2020 Kia Sonet GTX+ petrol DCT: Purchase & ownership review

I am presently at around 8000 kms on the ODO in about 9 months of ownership.

BHPian Coyote recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

This is the ownership review of my Kia Sonet GTX+ (DCT) (purchased in November 2020), how it came to be, and how it's working out for me.

My requirements

My earlier ride was a 2009 Hyundai i10 Magna 1.2 that was showing its age and I needed a change. My requirements where:

• Fuel: Petrol
• Gearbox: Auto
• Variant: Top-End
• Safety features: As many as I could afford (12-15 L on road, Bangalore)

Body Types

While I had some flexibility on the budget, my wife was dead set against sedans. As I was moving on from a hatchback, I wasn't too keen on the segment, and Tata Altroz (the only contender I half considered) was quickly shelved as it was unappealing to my wife. My mind was already set on the Nexon anyway, and I didn't really object to this unceremonious ejection, save a few feeble remarks on the new design language. Turns out the design was what she took offence to, and that was that. I'm still hoping to revisit the Altroz in its EV avatar, as and when that happens.

That left me with CSUV's, the SUV's, and pseudo SUV's. An auto gearbox was non-negotiable to me, and I was only looking at the highest variants. Given my budget, my list quickly boiled down to CSUV's.

To get to this point, I considered and discarded the following cars for the reasons stated below:

1. Ford EcoSport: It felt outdated in 2020 for what it offered. Ford's exit plan was known, and the EcoSport never made its way to the test drive stage.
2. Hyundai Venue: If memory serves me right, the auto gearbox was offered in the SX(O) variant and not the SX+ (in 2020), and came with 2 airbags instead of 6 in the Sonet. In any case my wife and I checked out the Venue, and we both preferred its newer avatar in the Kia Sonet. Thus, the Venue was discarded as well.
3. XUV 300: I know I said Petrol, but I wanted to TD the XUV 300 as well, given its stellar safety record. When my wife and I visited the M&M showrooom, the Thar had just been launched (this was around September 2020), and no one at Mahindra wanted to actually sell the XUV 300. I was promised a TD at home and follow up calls that never materialised. This, the lack of Petrol, the AMT, and all that biege inside sealed the deal for the XUV 300. To add to all that, in my personal opinion, the inside of the XUV 300 simply did not feel as premium as the Nexon or the Sonet.

Nexon v Sonet

Thus, I was left with the gorgeous BS6 Tata Nexon, and the Kia Sonet (the latter being included solely to provide some competition to the Nexon). You see, this was Nexon's fight to lose, for I loved the way it looked, impressed by the safety it offered, attentive to the rave reviews it has received, and admittedly slightly biased towards the home grown brand.

However, things did not quite go as planned!

DISCLAIMER: I suspect more than a few will end up choosing between these two. Please note these are my thoughts and observations on these vehicles and as such, are inherently personal in nature. Any other person may drive the same vehicle from the same dealership and arrive at a different conclusion, based on what one is looking for.

Now that that is done, here we go!

The Fight

I was looking at the Nexon XZA+ (O) and Sonet GTX+ (DCT) alone, and this writeup and resultant comparison is from that perspective alone.

To aid my decision, I took multiple test drives of these on the same roads at the same time of the day, including highway runs, peak city traffic, and non-existent village roads around Electronic City. I will start by listing the things that mattered to me, and how each vehicle scored on that front.

Suspension / Ride

The Nexon has the better suspension setup, in my humble opinion. The Sonet has a stiffer ride setup, which, at slow speeds, makes the road felt in the cabin.

Score: Nexon.

ICE and the Head Unit

While the Sonet's ICE may seem fancier owing to the big head unit and all that BOSE branding, the Nexon's setup (from a music perspective alone) is again, the better one. If one were to look at the whole unit, the Sonet has a bigger 10" unit that is brighter, easier to use, and generally better, as opposed to the 7" one on the Nexon. However, as I have discovered much to my displeasure, it can get distracting as it is just so damn big.

Score: Sonet.

Looks

This is as subjective as it can get. Try this for a tricky one - my wife loved the way Sonet looked on the outside and the way the Nexon looked on the inside. I think each looks amazing, and each has elements on the back I am not a fan of. On Nexon, it would be those tail lights. On Sonet, it would be those gill like plastic insert after the C pillar.

My wife felt the Sonet looked younger and more exciting, and I could live with the gill shaped inserts.

Score: Sonet.

Interiors

My wife felt the Nexon's interiors were sparse (compared to the Sonet), and I felt the Nexon's interior was better. Woah. Why? Well, for one, I think the Nexon's plastic insert in the dashboard with the tri-arrow design looks spectacular. The Sonet has a nice upmarket interior, sure. The Nexon's just felt better to me, with one giant fly in the ointment. The instrument cluster.

I drive myself, and I could not come to terms with the Nexon's instrument cluster - especially when it was compared to the (significantly) more visually pleasing one in the Sonet.

Score: Sonet, just for the instrument cluster!

Driving Experience

I did multiple extensive test drives of the Nexon and the Sonet in urban and semi urban conditions. To those familiar with Bangalore, my route included the traffic around Diary Circle (Nexon) and Lalbagh (Sonet), the Electronic city Expressway and onward on Hosur road till Chandapura (Both), under the Electronic City expressway (Both), and the semi urban roads / mud roads in the interiors of Electronic City.

The Sonet has the DCT, and the Nexon the AMT. The Nexon is nice to drive. The Sonet is FUN. The Nexon will get the job done, ambling along. The Sonet will leave you smiling and yearning for more. The turbo petrol engine with the DCT is almost addictive in its response and to me, was simply better of the two.

Score: Sonet.

Safety

The Nexon was crash tested and scored a stellar 5 stars. Neither the Sonet no the Venue were crash tested. This was before the Seltos crash test results were published. The Nexon came with 2 airbags, the Sonet 6. This was a gamble.

I told myself that though the Sonet was untested, it (the GTX+) had a myriad of safety features that would provide a comparable outcome in the event of a collision. If you look at my post history, you will realise that Seltos results were published about 2-3 days before I was to take delivery of my Sonet, and after all the paperwork was processed. If one were to extrapolate Sonet's crash test performance from the Seltos's result (leaving aside the efficacy or legitimacy of such extrapolation), the Sonet would be inferior to the Nexon's proven crash test worthiness.

As we do not know how the Sonet will perform in a crash test, the Nexon, in my opinion, wins in this criteria.

Score: Nexon.

The Tally

The driving experience and safety features are, in my opinion, paramount (in that order).

Why, then, would I choose the Sonet, if safety features were important to me? Like I said, it was a gamble, and was before the Seltos results were announced. Would I make the same choice in 2021? Maybe. I may have increased my budget and considered other vehicles as well - such as the Kushaq or the Harrier twins. As this is entirely hypothetical and the choice has been made, I will expend no more energy on what ifs. I am quite happy with my purchase, and that's all that matters.

Each of the vehicles I considered had trade-offs. To me, the Sonet ticked most of my boxes, with the notable exception of Safety. As I had no knowledge of the Seltos test results, and I was aware of the extensive safety features of the Sonet, I took a leap of faith.

Booking and Delivery

The Booking and PDI

Once my mind was made up, and my wife concurred, we decided to proceed with the Sonet. As my test drives were from Advaith Kia, Lalbagh and they were quite helpful, I went ahead and booked the vehicle from them. Further, as luck would have it, they had a White GTX+ 7 DCT in stock.

My sales representative had no issues with me doing an inspection and I had informed him that the loan would not be processed without it. So, after booking, and before loan disbursal, I went to their stockyard off Bannerghatta road (shared with Naara Kia) to do an extensive inspection which went well. My sales representative had no issues with the inspection, even allowing me to start and check if the controls and electronics were working, so long as I did not actually drive the vehicle. As this was a reasonable request, I obliged and was quite happy. I clicked a few pictures, including of the chassis number so I could cross match the data the dealer would fill on the RC forms and the invoice / extended warranty documents.

I suppose I had this much leeway as they had only one GTX+ DCT in stock, and I knew this was the vehicle I would drive home, if I were satisfied. Interestingly, I saw about 7-10 White GTX+ DCT Sonets at the stockyard, belonging to Naara Kia. As I was happy with my interaction with Advaith Kia, and the vehicle I inspected, I did not reach out to Naara Kia.

Finally, the insurance and interest rates through the dealer were competitive, which meant that the entire process from booking to delivery was done in about 3 weeks.

The Delivery

The dealer obliged and delivered the vehicle on the day/date we requested, albeit without the plates as that would take a few more days. When we arrived, the vehicle was in their delivery bay, cleaned and prepped. I insisted there be no ribbon of any sort, and they were happy to comply. We finished up the paperwork, I inspected the chassis number with the documents including the extended warranty, and went about removing all the plastic off the seats. The dealer offered me free mudflats which were left in the trunk for me. The showroom folks setup the UVO, and walked me through the app. A couple of quick photographs followed, including using the 'frame' we had selected. I gifted my sales advisor with a pen and some chocolates, and off we went!

Although my wife and I are not very religious, this was an important step in our married life, and we decided to head to ISKCON at Rajajinagar with the car, just for the long drive from Electronic City, if nothing else.

What followed were several late night runs to the drive through McDonald's on Kasturba Road with our dogs in tow. We did this so often, it became a ritual for us!

Initial Euphoria and Accessories

I absolutely loved the first few weeks, poring over the detailed User Manual and the UVO app, figuring out all the things I could. I was like a child with a toy!

As the GTX+ comes equipped with almost all the things I need, and I am not a fan of aftermarket customisation / installation of any sort, I kept things stock and simple. In fact, there were only three purchases that have been made for the Sonet - first, a seat cover for the rear seats so that the dogs can chill without being able to get to the door pads. As it's just my wife and I, this seat cover is almost never removed, save for the services and cleanings. The one I purchased is pictured below:

The second purchase was the 3D Cabin and Boot Mats from Kia, purchased at the dealer level.

The mats are alright, but there are a couple of issues I have faced.

The boot mat for instance, leaves little place for your hazard lights.

If it were not for the boot mat, the hazard light bag would be fixed on the floor of the boot using the velcro. However, due to the plastic finish of the 3D boot mat, the hazard light bag can no longer be fixed, save for on the thin strip of fabric at the top, or on the seat itself, at an angle, and against gravity. As that would be foolhardy, the kit is presently on the thin strip. The issue is when luggage is placed, it has to be placed on the hazard lights, which I am wont to do. While it isn't a major concern by any stretch of imagination, it does make me feel the boot mat could have been better designed, especially given that it is an official accessory.

The other issue I am facing in the interior 3D mats is that significant dirt and dust gets collected on the footrest, which is again exposed. This leads me to believe that the next floor mat I go for should cover the floor entirely, such as the Dual layer mats offered by Kia.

These kind of mats is what I would recommend:

SOURCE: Some images are from the Kia website.

The final purchase I made was a USB cable for the Android Auto. As I mentioned, I am largely for leaving things factory finish, and have almost no inclination to really add any aftermarket feature or accessory. The exceptions to this would be a dash cam (I really need to get on that), and paddle shifters from the 2021 Sonet (Kia already turned me down on this).

Continue reading Coyote's ownership review for more insights, information and BHPian comments.