[Venkatesh]

With the prices of the Kia Sonet facelift revealed, here's how it stacks up against other compact SUVs.

[venus1975]

Originally Posted by myavu

But If I am spending 1.8 Million Rupees for a manual petrol CSUV, I will definitely consider a next segment Elevate with 1.5L 4 Cylinder NA (in this case) with almost same power and respectable torque figures.
Just my humble opinion

I fully respect your opinion. Hyundai understands this mindset better than Kia, and therefore are not offering a Diesel automatic in Venue, or features like Bose speakers, 360 deg cameras, ventilated seats, etc.

A friend of mine has been keenly following the Sonet facelift. They recently bought an Elevate and are planning to replace their ageing Verna with a compact SUV that is easier to park in their home. Both my friend and his wife need their own car for office commute and want both the cars to have all the convenience and safety features. They can actually afford another 20-25L 4.3+ meter Sedan or an SUV, but they are specific about their second car being more city/parking friendly.

In my view, the features provided in GTX+ have been the key differentiators between Sonet and Venue, and I really applaud Kia's bold strategy.

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

Kia India has launched the Sonet facelift with prices ranging from Rs 7.99 lakh to Rs 15.69 lakh.

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The pricing power that Kia enjoys with the Sonet is completely incredible! The top end variant of the car costs almost twice as much as the entry level one. Engine and transmission changes and additional features cannot double the cost of making a car - at most, it can increase costs by say, 50%, as the most costs go into the core materials and manufacturing process of the car itself. The additional price premium is going straight into Kia's pocket as fat profits.

This is a good case study and proof point of the fact that once a new manufacturer has entered the market, established their brand position as a quality, feature-rich choice that customers would recommend to each other, and built a good service reputation, the manufacturer can then increase prices to a point where they are making a super normal profit, while retaining good sales volume. The consumers are willing to pay higher and higher, just to get a feeling they have made a "smart choice" that their family and friends would approve of, and one that gives them a "feel good factor" due to the long list of features that trump that of their neighbours' car, even if these are seldom used.

[venus1975]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

The pricing power that Kia enjoys with the Sonet is completely incredible! The top end variant of the car costs almost twice as much as the entry level one. Engine and transmission changes and additional features cannot double the cost of making a car - at most, it can increase costs by say, 50%, as the most costs go into the core materials and manufacturing process of the car itself. The additional price premium is going straight into Kia's pocket as fat profits.

This is a good case study and proof point of the fact that once a new manufacturer has entered the market, established their brand position as a quality, feature-rich choice that customers would recommend to each other, and built a good service reputation, the manufacturer can then increase prices to a point where they are making a super normal profit, while retaining good sales volume. The consumers are willing to pay higher and higher, just to get a feeling they have made a "smart choice" that their family and friends would approve of, and one that gives them a "feel good factor" due to the long list of features that trump that of their neighbours' car, even if these are seldom used.

While I agree with your overall point of view, I think this scenario is not really specific to Sonet. It applies to all the cars that fall under premium hatchback/compact SUV category.
For example, in the case of Venue, the price difference between its entry and top end variant is around 70%. For Sonet, it is more than 90%, because Kia is willing to offer more safety/convenience features. The profit margins are likely to be similar between the comparable variants of the two cars.

Also, I will not blame the customers all the time for paying for features that they seldom use. Many times they are forced to go for a higher variant, because one of the non negotiable features they look for is not available in a lower variant, which otherwise satisfies their requirement. It is the car manufacturers that take the customer for a ride most of the times!

[wolf_lone]

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

Kia India has launched the Sonet facelift with prices ranging from Rs 7.99 lakh to Rs 15.69 lakh.

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Grossly overpriced all around especially the Turbo Petrol & Diesel models especially at higher trims. Higher the trims, the price increment over a trim below is ridiculous compared to features being offered.

HTX+ trim stands out as most overpriced for the features offered when jumping from HTX since the price jump over HTX models across any engine + transmission option is too much. They should have at least added 360 Camera with Blind spot monitor from HTX+ onward to justify price increase over HTX.

[AmazeGuru]

Wow! 80k premium for the GTX+ variants is too much. I paid 17.4 on-road in BLR for my GTX+ D AT in Dec 2022. So within 13 months, the on-road for GTX+D AT has increased by 2L (though the FL has few better features).

On a lighter note, I think the pre-owned Sonet prices will increase and looking at how KIA is increasing the price, some lucky Sonet owners might even get same quote for their car that they paid initially.

[jomyboy]

I somehow get the feeling that Kia are trying to give competition to the premium segment market right now cause, apart from space constraints, this car looks and feels super-posh and no wonder its priced with that much of a premium. Only time will tell how the story unfolds and I am intrigued!

[febz]

Originally Posted by AmazeGuru

Wow! 80k premium for the GTX+ variants is too much. I paid 17.4 on-road in BLR for my GTX+ D AT in Dec 2022. So within 13 months, the on-road for GTX+D AT has increased by 2L (though the FL has few better features).

