[kimmig]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

On a side note I was suprised to see the Aunty in the Video shared in the previous post that 3 people can sit easily in a Ritz (which has a Width of 1680mm, whereas three people cannot sit comfortably in Sonet, which has a width of 1770 mm!) . The Ritz is a very Tall car, with a narrow body design and has much lesser width.

Have had my Ritz ZXi since 2009 .. will complete 11 years at the end of this month .. I must say that we always found the Ritz quite comfortable in the rear seat with 3 adults as compared to other cars. Not sure what it is .. but they definitely did some magic somehow .. alas the rear end of the car wasn't quite to everyone's liking else it would have set the sales charts on fire.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by DriveOnceMore

Sorry, I differ with your opinion.
Nexon is definitely a five seater with 'some' compromise on shoulder space.
But XUV 300 is no where compromise when it comes to rear bench space.
Despite being sub-4 meter Maruti Suzuki Dzire offers the most real estate for rear passengers.
There are several examples more.
Even Celerio would fare better here.

Yes like I said XUV300 is more spacious and even the Dzire but they are still not proper 3 seater at the back. You can't compare either with a Etios or a Duster or anything that is above sub 4m.

Within sub4m you can say the Dzire and XUV300 are the widest but that does not make them proper 3 seaters. You can see from our official reviews:

Dzire:

Just like at the front, the rear seat is wider than the outgoing car's. Still, its not a sedan in which you can have 3 healthy adults on the back seat. The seatbase is raised in the middle where the third passenger sits. This means he has lesser headroom than the side occupants:

XUV300:

Unlike many of its competitors, the rear seat is wide enough to accommodate 3 average-sized adults. Larger adults are likely to find the space tight though. While the seatbase is largely flat, the seatbacks have some contours to hold you in place:

And another point is the XUV300 is actually a full sized SUV like Seltos and Creta with the boot chopped off just for India. This is the reason it looks odd at the back and has the smallest boot in the segment.

The Ecosport, Brezza, Venue, Sonet and NExon are all 5 seaters on paper with varying level of compromise so no point going in with expectations they are proper 5 seaters.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Rumour! Kia Sonet ARAI fuel economy numbers leaked

The 1.5-litre diesel engine paired with a 6-speed manual gearbox makes 99 BHP @ 4,000 rpm and 240 Nm @ 1,500-2,750 rpm. This engine and gearbox combination delivers 24.1 km/l.

The same engine comes in a higher tune with a variable geometry turbocharger. It produces 113 BHP @ 4,000 rpm and 250 Nm @ 1,500-2,750 rpm and is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. It is said to deliver 19 km/l

That's a lot of difference between Manual and AT mileage. Yes, the engine figures are different between them. Seltos has similar specifications in AT and is rated at 18kmpl. Sonet being a lighter car I was expecting atleast 21kmpl figures. As I am specifically looking for an AT just a little disappointed with the AT figures. Let's hope atleast it drives like a dream

[DriveOnceMore]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

And another point is the XUV300 is actually a full sized SUV like Seltos and Creta with the boot chopped off just for India. This is the reason it looks odd at the back and has the smallest boot in the segment.

The Ecosport, Brezza, Venue, Sonet and NExon are all 5 seaters on paper with varying level of compromise so no point going in with expectations they are proper 5 seaters.

That's something different you are getting into.
However the company arrive at the final product i.e. by chopping off the full size car or swelling up the hatchback like Santro, it should not be the consideration factor here.
Sonet and Venue for India are based on Santro's platform, while for overseas market it's different.

I think many would agree here that Ecosport and Venue are strict 4 seater cars and even fitting average built 3 people on rear bench will be a tight squeeze.
I expect the same from Sonet too.

I own Nexon and I can confidently say it can accommodate 3 average built person at the back.
While XUV and Dzire does it better even further.

I am neither pro-'x' brand and anti-'Y' brand.
Just shared my opinion on what seems to be the fact.
No offence.

[k_kumar]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

...3 people can sit easily in a Ritz (which has a Width of 1680mm, whereas three people cannot sit comfortably in Sonet, which has a width of 1770 mm!) . The Ritz is a very Tall car, with a narrow body design and has much lesser width.

Don't go by the numbers. That difference of 90 mm (maybe more) can easily be taken up by the flared wheel arches. So, increased "overall width" does not necessarily translate into more shoulder room.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by DriveOnceMore

I think many would agree here that Ecosport and Venue are strict 4 seater cars and even fitting average built 3 people on rear bench will be a tight squeeze.
I expect the same from Sonet too.

Actually this is what I meant. Knowing that Sonet is based on Santro and similar to Venue expectation should be on similar lines. No point in getting disappointed or frustrated at something which was anyways not expected.

I own Nexon and I can confidently say it can accommodate 3 average built person at the back.
While XUV and Dzire does it better even further.

I am neither pro-'x' brand and anti-'Y' brand.
Just shared my opinion on what seems to be the fact.
No offence

I own an Ecopsort and don't even let a 5th passenger sit for long drives. I put them in my colleagues W-RV which is wider.

For me neither Nexon or XUV are true 5 seater that can take 3 in comfort. It is personal depending on degree of comfort and size of person. The NExon and XUV300 remain better than the rest but not "comfortable" 5 seater. The official review confirms what I am tying to say.

