Thanks to the powerful engine, the Sonet AT is a competent expressway cruiser too. You can easily hit silly speeds and the mid-range is punchy.
Driving the Kia Sonet 1.0L Turbo-Petrol DCT Automatic
The Sonet is powered by a 998cc, 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine. This is the same engine that is found in the Hyundai Venue and produces an identical 118 BHP (@ 6,000 rpm) and 172 Nm (1,500 – 4,000 rpm) torque. Kia is offering a 7-speed DCT as an option with this engine. The DCT is available only in the HTX, GTX+ and X-Line trim levels. The DCT comes with paddle shifters and selectable drive modes. All variants are equipped with hill-start assist, vehicle stability management and electronic stability control.
The Sonet DCT is very refined at idle. It moves off seamlessly from a standstill, however, there is a slight initial lag. Once you’re moving, light accelerator input is all you’ll need to commute in the city. The gearbox moves up early, while shifts are quick and smooth. Driving with a light foot, you’ll never even know that the gears are being changed. They are almost imperceptible. The turbo-petrol offers brisk acceleration, while the power & torque on tap make the gearbox’s job easier. We also liked how the gearbox is never found hunting for gears. Combine this smooth AT with the light steering, excellent ergonomics, properly placed dead pedal & clean frontal visibility and you have a sweet city ride. For bumper-to-bumper traffic conditions, there is a fair amount of ‘crawl’ available too. Just lift your foot off the brake pedal in ‘D’ and the Sonet will crawl forward at 5 km/h, allowing you to drive in bad traffic with just one pedal (the brake). Downside? The gearbox is reluctant to downshift from 2nd -> 1st. Hence, you’ll need to be patient if you want to suddenly close a gap in traffic (as an example).
Thanks to the powerful engine, the Sonet AT is a competent expressway cruiser too. You can easily hit silly speeds and the mid-range is punchy. It sure comes in handy for overtaking. For long-distance cruisers, the engine spins @ 2,600 rpm at 120 km/h (100 km/h @ ~2,100 rpm). Kickdown response time is average. If the revs are low, it takes a second or so for the gearbox + turbo to react. Sometimes, you’ll find the gearbox to be hesitant to downshift too. But once the AT & turbo respond, this thing is very peppy. Also, when the engine is in the meat of the powerband, the reaction times are lesser. While the Sonet’s 7-speed DCT is not quite as responsive as the VAG DCTs, it is clearly among the best in the C1 segment SUVs.
Manual mode is useful when you want to prepare the car for overtaking a fast vehicle on a 2-lane highway, or when you desire engine braking. Move the gear lever to the right to engage manual mode. The response time to your commands is quick. What we found disappointing was that, even in manual mode, you can take the revvs to just ~6,500 rpm (which is the start of the redline) before the transmission shifts up on its own. Keep in mind that it’s tuned very conservatively & won’t allow aggressive downshifts if the rpm level is even a little high.
Gear shifter is identical to the one used in the diesel AT:
When you are in the mood for some fun, you can use the paddle shifters for manual control. The ECU matches the revs and you’ll hear the sweet note of the engine. The engine sounds nice and sporty at high revs. The paddle shifters are responsive, and you can extract some performance from the engine using them for quick overtakes or keeping the engine in the powerband.
The Sonet gets 3 selectable drive modes – Eco, Normal and Sport.
Eco Mode – Engage the Eco mode when you want to extract maximum fuel efficiency. The transmission shifts up at the earliest opportunity. The throttle response is dulled, but given the power on tap, the mode is quite comfortable to use in the city. In fact, we prefer driving in this mode in the city as the car becomes a lot smoother to drive.
Normal Mode – This is the default mode and just as the name suggests, it’s normal to drive. The difference between Normal and Eco modes is very little.
Sport Mode – Engage this mode when you want the car to be more responsive to your inputs. The throttle response is sharper, and the transmission also holds on to gears a bit longer in this mode. This mode is not very nice to use in the city as it can get a bit jerky to drive.
Noise, Vibration & Harshness (NVH)
The Sonet does very well here. There are no vibrations felt anywhere on start-up or shutdown. At slow speeds and around town, the engine performs quietly. On revving, you can hear that familiar 3-cylinder thrum though. While this noise is there, it is not excessive. Even while cruising on the highway, the engine is silent enough. What we appreciated is that the motor sounds nice when revved hard. Enthusiasts will like. Around 3,500 rpm, the engine gets audible and l-o-u-d above 6,000 rpm.
There is a hint of wind noise creeping into the cabin above 100 km/h. Road and tyre noise are a little more than I expected.
Mileage & Fuel economy
The Sonet turbo petrol DCT has an ARAI-certified fuel economy figure of 19.2 km/l. Of course, the real-world FE numbers will be much lower considering that turbo-petrol DCTs are very sensitive to the driving style. Kia has equipped the Sonet with an idling start/stop feature that helps fuel efficiency in city driving conditions. This system is not very intrusive and works seamlessly compared to many other cars.
Suspension
Ride Comfort
The Sonet gets a McPherson strut suspension at the front and a coupled torsion beam axle at the rear. The HTK, HTK+, HTX, HTX+, GTX+, and X-Line variants come equipped with 16-inch alloy wheels shod with 215/60 section tyres. HTE variant gets 15-inch wheels shod with 195/65 section tyres.
The ride is compliant & the suspension offers a good balance. It is more mature than it is soft. The Sonet is not plush, but the suspension isn’t very stiff either. On less-than-perfect roads, it does get jiggly, yet it’s never harsh. At high speeds, the suspension remains compliant. Large bumps do come in sharply though.
Handling & Dynamics
The Sonet’s straight-line stability is impressive. The car does not lose composure over bumps or road joints at speeds of over 100 km/h. Even undulations on the road are dealt with very well. Only at very high speeds does it start feeling a bit twitchy. Still, it is one of the better cars in the segment.
Body roll is very well controlled for a taller car and the Sonet changes direction without any unnerving incidents. However, the MRF tyres our test car was shod with are not great. They will give up during hard cornering. They are not confidence-inspiring. An upgrade to a better brand is recommended.
Steering
The Sonet gets a well-tuned EPS. It is light & smooth in the city. As the speedometer climbs, the steering feels reasonably direct and fast too. The fair all-round visibility, smooth gearboxes (automatics in particular) and light controls make this crossover easy to drive in urban conditions. On the highway, the steering feels stable and has no nervousness. The only negative is that as is in the case of most EPS units, there is no feedback from the steering.
Braking
The higher variants of the Sonet come with disc brakes all-round. The braking performance is strong and the car stops in a straight line sans drama when braking from high speeds. However, the brakes do feel over-servoed. At lower speeds, just tap them and the car stops on a dime. They sure take some getting used to.
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