Kia Sonet has made its way to the top of the sales chart in the Indian market after it was launched in the country last year. The South-Korean carmaker sells the Sonet in other countries as well. However, in the International markets, it is offered as a longer and more powerful car. The Sonet has been recently launched in Saudi Arabia. In the Arabian market, it goes on sale in a longer avatar. Since the Indian market has a 4-meter length restriction for small cars, the India-spec Sonet measures 3,995 mm in length. The model sold in the Saudi Arabian market is 4,120 mm long. Interestingly, this increment in length comes from chunkier bumpers.
Other dimensions, however, remain the
same. The Sonet has a width of 1,790 mm, a height of 1,642 mm, and a wheelbase
of 2,500 mm. The biggest change between the India-spec Sonet and the model sold
in the Saudi Arabian market are the engine options. In the Indian market, the
Sonet is available with three engine options – 1.2L NA petrol, 1.0L
turbo-petrol, and 1.5L turbo-diesel.
The Saudi Arabian market gets the Sonet
with the Seltos-sourced bigger 1.5L NA petrol motor only. The 4-cylinder
naturally-aspirated petrol power plant is capable of churning out 115 PS of
peak power and 144 Nm of max torque. It is offered with a CVT and a 6-speed
manual gearbox. In the Indian market, the Sonet is available with five gearbox
options – 5-speed MT, 6-speed MT, 6-speed iMT, 7-speed DCT, and 6-speed AT.
Talking of the feature list, it is almost
similar on both India-spec and Saudi Arabia-spec models. The Sonet comes with 6
airbags, TPMS, hill-start assist, traction control, ABS with EBD, drive modes
and more. For the convenience of occupants, it also gets a wireless phone
charger, Bose sound system, front & rear parking sensors, cruise control,
rear AC vents, ambient lighting, electric sunroof, and automatic climate
control. Sadly, it misses out on the bigger 10.25-inch touchscreen display in
the Saudi Arabian market, as it gets the smaller 8-inch touchscreen
infotainment unit instead. The prices for the Sonet in Saudi Arabia start at
59,900 SAR and go up to 71,500 SAR, which equals to INR 11.57 lakh and INR
13.81 lakh, respectively.