Kia Sonet Review: Cramped and Uncomfortable
I did an extended test drove of the Kia Sonet crossover1, both in the city and on the highway, and evaluated it against my requirements. I wouldn’t buy it, since it’s cramped and uncomfortable. Instead of buying the Sonet for 19 lakh, I’d buy the Kiger for 15, which is a better, more comfortable and more spacious car for cheaper. Or I’d stretch to 26 and buy the Creta. Or I’d upgrade way past all these obsolete gas guzzlers to a MG Windsor for 17.
Here are the detailed pros (+) and cons (-) of the Sonet:
+ The car has an ideal width. Small car like the Ritz don’t feel as spacious width-wise as the Sonet, and when I change gears, it can touch the passenger’s leg. The Sonet is wide enough to give each passenger their space. Cars like the Creta and Seltos are even wider, but you can’t reach over to the passenger door if you need to. I also don’t feel the need to be so distant with the passenger as in a Creta. The Sonet is narrow enough that I can navigate through small roads with ease at speed even when oncoming traffic has intruded into my half of the road, which I can’t in the Creta. The Sonet gets this perfect. Most cars should have this width. It’s the sweet spot. Wider is worse. Narrower is worse.
- No rain-sensing wipers
+ 4 meters, so it should be easier to maneuver through your basement or to park.
+ Shows range
± Cruise control, not adaptive.
+ The car has a big boot.
- I can’t honk with one finger.
± No auto hold or electronic parking brake
± If you press the brake hard when stopped, the idle stop activates
+ Front, rear and 360 cameras with curved indicators that move as you turn the steering wheel
+ You can have either an analog or digital speedo.
- In the door, behind the power window controls is a small pocket, but when I put my keys there, they fell out. It turned out to be a handle and not a pocket.
Discomfort
- My head was close to the windshield header, making it feel cramped.
- My stomach was pressed, making me feel uncomfortable.
+ Seat forward / backward and recline adjustment are electric
- Height adjustment is manual
- No thigh support adjustment
+ Steering wheel doesn’t hit my knee when entering, sitting or exiting.
± Steering wheel tilts but doesn’t telescope
+ Good legroom
- The car vibrates a lot even when idling, and increases whenever the AC turns on. I thought it’s a diesel. It was that bad. You can feel the vibration in the floor and the seat. This is worse than my 12-year-old Ritz.
- Engine is harsh — 3 cylinder.
- In sport mode, it waited till reaching 5500 rpm before upshifting, leading to more engine harshness.
- Sports mode is jerky with too much acceleration and deceleration. So, in this car, I wouldn’t use sport mode. If I wanted more acceleration, I’d floor it.
Driving
+ 1 liter turbo, DCT, 7 gears
+ Stable at high speed, which is impressive for a sub-20 lakh car!
+ 0-100 in 14 seconds in sport mode.
+ Enough torque to make wheels spin when you floor it at low speed.
+ Handles bumps at speed like 35 kph.
+ Shows the current gear like D4.
Digital
+ CarPlay, wired only.
- CarPlay works only via USB-A.
- The holder under the parking brake gets hot preventing the phone from charging, so you have to put it in just below the wireless charger
+ HD screen
+ Multitouch but unresponsive
- The car comes with a Bose 6 speaker system, but it doesn’t produce an emotional experience like the Creta’s.
- Infotainment system has stuttering animations on occasion and crashed when I reset the equaliser.
- Audio didn’t play till I unplugged and replugged the phone
- The car comes with maps from Map My India, which is second-rate, so use Google Maps via CarPlay.
Cooling
+ Ventilated seats
+ Rear window sunshades
± Sunroof but not panoramic
- Glovebox not chilled.
+ Climate control
+ Can turn on AC remotely using the app
- Rear windows don’t roll fully down
- Single zone AC
Safety
- No triangle icon in wing mirrors when a vehicle passes by
- No multi-collision brake
+ ESC
+ EBD
+ Seat belt pretensioner with force limiter
+ Airbags that cover the whole body
+ Blind spot monitoring
+ DRLs
+ Auto headlamps
+ LED headlamp and fog lamp
+ Emergency brake assist
+ Lane departure warning
- No lane keeping assist
- Seat belt not adjustable
+ Impact-sensing door unlock
Front passenger seat
- Can’t stretch my legs
+ Good headroom
+ Ventilated seat
- No height adjustment
- The window is not panoramic
- The view is not great due to the windshield header.
- Manually adjustable seat
Rear seat
+ Two USB-C ports and phone holder
+ 2 AC vents with independent up / down / left / right, fan speed (auto, 1, 2, 3, 4), display on/off, and AC on/off controls.
± Won’t beep even if we don’t wear seat belts
+ Good legroom
+ Center cushioned armrest with two cup holders and no mobile holder
- Recline can’t be adjusted
- Headroom not great
- The window is not panoramic
It’s monocoque / unibody.