[sridhu]

For that use case, I would go with whichever car is comfortable and has the most luxurious appointments.

In this case, that is the Sonet

[headbanger]

Without going into the other details, one thing that I have observed and experienced in family as well is success of Sonet among ladies. Aesthetically, Sonet is one product that appeals to the ladies.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by sridhu

For that use case, I would go with whichever car is comfortable and has the most luxurious appointments.

In this case, that is the Sonet

For a brand that introduced us to the alternative german luxury market (1st Gen Octavia had very well appointed interiors - Elegance,L&K trim), that is quite a reality check.

[adneo]

Originally Posted by GTO

A friend who isn't a car person asks for advice. We just bought my bhabhi a Sonet GTX Plus that she is extremely happy with. Now, my friend was almost sold on the Sonet too after seeing my bhabhi's car, until the Kushaq's launch. She likes brand Skoda & the Kushaq's design, but isn't one to care about build, driving dynamics etc.....

Usage is primarily in the city. Family of just three. She, her spouse & a kid. I think she'll enjoy the Sonet more. What say?

Hey GTO i am probably going against what my heart would want me to say and playing devil's advocate based on what the brain sees on the paper.

1. Kushaq is yet to be crash tested and we shouldnt just go by previous Skoda vehicles to establish its crash worthiness.
To be honest we know about Kia from the structural details obtained, but Skoda isnt a monk either. The Kamiq's brochure abroad clearly came with structural diagrams highlighting the strength and rigidity of the structure, but there has been no efforts from Skoda to clarify about the same for the Kushaq, over their various presentations and online events. I have even personally requested this of Skoda and Zac over Twitter but nothing has been done so far about those requests.

This is a very critical piece which has not been highlighted by any reviews since it is known that the Kushaq runs a made for India version of the MQB platform, so this should have been a starting point if Skoda seriously wanted to differentiate themselves from competition.

Looking at the typical Desi cost cutting done like the cheap looking rear wiper, the horrible taxi like roofliner etc i wudnt jump the gun and give the Kushaq an award for safety. We had a saying in my first company, " In God we trust, for everything else we need data!"

Also during my test drive i noticed that some of the panels like the fenders had considerably higher flex than traditional Skoda vehicles.

2. Its not even a debate that the Kushaq is heftily overpriced for what it brings to the table. A 1.0 TSI AT breaching 15 Lakhs is absurd and outrageous to a certain extent.

For the same price if not lower someone can get a Sonet Diesel AT with a plethora of features, if not more and wayyy better sound system.

The 1.0 TSI AT has been melowed down compared to the Rapid interms of acceleration times and also comes at a lower tune compared to the 200+ Nm offered in the Kamiq.
It is understandable that all this was done in the interest of FE, and that is where again the Sonet's 1.5 Diesel really makes a case for itself.

Turbo tech any given day will be more volatile in terms of FE due to the nature of Petrol compared to Diesel.

3. Features wise again I felt that the Sonet was more balanced unlike the Kushaq where one loses out on safety in terms of airbags inspite of opting for the top trim!

Also i felt that the Sonets audio setup sounded better than the Skoda Audio with the sub.

Given the background that your friend might be driving within city limits and not aiming at attacking corners or burning up the highway, I would say the Sonet might look like a better proposition to her.

[iamitp]

Voted for Sonet, for VFM, equipment and usage case. I would personally go for the D AT keeping in mind the 1.5 CRDi from 2 segments above and petrol prices.

[Asoon]

Originally Posted by GTO

A friend who isn't a car person asks for advice.

Quoted text removes all the confusion

Apology for being judgemental but all non car people

- Found of features (Car = Smartphone, Visual appeal/ features > driving dynamics)
- Want peace of mind (true for every one but enthusiasts compromise some things for extra power / handing / capability)
- Simple & easy post purchase experience (high on reliability, accessible service stations)
- Do not want to wait for spares (Hyundai has super efficient supply chain than VW, Renault, Skoda even for non frequently required spares)

lets me put it in other way, If I was in the market with this budget for myself then Kushaq would have been the choice but if I was picking for my Father then Sonet

[JishD]

First and foremost - depends on the kid

Let me explain. Younger kids loathe sitting alone in the backseat while the parents sit in front. To maintain peace and sanity, one of the parents then needs to go back and sit with the kid.

For all of Sonet's virtues, the rear seat knee room is tight to the point of being claustrophobic. Now if the parent has to sit at the back throughout a long-ish journey, it can be quite uncomfortable.

Why deal with the lack of comfort, when you have another option (Kushaq Ambition) which delivers all that the Sonet can , and provides great space at the rear while at it ? And, not to forget, the Kushaq's ride quality is also much better !

[kamilharis]

Voted for Kia Sonet GTX Plus. At the same time, it's so difficult to think of spending 15 big ones for something like Sonet.

And not recommending the DCT here, sorry!

[Quoter]

Voted for Sonet simply because the person does not care about build quality and driving dynamics. In this case, the person will always miss the bells and whistles in the Kushaq base viariant vis-a-vis the Sonet top variant.

[KanavK]

Sonet is definately the better option in this case. I fail to understand why people bash Sonet back seat space.We have Sonet HTX IMT Turbo and have never been disappointed by performance,back seat comfort,handling except mileage. We have four members in the family with tallest at 5' 8''.

