2021 Kia Sonet Petrol Variants Explained - Which One To Buy?

What are the Price of Kia Sonet?

The Sonet petrol’s starting price has now increased to Rs 6.79 lakh from the previous Rs 6.71 lakh. The 1.2-litre petrol HTK and HTK+ variants’ prices have increased by Rs 10,000.

All the variants with the turbo-petrol engine cost the same as before. Thus, the Sonet turbo petrol still has a starting price of Rs 9.49 lakh that extends up to Rs 12.89 lakh. 

What are the Engine Specifications of Kia Sonet Petrol?

The Sonet comes with a 1.2-litre normal petrol engine that produces 83PS of maximum power and 115Nm of peak torque. The same engine does the duty under the hood of the Hyundai Venue, but in a slightly different tune. Apart from the Sonet and the Venue, Magnite, Brezza, Urban Cruiser and EcoSport also come equipped with normal petrol engine. Among these, only the Magnite and EcoSport have 3-cylinder engines, while the rest get a 4-cylinder engine. 

Among these cars, the EcoSport’s engine is the most powerful and torquey, followed by the Brezza and Urban Cruiser. The EcoSport’s engine also has the best power:weight ratio, while the Brezza offers the best torque:weight ratio, which is an indication of good drivability.

All these cars in this segment come equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission. The Magnite offers the best fuel efficiency, followed by the Sonet. Only the Brezza and EcoSport are available with an automatic transmission option with the normal petrol engine.

The Sonet also comes with a 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, which delivers 120PS of maximum power and 172Nm of peak torque. This same engine, in the exact state of tune, also drives the Venue. Apart from the Sonet and Venue, Magnite, Nexon and XUV300 also come equipped with turbo-petrol engines, and all these are 3-cylinder engines.

The engines of the Sonet, Venue and Nexon offer similar power outputs, but the Sonet and the Venue’s power:weight ratio is better than the Nexon’s. The Magnite’s engine produces the least torque, but as it is lighter than its rivals, its torque:weight ratio is the best in the segment.

The Sonet’s turbo-petrol engine is available only with the auto clutch manual transmission and dual-clutch automatic transmission options. In case of the automatic transmission, it's claimed fuel efficiency is better than the other cars. 

What are the  Dimensions of Kia Sonet?

The Kia Sonet is a B2 segment SUV, and its overall length is around 4 metres. The Sonet is 20mm wider than the Venue, and its wheelbase is as long as that of the Venue’s. It is the second tallest car in the segment after the EcoSport, and offers the most spacious boot in the segment.

The Sonet comes with a ground clearance of 205mm, which is the second best in the segment after the Nexon. It offers 2 wheel size options -- 15-inch for the base variant and 16-inch for all the other variants. 

2021 Kia Sonet Variant-wise Features

What are the features of Kia Sonet HTE Variant?

The Sonet 1.2-litre petrol’s base variant -- HTE -- is priced at Rs 6.79 lakh. This variant comes with black interior along with fabric seat upholstery. The HTE variant covers all the basic safety features, apart from which you also get features like central locking, speed sensing auto door lock, impact sensing auto door unlock, tilt steering, electrically adjustable ORVMs, front power windows, rear AC vents and front and rear USB charger. 

This variant lacks some features such as an audio system with steering mounted controls, rear power windows and remote central locking. HTE is the only variant that comes with the smaller 15-inch steel wheels.

What are the features of Kia Sonet HTK Variant?

The Sonet 1.2 HTK variant is Rs 90,000 more expensive than the base HTE variant. 

This variant doesn’t add-in any safety feature, but offers an audio system with steering-mounted controls, rear power windows and remote central locking. With these added features, this variant covers all the basic features. As far as style related features are concerned -- the HTK variant comes with 16-inch steel wheels, which have been styled to look quite similar to alloy wheels, while there is also semi-leather seat upholstery. 

According to our internal data, this variant’s added features do not completely justify the additional premium of Rs 90,000, but it is also not so expensive over the HTE variant to make you compromise on basic features. So, the buyers, who wish to buy only the most affordable variant of the Sonet can consider the HTK variant. However, if you can afford any of the 3 variants of the Sonet 1.2 litre petrol version, then you should go for the HTK+ variant, which we will take a look at next. 

What are the features of Kia Sonet HTK+ Variant?

The Kia Sonet 1.2 petrol’s HTK+ variant is Rs 86,000 more expensive than the HTK variant.

In the Sonet’s lineup, modern-day features start from the HTK+ variant onwards, features such as an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support. This feature is available only with this system, and not with the bigger 10.25-inch touchscreen that is offered in the higher variants.

The Sonet HTK+ variant adds-in some important safety features including projector fog lamps, rear defogger, rear parking camera and driver rear view monitor. 

The other noteworthy additional features include - auto headlamps, turn indicators on ORVMs, roof rails, shark fin antenna, electrically foldable ORVMs and auto AC. 

All the features that are offered in the Kia Sonet HTK+ variant are listed in the table below:

The additional premium of Rs 86,000 of the HTK+ over the HTK variant’s price is justified owing to its useful good-to-have features. Hence, equipment-wise and value-wise the HTK+ is better than the HTK variant. So, among all the 3 variants of the Sonet 1.2 -- the HTK+ is the variant to buy.

The HTK+ variant is also available with a turbo-petrol engine, paired with an auto-clutch manual and dual-clutch automatic transmission options. The Sonet 1.0 turbo ACMT is Rs 94,000 more expensive than the Sonet 1.2 MT. 

