[shibujp]

Got a chance to checkout the KIA Sonet and take it out for a short spin a few days back.

Upclose it was an impressive product. The front grill is what hits you first and the detailing is exquisite. I kind of liked the GTLine styling on the Sonet better than that on the Seltos. The rear looks a bit tame in pictures but in real life it's not so bad. What I also felt is that it had quite a impressive road presence compared to the Venue especially being a compact SUV. The car looks well tyred as well.

Coming to the interior, I first checked out the rear seat legroom, since this was one of the grouses I had in the Venue. I am not sure what KIA has done here but to me it felt quite spacious. The Brezza still is more spacious in this row but the KIA does not feel short changed in this regard.

The black interior is fine to me as I love black interiors. However it might be claustrophobic for some and the dual tone interior provides a much better sense of space. The quality itself felt quite good. I would have liked the steering to have a telescopic adjustment as well. It has only tilt adjust.

I test drove the Diesel AT. Coincidently I test drove this just after driving the Polo AT. The refinement was extremely good and the gear box is very smooth. I felt that the driveability was very good and at for the better part I always felt that the transmission was in the right gear at all times. The pickup was quite good too and it's a deceptively fast car. Given the refinement, I was surprised to see that I had reached triple digit speeds when I glanced at the speedo. The AT was smooth at low speed too. Incidently the Polo AT was quite jerky as it shifted down, slowing down for speed breakers and the like. Not such issues with the Sonet AT. The experience was quite smooth. I did put it in manual mode and found it to be extremely responsive when requesting for a lower gear for a quick overtake.

The ride to me had a good balance and I did not feel that it was too hard or too soft at any point. Did take it through a few potholes and it thudded through without much shock in the interior rather than crashing through.

The fully loaded versions look quite pricey to me with the HTX uncomfortably close to 16 lakhs. The HTK+ looks much more VFM with the HTX+ IMT 1.0L around 11.5 lakhs and the HTK+ DCT 1.0L around 12.8 lakhs here in Trivandrum. The HTK+ Diesel AT was around 12.5 lakhs.

Drive on,
Shibu

[Venkatesh]

Kia Motors India announced that 46% bookings of the Kia Sonet were for iMT, 7-Speed DCT and the 6-speed automatic. Narrowing down further, the company said that 20% demand was for the iMT variants, whereas the remaining 26% was for variants with DCT/AT.

Kia says that 60% of the bookings are for the 1.0 turbo petrol and the 1.2 petrol models while the balance 40% is for diesel models.

https://www.carandbike.com/news/46-b...riants-2323339

[GT_C89]

Originally Posted by BKB999

Same happening with me! Dealer suggested me to go with any other color to expedite the delivery. Its 11th week now without any information on expected delivery Last week they informed me that the vehicle is allotted in the plant and I may get it before Diwali. But things are not moved a bit after that. Just tried contacting southern zonal manager and no response! It seems things will end up like having a 2020 vehicle by 2021

They haven't even told me that. They had told me I'll get it before Diwali but now there's no word. Called the Sales Manager and he didn't get back to me despite feigning shock that I booked it in August and still haven't received it.

Originally Posted by bhansali_hardik

Who is your dealer? Let me check if I can hook you up with a faster delivery!

Sounds great, will DM you!

[BKB999]

Originally Posted by GT_C89

They haven't even told me that. They had told me I'll get it before Diwali but now there's no word. Called the Sales Manager and he didn't get back to me despite feigning shock that I booked it in August and still haven't received it.

Make it a habit a to daily call the dealer contacts-preferably leadership team- and chase them. I just called the sales and allotment team lead and he assured that the vehicle will be shipped this week and would be delivered next week (hopefully!!). So keep disturbing them so that they will do the same to KIA and things would move further.

[Venku2015]

Now with a 3-star rating for the Seltos crash test, my confidence for the Sonet isn't inspiring at all. KIA should immediately crash test the Sonet!

The Indian government must make it MANDATORY to pass crash tests and the results should be printed in the brochures of the cars.

The Indian consumer falls prey to these global companies due to lack of transparency, options and dismal govt regulations. I was not expecting such inferior, step-motherly treatment from KIA as their global models are more solidly built.

Hat's off to our homegrown brands, Tata and Mahindra for providing top-notch safe cars and they flaunt their crash test ratings with pride.

[tj123]

I was excited and even short listed Kia-Sonet as a possible car for my family. But seeing the crash test results of the bigger and expensive Badass (Seltos), I am having second thoughts now. I am not longer in wow of the Sonet, the crash test result has just taken the fizz of Kia’s products in terms of safety, which is a big deal for me personally as lives matter above everything.

I think government should make it mandatory to declare the safety ratings of vehicles/cars sold in this country. A car is a big investment and let people take informed decision about what they are buying. With this Kia has lost a potential customer in me and I will not be recommending to my acquittances. Hope Kia/Hyundai take action and make better safer cars for everyone.

