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-   -   Kia Sonet : Official Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/226966-kia-sonet-official-review-39.html)

Why would anyone book a Sonet over a Nexon or XUV300? Can owners list out the decision points? This car can't seat 2 in comfort at the back. Legroom is severely limited.

Even i had booked through the dealer and got a pin on my registered mobile number. But on checking on the kia website, it did not show any booking under my name. :deadhorse

I just received these images from my sales executive. clap: My car has reached the dealership. Its a Gtx plus diesel manual. I'll be doing the pdi today and taking delivery on dashera (25th October).

If I have to give one word to it then that will be perception and having the right name.

Not an owner, however, a close friend booked a Sonet just a week back.

My first advice to him was Nexon but they did not want to go with a TATA (despite telling him all the positives) and XUV300 was not even in contention as they have never heard of it.

Sonet has got the right mix of marketing, branding (Seltos has already created a name for itself), good looks, and good feature set so it's flying off the self.

Very simple!. Indian herd mentality :D. Break the barrier once and cars will sell on auto pilot mode.

Now I will wait for better answers from more informed members :).

a) 90% of Kia's showrooms are in metropolitan areas
b) Metropolitan areas have a lot of disposable income
c) Hyundai-Kia are giving a lot of features, and girls love features *
d) Proper automatics, as opposed to terrible AMTs

a+b+c+d = sales

* I personally know of two of my female batchmates who bought a Seltos and a Sonet just because of the touch-screen tablet, Bose speakers and apple car play.
And as you might have guessed it, nope, didnt even take a Test drive, both of them.


In Punjab, every third SUV is a scorpio, in Delhi, every third SUV is a Seltos. And brand value, from what I have seen, goes from word of mouth. If a neighbour sees 3 KIA seltos in his locality, he'd probably think I'll go get the same, atleast the fairer sex think this way, and no, I'm not being sexist here.

Lack of a proper torque converter AT with their diesel engine.
One of the main draws for us to TD it.
We didn't book one since we were not happy with the rear seat comfort and space.

We have to give credit to the fact that they setup a brand new factory and started operations from there. But they have been assisted in every step of the journey by Hyundai and leveraged the experience and market feedback of Hyundai cars and launched cars based on some of the most successful products in the Hyundai stable.

In fact in Bangalore, I know for a fact that several employees working for Hyundai have been rebadged as Kia where they did not have to quit their current job to move but it was done as part of the Hyundai-Kia partnership.

One of my relatives bought a Seltos a few months back and the Sales Contact was someone he knew since Hyundai days and now rebadged as a Kia employee and shared the above info.

So, while I am not saying it is easy or undermining Kia, Kia could not have achieved what they have without the backing from Hyundai definitely. Also, I think both companies have a clear cut strategy as to which product who will take the lead. The more premium features of the Creta such as Pano Sunroof, EPB and Paddle Shifters have not been provided on Kia models - so there definitely exists a well understood sharing model between the two companies as well. So from that angle, I do not foresee any trouble for Hyundai in this model of cooperation.

We have to wait and see from where these additional numbers for Sonet are coming from. Brezza sales have not dropped significantly and also the Nexon sales have gone up from earlier. So, lets wait for a few months of car sales to better understand the positioning and where these numbers are coming from and where they are headed towards.

Of course, they were assisted. There's nothing wrong with that. Skoda assisted - and still is assisting - Volkswagen while Renault and Nissan have been holding hands as well. Still, what's planned has to be executed and that's where Kia deserves all the credit.

While Hyundai partially owns Kia, they're (and will continue to be) cut-throat rivals. I know of several people working for the two firms and there is no love lost between the two brands. There are several markets worldwide where Kia has closed the gap to Hyundai big-time in recent years. What I meant was India could be one of them if Kia continues it's streak and Hyundai falters (like it did with the Santro).

The Sonets are hard to come by in our city, not seen many around, maybe the deliveries are as yet limited, but scoring 50,000 bookings in 60 days that's a big number. I guess its early days for the Sonet and probably will be seeing more of them around soon, I know of a family member who cancelled his Sonet booking for a Seltos due to the initial waiting period and is to get delivery shortly.

Congrats! Was there any prior intimation that the car is arriving or did he just surprise you with the photos? I ask because I am waiting for the same news myself haha

Does this include cancelled bookings too? I pre-booked during Aug 2020, yet to cancel but definitely not purchasing Sonet.

Looks good, good features, options to suit all types of potential customers, proper Automatics (never ever ever use an AMT in the hills) and great brand visibility created by the Seltos, so the success is no surprise.

I personally also prefer the Kia design language, interior + exterior over those of Hyundai and were I in the market for these cars, I'd chose Kia over Hyundai straightaway.

If people gave a thought on your lines, no one would have bought Swift (Bulged exteriors, claustrophobic feeling at the rear, high loading lip etc) in cars and Royal Enfield classic(Hand Vibrators) in two wheelers.

Its simple logic that people are getting connected to Sonet, Swift, RE Classic etc with heart winning over head scenarios.

Congratulations to Kia on their well thought over market strategy and winning the hearts of aam junta.

As someone trying to decide between the two right now, I can tell you that the Sonet appeals more to the late 20's / early 30's crowd with disposable income. The Nexon is, in my wife's opinion, safe and comfortable, but the Sonet is a 'younger' person's car. A close friend and his wife just bought the Sonet, another recently married one wants to buy it, and my wife prefers the Sonet's looks to the Nexon or the XUV 300's.

It really does appeal to the fairer sex more than Nexon or XUV 300. Plus, if you're looking for a good auto, the AMT's simply aren't as good as the DCT/AT of the Sonet.

Congratulations! This car is a looker. You're gonna have sleepless nights.:D