multiple convenience and safety features. During our experience of driving it for 1000km, we experienced a few features very useful. Kia Sonet has a 10.25-inch infotainment system, with wired connectivity for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The display is crisp and the touch is intuitive to use, and we hardly felt any lag on the touch. Next are the multiple driving modes helping in better performance or fuel efficiency from the engine, front ventilated seats, and a 360-degree parking camera to park it in tight spaces. The camera quality was decent and could have been improved to provide better clarity at night. To enhance the music experience, Sonet has an eight-speaker Bose audio system and the sound output was great.

Regarding safety, Sonet has Level-1 ADAS features, six airbags, ABS, EBD, traction control, Highline TPMS, and more. Our experience with the ADAS features was decent, and we felt the Lane Keep Assist, Forward collision warning, and High-Beam Assist useful during our experience. However, the Front Collision Avoidance was quite intrusive and driver attention warning kept on kicking in.

Kia Sonet Engine and Driving:

Kia India offers Sonet with three engine options. We drove the 1.0L inline three-cylinder turbo petrol engine, which produces 120BHP and 170Nm torque, paired with a seven-speed DCT gearbox. The GTX+ variant is also available with a 1.5L inline four-cylinder diesel engine, which produces 115BHP and 253Nm torque, paired with a six-speed automatic gearbox.

The drive of this engine is great and since we tested the automatic variant, it is a joy to drive. The combination of gears and clutch was smooth and the engine was responsive with throttle inputs.

Since the Kia Sonet GTX+ Turbo petrol variant has three driving modes and traction modes on offer, the difference in power output with different driving modes was quite evident. While cruising, there is a turbo lag below 2000 RPM and the engine immediately downshifts to get going.

• On the Eco Mode, the engine felt quite sluggish the RPMs were under 2000, and the gear shifts were smooth and always shifted around this RPM.
• In the Normal Mode, the performance from the engine was decent and there was a slight improvement in the power delivery from the engine.
• On switching to the Sports Mode, the engine became quite active and responsive with throttle inputs. It stayed around 2000 RPM and on hard acceleration, it upshifted in the mid-range for better performance from the engine.

The vibrations from the three-cylinder engine are evident and the body roll is slightly present. Talking about the steering wheel and the feedback, it has a decent feel and response however it could have been slightly better in response while maneuvering in city traffic.

Kia Sonet Ride Quality and NVH:

The suspension setup on the Kia Sonet is well-calibrated. It is more on the softer side and the ride becomes a bit bouncy at triple-digit speeds. The suspension noise and the NVH from the outside world are well-contained, however as we previously mentioned, the engine noise is slightly evident and vibrations filter in on different panels. The road noise does not filter inside the cabin.

Kia Sonet Fuel Efficiency:

Kia India claims Sonet has an ARAI fuel efficiency of 19.2 km/l. On driving it for 1000km in the city and on highways, Sonet returned a fuel efficiency of 14.1 km/l. One factor that hampered the fuel efficiency of the Kia Sonet turbo petrol was it would not make an upshift to seventh gear till a speed of 80km/h automatically. With the help of paddle shifters, we made it shift to the seventh gear to bring down the RPM at cruising speeds, to enhance fuel efficiency in the city or on the highway.  

Conclusion:

Now the million-dollar question arises -- should you go for the Kia Sonet in its segment or not? Our answer is Yes. The exteriors of the Sonet have a bold appearance and the interior comes with slightly better space. The feature list is long. However, the Kia Sonet feels sporty while driving and the performance of the engine is also great. The ride quality is on the softer side but Kia could have tuned the suspensions better for better handling.