[bhansali_hardik]

Well, it was highly debatable and by the looks of it, looks bad for Sonet as well! I'm bummed to be honest, I have a Brezza (4.5 years old) as well in the garage and it's weird that it's safer than a Seltos! I just hope Sonet goes into testing soon (Why was Seltos sent after 1.5 years?) and we can know where it really stands!

[SRK72]

I had short listed Sonet for my next purchase. But now with Indian Seltos getting just 3 stars in crash rating I think Sonet will certainly score lower.
Unless proven to be safe Sonet is out of my choice. When cars are available with 5 star ratings it just doesn't make sense to go for cars which have doubtful safety standards.

[Coyote]

I must admit, I am pretty torn up about the Seltos' GNCAP results and what it implies about the Sonet.

I have mentioned previously that I was looking to buy a CSUV and was choosing between the Nexon and the Sonet. As fate would have it, I booked the Sonet, had the financing disbursed, paid the remainder, and signed the RTO papers this afternoon. I am 2-3 days out from delivery.

Now, I'm in a bind. The decision to buy the Sonet instead of the Nexon came down to the driving fun (between the DCT and the AMT), aided in no small measure by the comfort Hyundai Venue's 4 Star rating at the ANCAP and my presumption of an equivalent rating for the Indian version, and by extension, the Sonet.

While it cannot be stated with certainty, it isn't too far a stretch of imagination to say the Sonet is likely to score 2 starts, or at best, barely eke out 3 stars.

[BKB999]

Below is the list from NCAP portal for tested Indian vehicles. See the choices we have under the 15L bracket. Out of the top three, two are 50-50 choice to me due to their hit or miss A.S.S.
So, to get a safer vehicle, should we just depend on the CBUs or models which are built here and exported to matured markets (still its a gambling because most of the manufactures have less safer India specific platforms)? It is obvious that they are above 15L bracket and out of Middle class buyers' budget.
No surprise that people goes for new vehicles in an assumption that they are relatively safe with their international siblings (an example is Venue)! Sonet is never different in that sense I think (in comparison with Venue that share the platform)
I wonder when we will have every segment full of 4 or 5 star rated vehicles!!

[arindambasu13]

Originally Posted by Coyote

I must admit, I am pretty torn up about the Seltos' GNCAP results and what it implies about the Sonet.


While it cannot be stated with certainty, it isn't too far a stretch of imagination to say the Sonet is likely to score 2 starts, or at best, barely eke out 3 stars.

Now that you have already put your money into the vehicle (possibly the top end one with full safety kit), it is best to enjoy the car for what it is. While One cannot say with certainty what the rating for the Sonet might be, but you never know, it might just score better than the Seltos. I know it is easier said than done, but unless there is a clean way of cancelling and getting your money back, I do not see too many options here. Of course, that nagging doubt in your mind might be a real irritant, I know it would have been for me especially after spending such a big chunk of hard earned cash.

I myself am in the market for a compact SUV currently, with choices having been narrowed down to Kia Sonet and Ford Ecosport. I did check out the Sonet at the showroom and did a test drive. While the build quality seemed decent, it was not built like a tank as in the case of the Ecosport, which inspires confidence by sheer dint of its touch and feel, quite apart from the great safety features on offer.

The Sonet and Kia in general might just have gone out of my list permanently after seeing these Seltos ratings.

[Coyote]

Originally Posted by BKB999

Below is the list from NCAP portal for tested Indian vehicles.

Thank you for putting this together, it really puts things in perspective.

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Now that you have already put your money into the vehicle (possibly the top end one with full safety kit), it is best to enjoy the car for what it is. While One cannot say with certainty what the rating for the Sonet might be, but you never know, it might just score better than the Seltos. I know it is easier said than done, but unless there is a clean way of cancelling and getting your money back, I do not see too many options here.

I am indeed buying the GTX+ with all the safety tech and am hoping it scores better, if not at the very least, equivalent to the Seltos. There really isn't much I can do about this now.

The EcoSport is an excellent choice if only a bit old. And true, I will also be avoiding Kia and Hyundai when it comes to my next purchase.

[GT_C89]

Originally Posted by bhansali_hardik

Who is your dealer? Let me check if I can hook you up with a faster delivery!

So it turns out I can't DM you because of my membership status. However, finally got some good news today. The vehicle has been allotted and I should receive it in the next 4-5 days after the payment etc has been sorted out. Finally!

Thank you for offering to help, I really appreciate it.

Can't wait to get behind the wheel

[longhorn]

Originally Posted by BKB999

Below is the list from NCAP portal for tested Indian vehicles.Attachment 2079334

The 2nd gen Honda Amaze is missing from this list. AFAIK, it scored 4 star for adult safety.

[BKB999]

Originally Posted by longhorn

The 2nd gen Honda Amaze is missing from this list. AFAIK, it scored 4 star for adult safety.

Just checked and found that Amaze is listed in South Africa test vehicles not in India list. And the rating is four stars. Not sure if the rating is still applicable for Amaze sold in India.