No offence taken but the fact is they are wider but comfort is an opinion which each one will have different. It is more comfortable than x or Y but not compared to a proper 5 seater SUV. Anyone buying a compact SUV should get into buying one knowing this and not get disappointed when he cannot carry 5 in comfort.

I will call a vehicle a proper 5 seater only if it is like a Harrier or Hector or Etios.

I have a Kodiaq as well and will tell you it is super wide but the third passenger with the seat design and floor hump will not be comfortable. Width wise he will have plenty of shoulder room.

Anyways it's a personal opinion so I get your POV as well.

Cheers!

[alikidwhy]

Aren’t there just a lot of ‘leaks’ relating to Kia vehicle launches?

This seems more like marketing by raising curiosity.

Of course I might be wrong but how do we see a new leak every other day?

[RK79]

I own a Zest.Its backseat is very comfortable and 3 adults can sit comfortably in its back seat. But when I test drove Nexon I felt the width of the rear seat is less compared to Zest. On paper Nexon is wider than Zest. It may be because Nexon has a rear wheel arch bulging out but Zest doesn't have any which is added to the numbers. So for comparing useful space available to passenger,its better to measure the width of the back rest rather than comparing the overall width of the vehicle. If the design is good, 3 can accommodate comfortably in a sub 4 metre car.

[wordsworth]

Much like the venue, this will sell like hot cakes. The KIA brand name has already established a sense of aspiration given Seltos and Carnival. Many second car buyer moving from hatchbacks or the millenial first buyers would take to the Sonet. A distinct advantage Sonet enjoys over Venue and other CUVs the comprehensive range of transmission and engine options in various price points (Diesel AT and turbo Petrol range toper AT). Kia really is checking all boxes from get-go (something Tata for some incomprehensible reasons misses launch after launch of their aweosme VFM cars). I own a Hexa XTA and looking for a city machine in the coming year. While Sonet checks all boxes; however, I can't seem to fully digest the looks of the Sonet (still stuck between whether I like it or not). May be it will grow on me.

[Venkatesh]

Kia Sonet overview

https://youtu.be/rB3Gag__iRs

[heatednemz]

I checked out the gold Gtx variant at the Andheri Dealer in Mumbai, over all I think the car looks a tad bit premium over the venue on the interior, the car looks much better in person too. I think the venue looks nicer over all. The interior Dashboard on the sonet is more cockpit like. The leatherette works better than the venue fabric seats in the DCT in my opinion.

I found the rear seats to comfier than anticipated. Centre arm rest storage in the front is pretty useless to store anything practical. Arm rest at the back is good to have in the Automatic variant which is surprisingly missing in the venue. The Gold colour is not to taste though. Dealer said they will be reciving a red Sonet for testdrive next week. I personally feel the red or the black gtx os the nicest looking.

The Car's battery had run out by the time I reached because of which I didnt get a chance to listen to the music system or get a chance to see the instrument cluster in person. Boot wouldn't open too, which was strange.

[mayd85]

The pricing 'document' may as well be deliberate leak from Kia to gauge people's reactions before the launch, just to see if any last minute tweaks are necessary or not.

[venkyhere]

--Mods, please move the post if its OT--

Pursuant to the discussion on rear legroom and rear seating width, I have a picture to share (made purely out of academic interest, long ago) that shows how the smallest of differences in geometry can make some of the biggest of differences in passenger experience in the rear seat. The two cars belong to the same segment, both of almost same size, one designed with an intention to scoop out maximum legroom and the other without any such intention (pillars raked inward too aggressively, thick door pads, rear seat base anchor points not pushed too much towards the wheel etc) . Notice how small the measurement differences actually are, yet people who have sat in the rear seat of both cars will immediately be able to appreciate the difference that these "few mm" make. (This was the reason for my earlier comment where I expressed surprise that kia have scooped out 75mm additional, compared to hyundai, on the same platform). In the luxury segment like S-class etc, they go for an altered EWB chassis, just to gain 100/110mm for the rear seat passenger.

[jetsetgo08]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

(This was the reason for my earlier comment where I expressed surprise that kia have scooped out 75mm additional, compared to hyundai, on the same platform).

It is also achievable with a combination of reduced travel range of the front seat and reduced depth of the rear bench. But saying that, 75mm is just a rough estimate given by the OP. The key takeaway is that, it gives an illusion of being more spacious than the Venue.

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Rumour! Kia Sonet ARAI fuel economy numbers leaked

The Diesel manual fuel economy is the best so far with the various iterations of the 1.5L U2 CRDI engine (all ARAI numbers):

WGT:
Kia Sonet Manual - 24.1 kpl
Hyundai Venue Manual - 23.7 kpl

VGT:
Kia Seltos Manual - 20.8 kpl
Kia Seltos Auto - 17.8 kpl
Hyundai Creta Manual- 21.4 kpl
Hyundai Creta Auto -18.5 kpl
Kia Sonet Auto - 19.1 kpl
Hyundai Verna Manual - 25 kpl
Hyundai Verna Auto - 21.3 kpl

The various comparisons show that the Auto causes the fuel mileage to drop by about 3 kpl for highway drives in ideal conditions. Further the WGT seems more efficient by about 2 kpl. This explains the difference in fuel economy between the Diesel Sonet manual and Auto of nearly 6 kpl. It is the cumulative effect of changing to a VGT engine and a TC auto box.