This powertrain’s incremental cost is slightly on the higher side. If you are planning to buy the Sonet turbo ACMT, then we would strongly suggest not to buy the HTK+ variant. Keep reading to know why.

If you are considering the Sonet automatic, then you will need to shell out another Rs 1 lakh for the HTK+ DCT variant. Along with the automatic transmission, this variant will also offer you 5 extra features -- electronic stability control, hill start assist, traction control, multi drive modes and leather gear knob. The DCT version is reasonably priced over the ACMT.

For this powertrain and the added features the additional Rs 2 lakh premium of the Sonet turbo HTK+ DCT over the 1.2 HTK+ is almost justified. However, the Sonet turbo DCT’s price is higher than the Rs 10 lakh price slab, so in many states it will attract additional taxes. Still, for this powertrain and these features, we feel that it is a decent asking price. 

What are the features of Kia Sonet HTX Variant?

The Sonet HTX variant is Rs 50,000 more expensive than the HTK+ ACMT variant. 

For this additional premium, this variant adds-in a handful of features, such as: LED headlamps, sunroof, smart key with push-button start/stop, cruise control, black-beige interior, adjustable rear headrests and rear armrest.

This variant comes with a sportier visual appeal as compared against the lower variants, but even this doesn’t come with alloy wheels. However, it is not a big miss, as you can retrofit them later. More importantly, the features that Kia has provided in this variant with a price increment of just Rs 50,000, are simply too good. 

At Rs 9.99 lakh, we would highly recommend this variant to anyone, even to someone who’s planning to buy the Sonet 1.2 HTK+. This is because of the extra features of the HTX and its price difference with the 1.2 HTK+. This means that the better performance of the turbo petrol engine and the convenience of auto-clutch manual transmission are offered almost for free. So, naturally the Sonet turbo ACMT HTX is our top recommended variant. 

What are the features of Kia Sonet HTX+ Variant?

The Kia Sonet HTX+ variant is Rs 1.66 lakh more expensive than the HTX variant.  

HTX+ is the top variant in the Sonet’s HT Line trim. This variant adds-in a number of features such as - tyre pressure monitoring system, auto-dimming IRVM, 10.25 inch touchscreen infotainment with Bose sound system, ventilated front seats, connected-car tech, air purifier, 16-inch alloy wheels, sound mood lights and digital instrument cluster. 

For these additional features, the incremental cost of Rs 1.66 lakh is high and not justified. This variant’s added feel-good features are not so compelling in nature that you compromise on value. Hence, between the HTX and HTX+ variants, we would recommend you to choose the HTX. 

What are the features of Kia Sonet GTX+ Variant?

The Sonet GTX+ variant is Rs 34,000 costlier than the HTX+ variant. 

The GTX+ variant offers many added sporty features such as - alloy wheels, red inserts on the front grille and bumpers, GT Line badging, red painted brake callipers, black interior, leather seat upholstery with red stitching, and wherever the HT Line sports chrome inserts in its interior, the GT Line has glossy black finish.

Apart from these sporty styling features, the GTX+ variant offers a bunch of other safety features, including - 6 airbags, electronic stability control, hill start assist and front parking sensors. This variant also offers wireless phone charger. 

The value of the extra features of the Sonet GTX+ variant over the HTX+ variant for the additional amount of Rs 34,000, is much higher. In fact, according to our internal data, the extra features of the GTX+ actually justify a price increment of Rs 2 lakh over the HTX variant, so it offers high value for its asking price. However, as the GTX+ variant’s price crosses the range of Rs 10 lakh, it will attract more tax than the HTX in many states. Nevertheless, for its added safety and sporty features, you can consider buying the GTX+ variant. 

The GTX+ variant is also available with an automatic transmission option. Over the ACMT version, the automatic DCT version is Rs 90,000 more expensive. Apart from the automatic transmission, this variant also offers the added features of traction control and multi drive modes, These not only justify the incremental cost over GTX+ ACMT, but also the Rs 2 lakh additional cost over HTK+ DCT variant. 

Kia Sonet Petrol - Which Variant To Buy? 

Among the 3 variants of the Kia Sonet 1.2-litre petrol, our top recommendation for prospective buyers is the HTK+ variant. The HTK+ variant covers all the must-have features and some good-to-have features without compromising much on value. If you don’t wish to spend for the good-to-have features, then you can choose to buy the HTK variant, but in this case you will be compromising on the value.

In the case of the Kia Sonet 1.0 turbo, our top recommendation is the HTX variant. This variant offers a good combination of the basic good-to-have and feel-good features, and it offers incredible value. Above the HTX variant, we recommend the top GTX+ variant, which is a sensible choice given its features as well as value. If we need to choose and recommend a single variant among all the variants of the Sonet petrol with both the engine options, then we will recommend the HTX variant.

The Sonet is available with the turbo-petrol engine with the dual-clutch automatic transmission in the HTK+ and the GTX+ variants. The HTK+ is a decent entry-level variant with this powertrain, but the GTX+ variant is superior to the HTK+ in terms of value as well as features. 

What are the colour options of Kia Sonet? 

The Kia Sonet is available for sale with 8 monotone exterior colour options, namely - Red, Black, Pearl White, Clear White, Grey, Silver, Blue and Gold. The HTE and HTK variants are available in 4 colour options -- Silver, Grey, Red and Clear White. The HTX+ and GTX+ variants are offered in 3 dual-tone exterior colour scheme options, namely - Red with Black roof, Pearl White with Black roof and Gold with Black roof.