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Kia Sonet compact SUV will feature all the connected featured from the Seltos

Kia Motors India will launch luxurious Carnival MPV in the upcoming Auto Expo 2020. After that, another major product from the company will land in the highly competitive compact SUV segment. Kia Sonet, as it is being called, will rival the already hot segment comprised of Hyundai Venue, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Ford Ecosport, and Tata Nexon.

Speaking about the launch time period, we expect the company to launch the compact SUV in around June 2020. However, Kia will most possibly showcase the Sonet compact SUV in the Auto Expo 2020 where Carnival MPV will be launched. Carnival MPV, on the other hand, will cost in the region of Rs 25 lakh ex-showroom and will come to India in 4 variants. There will be 8 and 9 seater version of the Carnival MPV for the Indian market.

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Our friends at Motorbeam has posted the spy images of upcoming Kia Sonet while it was used for testing purpose. The front headlight design which is sitting at the original headlight position says that Kia Sonet will not use the weird Venue like design language. However, the overall body and chassis of the car will be based on the Hyundai Venue platform.

Looking at the performance of both Seltos from the new brand and the success of Hyundai Venue in the compact SUV segment, we can surely say that Kia Sonet will also become a very important vehicle for the company. With Sonet, Kia will have two successful mainstream products under their brand name which is a big deal for a new entrant.

Also Read: Hyundai Santro BS6 launched from Rs 4.57 lakh

The Kia Sonet will be powered by a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine which develops 82bhp at 6000rpm and 115Nm torque at 4000rpm. This engine is mated to a 5-speed gearbox. Next, we have a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine which is tuned to produce 118bhp at 6000rpm and 172Nm torque at 1500rpm. The manual gearbox on the turbo petrol is a 6-speed unit. Turbo petrol also comes with the option of a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox for those who want peace of mind in the city traffic. Speaking about the fuel efficiency, the 1.2-litre engine delivers 17.52 kmpl and turbo petrol returns 18.15 kmpl on the Venue.

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Coming to the diesel front, the Hyundai Venue sourced 1.4-litre CRDi unit with BS6 upgrade is expected to power the Kia Sonet. This engine develops 89bhp at 4000rpm and 220Nm twisting force at just 1500rpm. The diesel engine will be paired to a 6-speed manual transmission. ARAI fuel efficiency of this engine in Hyundai Venue is pegged at 23.7kmpl. There is also a possibility of 1.5-litre BS6 diesel engine from the Seltos but that seems highly unlikely.

The Sonet compact SUV will have all the features offered by the Venue or maybe, even more, to be a step ahead of the Venue. Pricing of the Venue starts from Rs 6.5 lakh ex-showroom for the base 1.2-litre variant and goes all the way up to Rs 11.3 for the top of the line turbo automatic variant. Kia Sonet will be priced similarly or even less for the Indian market to get most out of it.

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