I was expecting a hike upto 50K maximum, since they incorporated ADAS features and all and 80K was unexpected.
As I was in a dire need of a sub 4 meter car for my wife, made the pre-booking with K Code on the 20th December itself and received a call from the dealer couple of days back that the vehicle has left their plant and will reach the dealership by next week. Opted for the 1L Turbo Petrol DCT XLine Variant. The OTR price in Kerala comes close to 18 Lakhs

[07CR]

I guess price difference of 80 K is easily justified because of many upgrades this version gets-

1) 360 cam with blind view monitor
2) 4 way electric adjust for seats
3) that awesome MID
4) All ADAS features
5) one touch up down for all windows
6) Touch screen too looks more modern and better

That said, Seltos FL price was way better. Much better loaded and only 35 K price increase!

[febz]

Originally Posted by 07CR

I guess price difference of 80 K is easily justified because of many upgrades this version gets-

1) 360 cam with blind view monitor
2) 4 way electric adjust for seats
3) that awesome MID
4) All ADAS features
5) one touch up down for all windows

As per the accessories list provided by dealership, 360 cam costs 35000 and spoiler 5500. The brain says justifiable but Level 1 ADAS(camera based)was not preferred personally. The blind view camera would be good during city drive(Haven't experienced personally)
Was happy with the GTX features and the preferred colour was black but since shortlisted 7 of 10 sonet seen in my city were all black and the matte was very rare. Settled with the XLine and the difference was 20K only.
Anyway's we dont switch cars too often and the normal usage is 8-10 years and I am pretty confident that the features and styling wouldn't get outdated at least for 3-5 years(Fingers crossed)

[wolf_lone]

Originally Posted by febz

As per the accessories list provided by dealership, 360 cam costs 35000 and spoiler 5500. The brain says justifiable but Level 1 ADAS(camera based)was not preferred personally. The blind view camera would be good during city drive(Haven't experienced personally)
Was happy with the GTX features and the preferred colour was black but since shortlisted 7 of 10 sonet seen in my city were all black and the matte was very rare. Settled with the XLine and the difference was 20K only.
Anyway's we dont switch cars too often and the normal usage is 8-10 years and I am pretty confident that the features and styling wouldn't get outdated at least for 3-5 years(Fingers crossed)

Can they install this 360 camera as an accessory to Sonet facelift on HTX+ trim which comes with 10.25" MID? Blind view camera is quite practical especially for left turns. Spoiler is not an important add-on & can be installed aftermarket.

[07CR]

Originally Posted by febz

As per the accessories list provided by dealership, 360 cam costs 35000 and spoiler 5500. The brain says justifiable but Level 1 ADAS(camera based)was not preferred personally. The blind view camera would be good during city drive(Haven't experienced personally)

Definitely go for the 360 degree camera if it's the same as the stock one. Blind view monitor is a boon to drive and increases safety exponentially.

Level 1 adas is also a good to have. I guess it gives blindspot warnings, prevents lane departures? These are both very important IMO. This is as per my experience with seltos FL adas.

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by venus1975

Also, I will not blame the customers all the time for paying for features that they seldom use. Many times they are forced to go for a higher variant, because one of the non negotiable features they look for is not available in a lower variant, which otherwise satisfies their requirement. It is the car manufacturers that take the customer for a ride most of the times!

Agree - this is a good point.

I wonder if the headlines of car launch articles should quote the highest price across all variants instead of the starting price. In many cases, the base variant is not even available for sale (manufacturers make very few units that are not available for consumers to actually buy, and exists only on paper, just to pull customers into the showroom with the lure of a low price tag). Also, the reality is that, in the case of the upper B and C segments, customers end up buying the higher variants if not the highest variant, because of "feature manipulation" strategy used by manufacturers. As stated in your post, some manufacturers , especially Hyundai/Kia, only offer important features from a customers' point of view, in higher variants, and forcefully bundle these with other features the customers don't really want.

For example, the headline of this Team-bhp article says "Kia Sonet launched at 8 lakhs". We all know, even one unit of this bottom variant is probably not going to be made or sold. The immediate next variant already takes the price close to 10 lakhs. I would suggest in the case of manufacturers like Hyundai and Kia, who lead customers to go for higher variants by offering a reasonable feature set only in the top variants, the headline should say "Kia Sonet launched at 16 lakhs and below"

As long as mainstream automotive media (including team-bhp) give the benefit of headlines quoting the lowest price across variants during launches, manufacturers will continue to exploit this trend and make unrealistic starting price claims, to try to draw customers to showrooms, through the unethical practice of having a fake bottom variant only on paper, just to falsely establish a low starting price in potential customer's minds.

[Amrit@wheels]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

As long as mainstream automotive media (including team-bhp) give the benefit of headlines quoting the lowest price across variants during launches, manufacturers will continue to exploit this trend and make unrealistic starting price claims, to try to draw customers to showrooms, through the unethical practice of having a fake bottom variant only on paper, just to falsely establish a low starting price in potential customer's minds.

Finally, someone said it. This is such a nice little trick used by all auto media outlets to make a product sound very cheap even if it is not.

[febz]

Originally Posted by wolf_lone

Can they install this 360 camera as an accessory to Sonet facelift on HTX+ trim which comes with 10.25" MID?

I have seen the 360 camera,on the list of accessories that the Sales Executive provided.Hovewer the part number was not there but just the price.Its better to check with your dealership for the details as I don't have much info on the topic