With the success and praise Kia Seltos has
received from the Indian audience, the South Korean manufacturer has firmly set
its feet in the market. Not only has it managed to endure through the pandemic
with great sales, it even managed to make the makers of the Hyundai Creta stand
up and take notice. Encouraged by all the success, Kia Motors firmly believes
that they can recreate that same magic in the sub-4 metre SUV bracket. As a
result, the company showcased its Kia Sonet SUV concept at the recently
concluded 2020 Auto Expo. However, digital artist Shoeb Kalania has worked
his magic and given us a taste of the Kia Sonet in production form, through his
render.
The rendering, as you can see, follows
close to what Kia Motors envision with its concept vehicle but gets toned-down
design elements in order to give us a more life-like look at the vehicle.
Starting from the front, the Sonet will no doubt get a similar tiger-nose
grille design like other models from Kia Motors. Another element which is kept
similar to the Seltos are the 3D design elements enclosed within the grille,
with the same treatment given to the lower grille.
Other than this, the Sonet will get LED DRLs
and headlamps, accompanied by a chunky bumper design with LED fog lamps and a
faux skid plate. On the side, it is likely to get a floating-type roof design
that is trending in compact SUVs of today and a silver-finished roof rack as
well. Further down, the Sonet’s design will feature a rising belt-line,
complemented by 17-inch turbine-style multi-spoke alloy wheels. While we don’t
have a rendering of the rear profile, the design will follow close to the
Seltos’ design language albeit with design inserts on the C-pillars and chunky
wrap-around tail lights with a one-piece design.
Similar to the Hyundai Venue, the Kia
Sonet will get three options and three transmission options to choose from. The
engine options include a 1.2-litre Kappa petrol making 82 bhp/114 Nm of torque, a
1.0-litre turbocharged petrol making 118 bhp/172 Nm of torque and a 1.4-litre
CRDi diesel unit making 99 bhp/215 Nm of torque. Transmission options include a
5-speed manual, 6-speed manual and a 7-speed DCT. The Kia Sonet was originally
planned to launch in August with prices rumored to start around the INR 8 lakh
mark.