It’s a tough call between the Nexon and the Sonet. While the Brezza is quite boring, the Venue and XUV300 are too long in the tooth now.
BHPian Ripcord09 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Kia Sonet Facelift
What you’ll like:
- A mini-Seltos in almost every way! Same formula, in a smaller package
- Sharp & handsome styling. In our opinion, this is the best-looking Compact SUV
- Excellent spread of powertrains including a fast & enjoyable turbo-petrol
- Diesel AT is fantastic; the only smooth torque-converter gearbox in a sea of AMTs
- Well-tuned suspension offers a good balance between ride & handling. 205 mm GC too
- Top safety package includes 6 airbags, ESP, HSA, TPMS, etc.
- Very enjoyable 7-speaker Bose sound system
- Impressive kit (ventilated seats, sunroof, auto LED headlamps, cruise control, wireless charger)
What you won’t:
- Rear seat legroom is just adequate, while its limited width makes the Sonet a 4-seater
- Top variants are pricey! More expensive than its sibling, the Hyundai Venue too
- Some misses ( 60:40 rear seat split, auto wipers, steering reach adjustment, illuminated window buttons, full-size spare tyre on top trims…)
- Dual-clutch ATs (like the Petrol DCT) have a history of poor reliability in India
- As always with Kia, the variant spread is tough to figure out. Good luck finding your perfect Sonet!
- The tasty 1.0L turbo-petrol doesn’t come with a manual gearbox. Venue has that option
- Waiting periods are already a couple of months long for some trims
Tata Nexon
What you’ll like:
- Very well-priced for what it offers
- Funky styling ensures that the Nexon stands out from the crowd
- 5-star NCAP safety rating & a solid build, unlike many of its flimsy competitors
- Nice, spacious cabin with comfortable seats. You get a practical 350-liter boot too
- 1.5L diesel & 1.2L petrol offer good performance. Diesel is especially impressive
- Balanced road manners for such a tall car. Fine EPS & 209 mm of ground clearance!
- Loaded with features: Driving modes, LED DRLs, reversing camera, 8-speaker ICE, etc.
- Dual airbags, ABS & Isofix child seat mounts are standard on all variants
What you won’t:
- Jiggly low-speed ride; bumps are felt in the city (unlike other Tata cars)
- 3-cylinder petrol can’t match 4-cylinder competition in NVH. Has lag too
- The observant eye will notice some rough edges in fit, finish & quality
- Concerns over long-term reliability, more so of the freshly developed engines
- Tata’s inconsistent after-sales experience is far from that of Maruti & Hyunda
- Shorter service/checkup interval of 6 months & 7,500 km (rivals have 12-month gaps)
Hyundai Venue
What you’ll like:
- A mini-Creta in almost every way! Same formula, in a smaller package
- Precise build & quality (including interiors) are easily among the segment’s best
- Competent engines mated to slick gearboxes
- Fast-shifting dual-clutch Automatic gearbox available
- Balanced road manners. Very easy to drive as well
- Loaded to the gills with equipment (paddle shifters, drive modes, sunroof, BlueLink telematics, cabin air purifier, etc.)
- Top safety equipment includes 6 airbags, BAS, ESP, HSA, ISOFIX, and more
- Hyundai’s competent after-sales & fuss-free ownership experiences
What you won’t:
- Diminutive street presence. Looks more hatchback than an SUV from some angles, especially the rear
- Strictly a 4-seater; the rear bench has very awkward seating for the middle occupant
- Missing kit (auto wipers, auto-dimming IRVM, steering reach adjustment…)
- Long-term reliability of the DCT is a concern
- Engine noise is very prominent, more so in Sport mode
- AT only on the petrol, not the diesel. Kia Sonet gets a Diesel AT
Maruti Suzuki Brezza
What you’ll like:
- Good-looking Compact SUV with improved road presence & mass appeal
- Well-rounded product. Takes a successful formula and improves upon it
- A competent BS6 petrol with Smart Hybrid tech and excellent fuel efficiency
- Smooth 6-speed torque-converter AT comes with paddle shifters
- Well-mannered suspension setup riding on 16-inch wheels and 215/60 section tyres
- Decent cabin space for a sub-4 meter car. Lots of storage & a powerful air-con too
- Now gets a sunroof, 360-degree camera, head-up display, rear A/C vents, wireless charging, ambient lighting, tilt & telescopic steering adjustment, connected car features, etc
- Long feature list includes dual projector LED auto headlamps, LED DRLs & foglamps, auto-dimming IRVM, cruise control, and a 9-inch touchscreen HU paired with an Arkamys sound system
- Safety kit includes 6 airbags, ESP, hill-hold assist, and ISOFIX. Built on the same platform as the outgoing car, which had received a 4-star GNCAP safety rating
- Maruti’s excellent after-sales service, wide dealer network & fuss-free ownership experiences
What you won’t:
- Feels more like a significant facelift rather than an all-new product
- No diesel option like its rivals! Petrol-only as of now
- 1.5L petrol engine lacks outright grunt. Tuned for fuel efficiency and suitable for relaxed cruising only
- Expensive! AT variants are priced higher than competitor turbo-petrols with more advanced transmissions
- AT option commands a stiff Rs. 1.5 lakh ex-showroom premium!