[Baddychat]

Originally Posted by Axe77

On a related note, I saw the red Taigun shots on some social media site, with that bicycle mounted on top. Looks absolutely gorgeous. I’m guessing the rear look with its full horizontal light bar will be divisive but it worked for me. At some point I guess that will be thrown into the mix too on these decisions.

I totally agree with you on this. The Taigun, to me looks so much better than the Kushaq.

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by KanavK

Sonet is definately the better option in this case. I fail to understand why people bash Sonet back seat space.We have Sonet HTX IMT Turbo and have never been disappointed by performance,back seat comfort,handling except mileage. We have four members in the family with tallest at 5' 8''.

Sour grapes, that's the only explanation. There is simply a whole series of posts which can be summed up as "sonet is Korean, not good because sheet metal not thick, Kushaq awesome because sheet metal thick" . People simply can't wrap their heads around the fact that the Sonet has what customers need, nobody gives 2 hoots about driving dynamics, in fact, dynamic cars will flop almost certainly. The Sonet is a clear winner, I don't know what's the appeal of buying a base version of a car with a 3 cylinder engine from a brand that can't provide a good ownership experience for the handful of cars they sold.

[ranjitht87]

Sonet gtx+ vs kushaq ambition AT is a topic of discussion for us too.
I am planning to upgrade from my manual baleno to an automatic c-suv as now my wife would be using the car for daily commute to office.
We test drived almost all of the c-suv except brezza and xuv300.
Wife liked Sonet gtx+ dct for below reasons
- she finds it most easy to ride
- better reverse camera quality and front parking sensors (she finds it very helpful as a newbie driver)
- More comfortable front seats
- Ventilated seats will be really useful during drives to hometown(temperature crosses 40°C enroute the 8-9Hr drive)
- Kia showroom and service center is within 2km radius from home and kia has a service center in home town too.
- Good interior quality

Things in favour of Kushaq
- Better exterior designs and quality
- I felt driving comfort of kushaq to be slightly better than Sonet (based on limited test drive in city roads)
- More relaiable AT
- Better rear seat space and comfort ( not a deal maker or breaker as we are family of 2 as of now and use second row only when parents are with us and all of us are not that tall to face leg room issue)


The sonet htx dct version(a VFM version) itself has more features than Kushaq ambition AT and kushaq is more than 3.5 Lakhs costlier on road. I am pretty not sure if a slightly better ride quality with TC is worth the additional 3.5 Lakhs.
6 airbags, ventilated seats, front sensors, connected car technology, air purifier, rear wiper, premium speakers over htx for a 2 Lakh premium feels more justifiable than the 3.5 lakh for kushaq Ambition AT.

As the waiting period of sonet is more than 5 months, i plan to book a sonet soon, hopefully there should not be any issue in cancellation of booking later as i plan to also check few more cars -VW Taigun, MG Astor and even Tata Hbx.

My current 2016 baleno zeta variant has, remote keyless entry, push button start, auto dimming irvm, UV cut glass, rear wiper. Unfortunately a more premium Kushaq ambition and mid-variants of many c-suv are missing some/all these features.

[Ketan_R15]

I myself am in the same dilemma but most probably I'll be booking the Sonet because my wife likes Sonet more than Kushaq entry/mid variant (top variant is out of my budget).

We plan to book Sonet GTX+ DCT and went for test drive. They didn't have DCT for test drive instead we took test drive of iMT. A lot of good things to like about the car but am still confused because of couple of major things -

1. My wife doesn't want manual or iMT and I've been reading about the inherent DCT issues due to being a dry clutch system. I thought of opting for Diesel AT which is a much reliable transmission as per reviews/posts of fellow BHPians but our car usage is going to be very less. Mostly highway drives over the weekends and/or long drives to native place twice or thrice a year. So will diesel be a good choice given very less milleage per month? I may be wrong but I heard diesels tend to give issues if the milleage is less? Please help.

2. Kia waiting period. At the time of test drive I asked for waiting period and was told 16 weeks. But I told the Kia CSA that I keep hearing people's deliveries getting delayed by months and all of them were given 16 weeks waiting period at the time of booking. But this guy is assuring me that if I book the car in this month and if I don't choose an odd color like the rare Blue color, he can deliver the car in the month of November.

3. The Sonet safety concerns as mentioned above. Like many of you mentioned, Seltos's 3 star ratings and Sonet being a segment below anyone can guess the safety ratings for Sonet. This worries me a lot.

Another major drawback people keep mentioning is the lack of rear space and knee room but that's not much of a problem for me because ours is a small family of 3 members and except me (5 feet 9 inches) everyone else is below 5 feet 5 inches.

While I can deal with a little bit of delay in delivery (or at the most cancel the booking and go for some other option) I am totally confused with the fear of DCT issue and if going for the diesel a good option with very little usage.

[xjosephjacob]

Purchases are emotional decisions too. In a head vs heart battle, if the budgets are flexible to an extent, I'd say listen to heart.

So even if I don't care about safety, dynamics, ride quality and other mechanicals, I'd gladly shell out additional 2 lac for the Kushaq for the snob value and classy timeless design. I just feel better when I'm in a Skoda.