What is it?

The Sonet is Kia’s entrant competitor in the very competitive Cross-over segment. The discontinuation of the Rio hatchback owing to production being moved to only left-hand drive configuration, left many Kia customers with a great desire for a spacious, comfortable and well-specified spiritual successor priced under R300 000.

For the remainder of the year, Kia will offer up to R40 000 in deal assistance across the remaining Sonet models.

Exterior:

From the outside, the new LS model shares the same exterior design as its siblings and is visually identical to the Sonet LX. The only visual difference is the application of 15-inch steel wheels with wheel cover.

Overall dimensions remain unchanged with a wheelbase of 2 500 mm and short rear overhang. The remainder of the Sonet line-up remains unchanged.

Interior:

Inside, the Sonet offers excellent leg- and headroom compared to many of its segment competitors, with its 385-litre boot capacity rated as one of the biggest in the segment.

The new Sonet LS mirrors the same interior as its siblings, with the familiar cabin layout featuring an 8-inch colour touchscreen and a combination of black cloth and synthetic leather upholstered seats as standard.

The inherent ‘big car’ engineering of the Sonet is complemented by features such as an Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Hill-start Assist Control (HAC), ISOFIX child seat anchors and dual front airbags remain standard, as does central locking with an immobiliser.

Engine:

The new Kia Sonet LS is powered by Kia’s familiar 1.5-litre MPI engine, with a choice of 5-speed manual or continuously variable transmission (CVT). The 1.5-litre engine produces 85 kW of power and 144 Nm torque.

Prices:

Kia Sonet 1.5 LS Manual (R299 995), Kia Sonet 1.5 LS CVT (R324 995), Available with up to R40 000 deal assistance is the Kia Sonet 1.5 LX Manual (R366 995), Kia Sonet 1.5 LX CVT (R391 995), Kia Sonet 1.5 EX CVT (R411 995), Kia Sonet 1.0 T-GDi EX DCT (R436 995), Kia Sonet 1.5 EX Plus CVT (R454 995) and the Kia Sonet 1.5 SX CVT (R484 995).