Kia Sonet 7-seater launched in Indonesia: India-bound?
Kia Motors has launched a seven-seater version of the Kia Sonet compact SUV in the Indonesian market. The Indonesia-spec Kia Sonet is manufactured at the firm's Anantpur facility in India but comes with fairly significant mechanical and feature differences over the India-spec Kia Sonet.
Kia Sonet vs Kia Sonet 7 seater
The Indonesian Kia Sonet is 4,120mm long for both the five and seven seater version, against the 3,995mm of the Indian car. Although, the 2,500mm wheelbase and 1,790mm width remain unchanged. The Indian car is taller than the 1,615mm of the Indonesian version. The Indonesian Kia Sonet gets the 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol motor, as seen in the Seltos, making 115PS and 144 Nm. This motor pairs with the CVT and a six-speed manual, as on the Seltos. Notably, the seven-seater Sonet gets a smaller 35 litre fuel tank, against the 45-litre one in the standard Sonet, possibly to free up more room in the third row. To this end, the spare wheel has also be moved to the undercarriage from inside the boot and the sub-woofer has been deleted as well.
Kia Sonet 7 seater interiors
The big changes to the interiors of the seven-seater Sonet are quite obviously in the second row. There is now a roof-mounted blower unit with separate control (the AC vents continue as well) and the 60:40 split second-row seats can be slid fore and aft, reclined or tumbled for access to the third row. The second and third-row seats can also be folded flat to free up a significant amount of bootspace, although this should drop significantly with all rows up.
Kia Sonet 7 seater features
The feature set remains largely identical to the India-spec Kia Sonet, the sunroof being deleted to accommodate the newly added blowers. Highlights are the 10.25-inch touchscreen, ventilated front seats, wireless charging, leather upholstery, climate control, auto LEd headlamps and so on. Safety features include six airbags, ABS, ESC and hill-start assist.
Kia Sonet 7 seater India launch
The seven-seater Kia Sonet is aimed at the MPV-crazed Indonesian market for now. There is no word yet on an India launch, but with the new trend of three-row SUVs picking up in the country a launch can't be fully ruled out. If launched, the Kia Sonet seven-seater could come at Rs 60,000-Rs 75,000 premium.
Starts Rs 6.71 Lakhs
1493cc
Automatic
83
250
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