Kia Sonet, All-New Smart Urban Compact SUV Launched in Nepal

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Kia Sonet Price Nepal

Kia Motors Corporation, one of the world’s largest automakers, revealed the Kia Sonet to the world today in a digital presentation. Manufactured at Kia’s state-of-the-art production facility at Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, the Sonet is Kia’s all-new smart urban compact SUV, and the brand’s latest made-in-India global product.

The all-new Sonet incorporates Kia’s DNA of emotive styling along with a premium and youthful appeal to create a strong road presence. Displaying a dynamic stance in a confident, compact body. This includes a fresh interpretation of Kia’s signature ‘tiger-nose’ grille, flanked by ‘heart beat’ LED DRLs (daytime running lights), shaped like the electric pulse of a heart, with a stylish front skid plate beneath. Its sporty silhouette is enhanced by the unique design and structure of its C-pillar, matched with a wraparound rear-windscreen. The ‘heart beat’ LED tail lamps also adorn the rear.

For the first time in this segment, the Sonet also offers its 1.5-liter diesel engine with the six-speed automatic transmission. To suit the requirements of a wide array of customers, the Sonet will be offered in a dual trim concept. This includes the sporty GT-Line trim which enhances the Sonet’s racy appeal for enthusiasts via its multiple design and functional elements, both inside and out. GT-Line models offer an extra dash of sportiness to the Sonet and highlight its dynamic presence on the road.

Key Highlights :

  • Largest and best-in-class 10.25-inch (26.03 cm) HD touchscreen with navigation and live traffic
  • Smart Pure Air Purifier with virus protection
  • BOSE Premium seven-speaker audio with sub-woofer
  • Ventilated driver and front-passenger seats
  • LED Sound Mood Lighting
  • Remote engine start for automatic and manual transmission via UVO Connect and Smart Key
  • Over-the-air (OTA) map updates
  • Multi-drive & traction modes and grip control for automatic models
  • Wireless smartphone charger with cooling function

The Sonet is all-new, developed and engineered from the ground-up jointly between Kia Motors India and Kia’s global R&D headquarters in South Korea.

Design

At the front, the brand’s signature design trait – the Kia ‘tiger-nose’ grille – is reinterpreted to suit the Sonet’s personality. Flanked by ‘heart beat’ LED DRLs and stylish front skid plates below, the wild nature of the Sonet comes alive. Within the tiger-nose grille, with its classy chrome and diamond knurling pattern, is the distinctive grille mesh featuring a three-dimensional geometric design inspired by India’s iconic stepwells. The grille mesh design pays respects to India’s historic strengths in sophisticated mathematics, science and architecture.

At the rear, ‘heart beat’ LED tail lamps and its unique reflector garnish give the Sonet even greater presence and impart a wider look. Additional highlights at the rear include a sporty dual muffler design and diffuser fin rear skid plate.

The Sonet’s lighting makes it stand out from everything else in this segment. Jewel-like LED headlamps frame the ‘face’ of the car, with ‘heart beat’ LED DRLs with integrated indicators and similar LED tail lamps make the Sonet’s wild personality come alive through its design. Riding on sharp-looking 16-inch crystal -cut alloys in a racy design, the overall impression of the Sonet is that of a strong, powerful and sporty silhouette with a dynamic stance that is hard to miss.

Furthermore, the Sonet is offered with up to eight monotone and three dual-tone exterior color options.

Powertrain and performance

With a choice of 3 engines and 5 transmissions, there is an engine-transmission combination for virtually every customer need in this segment. Two petrol engines – a versatile Smartstream 1.2-liter four-cylinder and powerful 1.0 T-GDi – and an efficient 1.5-liter CRDi diesel engine are offered.

The Sonet comes with five transmission options: five- and six-speed manuals, an intuitive seven-speed DCT, six-speed automatic, and Kia’s revolutionary new six-speed Smartstream intelligent manual transmission. Additionally, automatic variants of the Sonet offer Multi-Drive and Traction Modes for added convenience, driver-confidence and safety.

Electronic Stability Control
The 1.5-liter diesel engine is offered with a six-speed manual, and, uniquely in in its segment, with a six-speed automatic transmission, an unmet need in this segment to-date. Customers can enjoy the long-legged cruising ability of a diesel engine with the comfort and convenience of an automatic transmission.

The Sonet is equipped with this revolutionary gearbox,the 6-speed Smartstream intelligent manual transmission(iMT) will redefine the driving experience in India. The iMT is unique in the sense there is no clutch pedal, but there is a gear lever.

The clutch is electronically actuated when the driver intends to change gears using the lever, re-engaging when the shift is complete. A sensor detects the movement of the gear lever and disengages the clutch smoothly. When the gears are engaged, the clutch re-engages and gear shift is completed.

Highlights of the Smartstream six-speed iMT

  • Less driver fatigue: no need to use a clutch pedal, especially in stop-go traffic
  • Longer clutch life: electronically actuated, with no opportunity to ride the clutch
  • Smoother ride: clutch release is seamless, offering a smooth manual gear change

UVO Connect

Kia is the first automotive brand in India to reach the milestone of having over 50,000 active ‘connected’ cars on the road.

In keeping with this promise, the Sonet too is offered with Kia’s signature UVO Connect suite of technologies, with a range of 57 features for owners offering convenience, remote control, navigation, safety, security and vehicle management. This also includes Kia’s UVO Voice Assist feature, which responds to the greeting, “Hello, Kia.” This artificial intelligence-powered voice-recognition technology provides an enhanced, connected experience and can be used to operate mutiple features: phone calls, weather information, time and date, Indian holiday information, media control, navigation control, climate control, and even finding out the latest cricket scores, and 1st in industry Window up down through voice command.

Safety

Customer Safety is an utmost priority for Kia Motors globally. More than two thirds of the Sonet’s body is made up of high strength and advanced high strength steel, creating a lightweight yet robust structure.

Among the Sonet’s key safety features are:

  • Six airbags
  • ABS (anti-lock braking system) with EBD (electronic brake force distribution)
  • ESC (Electronic Stability Control), HAC (Hill-start Assist Control), VSM (Vehicle Stability Management) and BA (brake assist)
  • Front and rear parking sensors
  • Projector fog lamps
  • Highline tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS)
  • Auto headlamps
  • ISOFIX child-seat anchoring points

Kia Sonet Price in Nepal

The Kia Sonet has been recently launched in Indian market and is available in two trims – Tech Line and GT Line. Customers can opt for the Tech Line in five variants — HTE, HTK, HTK+, HTX and HTX+. The GT Line comes only in a single variant — GTX+.

KIA Nepal is expected to launch only 4 of the variants listed above. The company has opened pre-booking of the Sonet in Nepali market. The prices of the variants are listed as follows :