Kia Sonet will be taking on multiple sub 4 m SUVs, which are already on sale in India
Kia Motors made its debut in the Indian market with launch of the Seltos crossover in August 2019. It was quickly followed by the Carnival premium MPV and now the company is set to introduce the new Sonet in India. Launch of the Sonet marks the company’s entry into a highly competitive sub compact SUV segment.
The Kia Sonet will take on Hyundai Venue, Ford EcoSport, Tata Nexon, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Mahindra XUV300 and Honda WR-V. Here we compare the specs and mileage of the Sonet with each of these rivals.
Petrol Engines Compared
New Kia Sonet will share its petrol engine lineup with the Hyundai Venue. The 1.2 liter petrol makes 82 hp power and 115 Nm torque while the 1.0 liter turbo petrol is capable of 118 hp power and 172 Nm torque. The 1.2L is offered only with 5MT. Turbo Venue is offered with 6MT, 6iMT and 7DCT. Turbo Sonet is offered with 6iMT and 7DCT. Depending on the option, mileage ranges from 17.4 kmpl to 18.4 kmpl, as shown in the table below.
Ford EcoSport is powered by a 1.5 liter Ti-VCT, 3 cylinder petrol engine that is capable of 121 hp power at 6,500 rpm and 149 Nm torque at 4,500 rpm. The engine gets mated to 5 speed manual and 6 speed automatic and here though the engine is more powerful and performance figures are the highest in this segment, fuel efficiency is the lowest at 15.9 km/l (MT) and 14.7 km/l (AT).
Tata Nexon gets its power via a 1.2 liter Revotron, 3 cylinder petrol engine making 118 hp power at 5,000 rpm and 170 Nm torque at 1,750 rpm mated to 6 speed MT and AMT options. Mileage is 17.4 and 16 kmpl respectively. Maruti Brezza 1.5 liter K15B petrol engine mated to either 5 speed MT or 4 speed automatic transmission offers 17.03 kmpl / 18.76 kmpl respectively.
Mahindra XUV300 also gets a turbo petrol engine as seen on the Sonet and Venue. However, the XUV300 gets a 1.2 liter turbo as against a 1.0 liter turbo which powers the Sonet and Venue. This 1.2 liter turbo is more powerful offering 110 hp power at 5,000 rpm and 200 Nm torque at 2,000-3,500 rpm mated to a 6 speed manual transmission but fuel efficiency is lower at 17 km/l.
Diesel Engines Compared
While each of the competitors come in with petrol and diesel engine options, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza gets only a petrol engine. Kia Sonet will share its engine lineup with the Hyundai Venue. This 1.5 liter CRDi, 4 cylinder diesel engine on the Sonet makes 99 hp power and 240 Nm torque when mated to a 6 speed manual transmission, going up to 113 hp and 250 Nm with a 6 speed automatic.
Fuel efficiency on Sonet diesel is at 24.1 km/l (MT) and 19 km/l (AT) which is higher than each of its rivals, except for that seen on the Honda WR-V where fuel efficiency goes up to 25.5 km/l. Hyundai Venue offers fuel efficiency at 23.3 km/l. The Venue and upcoming Sonet get a new Intelligent Manual Transmission (iMT) unit.
Ford EcoSport is powered by a 1.5 liter TDCi diesel engine making 99 hp power at 3,750 rpm and 215 Nm torque at 1,750 rpm mated to a 5 speed manual transmission. Fuel efficiency stands at 21.7 km/l. Tata Nexon on the other hand gets a 1.5 liter Revotorq diesel engine making 108 hp power at 3,750 rpm and 260 Nm torque at 1,500-2,750 rpm mated to a 6 speed manual and 6 speed automatic transmission. This engine on the 5 seater compact SUV offers fuel efficiency of 22.4 km/l.
The 1.5 liter turbo diesel engine which powers Mahindra XUV300 reports the highest torque figures as compared to each of its rivals. It is capable of 115 hp power at 3,750 rpm and 300 Nm torque at 1,500-2,500 rpm mated to 6 speed manual and AMT, but fuel efficiency is the lowest at 20.0 km/l. The highest fuel efficiency is offered on the Honda WR-V even as power and torque figures lower than that seen on each of its rivals. The WR-V diesel engine makes 99 hp power at 3,600 rpm and 200 Nm torque at 1,750 rpm mated to a 6 speed manual transmission. Fuel efficiency is at 25.5 km/l.
The comparison detailed above shows that the engine of the XUV300 is the torquiest followed the Nexon and Sonet diesel AT while the EcoSport engine offers the least torque. It can also be noted that while all the competitors get manual transmission, Sonet, Nexon and XUV300 also receive an automatic gearbox and the Kia Sonet goes one step further with a 6 speed torque converter automatic, this making it the only SUV in this segment to get this feature.