- Interior quality and fit & finish are underwhelming for the price. The game has moved on
- Short gearing of the 5-speed MT and lack of 6th cog results in an unusually busy engine at 100-120 km/h
- 328-litre boot is among the smallest in the segment
- Some missing features like ventilated seats, leather upholstery, TPMS, drive modes, auto wipers and front parking sensors
Mahindra XUV300
What you’ll like:
- A truly premium crossover. Nice build, quality & refinement levels
- Great looking! Smart design has none of the usual Mahindra quirkiness
- Cabin has enough space for 5. Quality-wise, the interior is more like a Hyundai
- Fantastic engines. The petrol & diesel, both, offer fast performance & good driveability
- A compliant ride with neutral road manners
- 5-star NCAP rating & kit. 7 airbags, ESP, ABS, all-wheel disc brakes, TPMS, seatbelt reminders for all & more
- Loaded to the gills with equipment (front parking sensors, sunroof, cruise control, auto headlamps & wipers, etc)
What you won’t:
- The most expensive Compact SUV in India! Not overpriced, but definitely higher than expected
- 257-liter boot is the smallest in the segment. There are cheaper hatchbacks that have a larger boot
- Concerns over niggles in a freshly baked Mahindra. Our test car itself had issues
- Lack of a proper middle variant. W6 trim is simply too bare-bones, while W8 is expensive!
- No automatic option in a market that is moving toward ATs
- Mahindra’s after-sales service quality is a hit or miss. Remains a gamble
- Some important features missing (dead pedal, parcel tray, rear air-con, steering reach adjustment, etc
Here’s what BHPian vattyboy had to say on the matter:
Kia Sonet D AT for me.
That smooth and refined 1.5 CRDi engine is a hoot to drive in Sonet with close to 100 bhp/ton power-to-weight ratio and 215 torque torque-to-weight ratio, which gets it closer to the performance offered by cars in 30-35 lakh territory.
Along with the good heart i.e engine, it has all the bells and whistles that one can demand in a car in today’s market. Plus Kia’s after-sales service is very good.
Kia will sell a lot more units of Sonet now after the arrival of the new Facelift.
Here’s what BHPian self_driven had to say on the matter:
It’s a tough call between the Nexon and the Sonet, but I’ve voted for the latter.
Over the past decade, the market preference has moved towards automatics in a big way. And an AMT unit at this price bracket does not cut it anymore. For someone who requires an oil burner, the Kia’s diesel automatic combination is hard to fault. Even otherwise, the car has a good balance of features, reliability, practicality, and an overall feel-good factor attached to it. The DCT isn’t my preferred choice for family cars, but the Sonet at least has that as an option with the fast 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine. A pure manual transmission is sorely missed, though.
The only letdown in an otherwise perfect package is its (lack of) crash safety. The car has a decent built, good enough to pass all finger-NCAP tests with flying colors, but structural safety remains a grey area. This is where the Nexon comes in. Tata’s diesel engine is quite good, the petrol not so much, but that car is solid, comfortable, and loaded with essential features. I’ve never really liked Tata’s automatic transmissions, or for that matter even manuals. But a smooth automatic like the Harrier’s, especially with the 1.5 diesel, will definitely have takers. Also, I noticed that the niggles are really getting out of hand after the recent facelift. The other day I came across a brand-new vehicle, fresh out of the showroom, with one of the LED tail lamps not working!
While the Brezza is quite boring, the Venue and XUV300 are too long in the tooth now. Come to think of it, even these options (except the Mahindra) will somehow make sense for a conservative buyer. The Brezza is a jack of all trades, but master of none, while the Venue is perfect for someone who wants a more discreet ‘Sonet’. In the end, it is the original Sonet that takes the cake by ticking most boxes!
Here’s what BHPian dieselteen had to say on the matter:
Kia Sonet D is my pick in this lot
It’s a tough call between the Nexon and the Sonet but the superior diesel engine and better fit and finish made me choose the latter.
Although Nexon is a good car it doesn’t match my taste in quite a few areas
But I do hope that the upcoming Xuv300 facelift might set some benchmarks(apart from the boot space) like its big brothers(fingers crossed)
To be honest, I would rather skip this whole segment as I feel all these cars are very expensive for the price point they are sold
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