After revealing its Sonet Concept at the 2020 India Auto Expo in February (take a peek inside our gallery for details), Kia is finally ready to launch the production car in that country on August 7.
The latest teaser pic shows the same pre-production example we have seen before, but with a new “GT Line” badge on its radiator grille. The final version of the car will likely maintain the style of its conceptual predecessor, except for the obvious gimmicks such as the slide-out door handles and overly thin side mirrors.
Technically, the new baby SUV uses the same architecture as the Hyundai Venue. Despite this, the two cars have next to nothing in common on the outside: the Venue boasts two-tier headlights, while the Sonet has a more conventional design, and it comes with the signature Kia grille and a red LED strip bridging the brake lights.
No further technical details are available at this point. As a typical budget-friendly crossover, the Sonet will likey approach the Venue in dimensions (L: 3,995 mm; WB: 2,500 mm). As for the engines, we would expect it to get three options here: a 1.2L non-turbo four-cylinder @ 83 hp (62 kW); a 1.0L turbo three-cylinder @ 120 hp (90 kW); and a 1.5L turbo diesel @ 115 hp (86 kW). The first two mills stem from Hyundai, while the third powers the India-spec Kia Seltos.
The 1.2L Venue makes use of a five-speed manual transmission (1.2L), while its turbocharged counterpart ships with a choice between six-speed manual and seven-speed DCT. The local Seltos gets six-speed manual and automatic. The drive stays locked on the front axle for all three.
Price-wise, the Sonet should turn out much more affordable than the Kia Seltos, but marginally more expensive than the Hyundai Venue. The production will take place in India first, and the model may enter other markets later.