Kia Sonet base variant is the cheapest in segment, while the top variant is the most expensive
Finally the wait is over, for those who had booked the Kia Sonet. Deliveries have started across India and many of the first batch of owners have already taken their new car home. Ahmedabad based Shailesh Gor is one such owner of the first batch Kia Sonet.
Kia has stated that demand for Sonet has been huge. Even before launch, they had confirmed order bookings of 25,000 Sonet SUVs. With booking amount set at Rs 25k, that is a total amount of Rs 62.5 crores collected by their dealers across India in about a month. Kia confirms that Sonet continues to garner new bookings at the rate of 1,000 per day, and this number is growing.
The most bookings has been received for GTX+ automatic petrol and diesel variants. But Kia has not revealed prices of these two variants. As per dealer sources, these two variants are expected to be priced at Rs 12.99 lakhs, ex-sh. This will effectively take the on road price of Kia Sonet GTX+ DCT Petrol and GTX+ 6AT Diesel over Rs 15 lakhs in almost all cities of India.
Kia Sonet On Road Prices
As can be seen above, even in Delhi (which has among the lowest road taxes in the country), the on road price of Kia Sonet GTX+ Diesel MT (ex-sh Rs 11.99 lakh) has crossed Rs 14 lakhs- without including extended warranty and accessories. Along with those, price crosses Rs 14.47 lakhs on road.
With GTX+ 6AT diesel expected to cost Rs 12.99 lakh ex-sh, the prices will most likely cross Rs 15 lakh on road in Delhi. While in cities in south of India, where local taxes are even higher, one can expect the prices of top variant Kia Sonet fully loaded to cross Rs 16 lakh mark.
This makes Kia Sonet the most expensive car in the segment. No other car in the segment has a top trim that is this expensive. At the same time, Sonet is also the cheapest car in the segment, thanks to the base variant which is priced from Rs 6.71 lakhs, ex-sh.
Why Kia did not reveal Prices of top variant?
Well, this is a question which has been asked by most of our readers, and those who are waiting to buy Kia Sonet. Kia themselves have stated that most of their bookings are for the top variant automatic petrol and diesel. So by not revealing the prices of top variants, they are only making the majority of their customers who have booked Sonet, wait a little more longer.
As to why prices of Sonet GTX+ petrol DCT and diesel AT has not been revealed, there is no concrete answer. Kia has not revealed any reason as to why they did not announce the prices. It could be a marketing strategy, to make the Sonet look less expensive than rivals.
A similar strategy was implemented during Seltos launch. Prices of top Seltos GTX+ DCT petrol and diesel AT were revealed a few days after the launch. We know how well it worked for the Seltos. Will it also work for Sonet?