Kia Sonet review, road test

With its packaging done right, Kia’s new compact SUV has all it takes to rule to roost.

Published on Dec 22, 2020 07:00:00 AM

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It’s a smart-looking compact SUV with several unique design elements.

Quality of materials inside the cabin, design, textures, fit and finish look and feel very premium.

Fairly large boot, but the absence of split rear seats will be felt occasionally.

Kia has gone all out equipping the Sonet with segment-first features like cooled front seats, a Bose audio system, a smart air purifier, mood lighting, and the automatics are also available with drive and traction modes; we did not notice any perceptible difference between the traction modes. It also features kit like wireless charging, connected car tech, tyre pressure monitor, front parking sensors, a sunroof, auto LED headlamps with daytime running lamps, projector fog lamps, a rear-view camera, a part-digital instrument cluster and a lot more, in line with the competition.

Segment-first cooled seats are superb. Drive and traction modes only in auto variants.

Despite being stuffed with several desirable features, this Kia misses out smaller things like a 60:40 split rear seat and illuminated window switches (except the driver’s window), and equipment like paddle shifters, rear disc brakes, rain-sensing wipers and driver’s knee airbag, which some of the competition offers.

An air-purifier, no longer a luxury in this day and age, comes equipped on higher variants.

Bose sound system

The seven-speaker Bose system includes a pair of midrange/tweeter drivers on each front door and a full-range driver on each of the rear doors, augmented by a boot-mounted 6.5-inch subwoofer. There’s no centre channel speaker on the dashboard but the system is well judged in terms of its processing, so that you never hear just the speaker that’s closest to you. There is a nice, even spread of sound throughout the cabin and it maintains a high degree of definition even at loud volumes. The bass is clean, well defined and perfectly blends in with the rest of the speakers. The treble isn’t harsh or aggressive either, like it can get on many other Bose systems, making the Sonet quite an impressive platform for this system.