Kia Sonet X Line aims to be the most feature-rich and performance-oriented B-segment SUV
Kia has had a good run in India. With its first product, Seltos, Kia saw huge success and soon it became one of the highest-selling SUVs. Kia didn’t stop there either. It wanted to maintain its winning streak and launched Sonet in the B segment SUV space. Even though it wasn’t as market disruptive as Seltos, it was a decent seller nonetheless.
Sonet is a practical SUV and is also jam-packed with practical features like ventilated seats. It was the first in its class to introduce ventilated seats and was the only one for a very long time. Now with the Kaziranga Edition, Tata has given this boon-to-Indians feature on Nexon as well. To freshen up Sonet’s variant lineup, Kia is adding an X Line variant like its bigger brother Seltos X Line.
New Kia Sonet X Line – Official Teaser
Current top-spec of Sonet is GTX Plus trim and is offered with both petrol and diesel engines. The petrol is a 1.0L which is turbocharged and is good for around 120bhp of power and 170 Nm of torque. It is mated to a 6-speed iMT (clutchless manual transmission) and a 7-speed DCT (dual clutch transmission). The diesel engine is a 1.5L unit which is good for 112 bhp of power and 250 Nm of torque. It is mated to either a 6-speed manual or 6-spped torque converter.
Kia is carving out an X Line variant for Sonet which will sit on top of GTX Plus variant. This is a similar strategy we found in Seltos X Line too. Sonet X Line is just a styling exercise just like the Seltos X Line. Kia did showcase a more rugged and stylized Seltos X Line at 2020 Auto Expo which had different bumpers altogether and a ton of different elements to enhance the visuals. But the production version was very subtle.
Sonet X Line will get a Matte Graphite colour on the outside. To accentuate this new shade, it will get glossy black elements on ORVM, piano black finish on faux skid plates and all the bling chrome will be replaced with classy black chrome.
Kia will also throw in some red elements on bumpers, wheels, grille and other places to add some drama. We can also expect smoked effect on tail-lights too. Kia’s X Line trims are similar to Hyundai’s N Line trims.
Specs & Launch
On the inside, it will retain its layout and everything from GTX Plus but will get a darker shade to enhance the sporty touch. It will also get leatherette seat upholstery. X Line will be based on the top-spec GTX Plus variant and will get all the features too. In terms of engines and transmissions, it will get 1.0L turbo petrol with 7-speed DCT and 1.5L diesel with 6-speed automatic torque converter. X Line will not get manual or iMT options.
We can expect Kia to opt a similar pricing strategy it followed with Seltos. Sonet X Line might be priced at a premium of Rs. 10,000 to 15,000 (ex-sh) over the GTX Plus model. While regular Sonet competes with B segment SUVs like Tata Nexon, Hyundai Venue, Mahindra XUV300, upcoming Maruti Suzuki Brezza and upcoming Toyota Urban Cruiser. But the X Line is a direct rival to Tata Nexon’s Dark Edition and the upcoming N Line variant of its cousin Venue.
