Begin your SUV life with the all-new Kia Sonet

Manufactured to the highest quality standards at Kia’s state-of-the-art production facility at Anantapur, India, the Sonet is Kia’s all-new smart urban compact SUV, marking the brand’s entry into the burgeoning B-SUV segment in South Africa.

“With its sporty, eye-catching design language, fun-to-drive dynamics and the high-quality features Kia is renowned for, the all-new Sonet puts an exclamation point on our ambition to make Kia the brand of choice for trendy urbanites,” comments Gary Scott, CEO, Kia South Africa. “ The Sonet fulfils an important role in Kia’s local line-up, and is well positioned to attract a large number of customers who value design, comfort and quality.”

A complete package

The Kia Sonet is all-new, developed and engineered from the ground-up jointly between Kia Motors India and Kia’s global R&D headquarters in Namyang, South Korea. Following extensive market input, especially relating to its design, engine and transmission tuning and characteristics, and suspension attributes, the Sonet was designed to offer customers a car that ticks all the boxes while offering a selection of features that add value to the ownership experience.

During its development, the Sonet has been through extensive tests across diverse terrain, driving situations, and climatic conditions, with engineers from India and South Korea covering over 100,000 kilometres. The outcome is a B-SUV designed to turn heads on the road, engineered to offer driving pleasure, built to world-leading quality standards, and offered with the convenience, comfort, safety and features that every Kia is known and loved for.

“The B-SUV segment is continuously growing and evolving, with strong competition from multiple brands. This segment is a launchpad for consumers actively upgrading their lifestyle, whether because of a notable life change, or a desire to see more, do more and experience more,” comments Stephen Crosse, Sales & Marketing Director, Kia South Africa. “We’re confident that these consumers, keen to start their SUV life, will be attracted to the complete package the Sonet represents.”

No small matter

The all-new Kia Sonet incorporates Kia’s DNA of emotive styling along with a premium and youthful appeal to create a strong presence on local roads. The Sonet showcases a range of styling attributes that sets it apart from its competitors, including a fresh interpretation of Kia’s signature ‘tiger-nose grille’, with a stylish front skid plate underneath. Its sporty silhouette is enhanced by the unique design and structure of its C-pillars, matched with a wrap-around rear windscreen. The profile, meanwhile, has a strong, sporty character thanks to the shape of the bonnet and bumpers, with the strongly raked A-pillars and rounded roofline imparting greater road presence.

Contributing to the Sonet’s unmistakable SUV stance is its size. At 4,120 mm long, sitting on a wheelbase measuring 2,500 mm, it’s one of the largest and most spacious vehicles in the B-SUV segment, ensuring that there is more than enough space for all passengers – and everything that’s needed on the journey. The Sonet is offered in seven one-tone exterior colours: Glacier White, Steel Silver, Gravity Grey, Aurora Black, Beige Gold, Intense Red and Intelligency Blue. Customers keen to express themselves a bit more may opt for one of four two-tone exterior colour options: Glacier White or Intense Red with a black roof, or Gravity Grey or Intelligency Blue with a white roof.

Stay in touch with your world

Inside, the Sonet offers a sophisticated cabin with a smooth, flowing dashboard to appeal to young-at-heart and always-connected consumers. Keeping the comfort of the driver and passengers in mind, intelligent packaging has liberated plenty of leg room, head room and shoulder room, and created a large luggage area measuring 392 litres.

Taking centre stage on the dashboard is an 8,0-inch HD touchscreen infotainment system that incorporates a reverse camera with dynamic guidelines, a standard fitment throughout the range. The setup offers Kia’s intuitive and friendly voice-control technology and sports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality, providing customers with the crucial safety advantage of hands-free connectivity. Additionally, the digital instrument cluster presents important information to the driver in vivid clarity.

The freedom of choice

The Sonet is offered with a new engine for the South African market. Kia’s fuel-efficient 1.5 MPI petrol engine boasts outputs of 85 kW at 6,300 r/min and 144 Nm of torque at 4,500 r/min. Customers have a choice between a 6-speed manual gearbox or a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

Two trim levels will be available with both transmission options. Feature highlights on the entry-level LX derivatives, to name but a few, include: