For a person who doesn’t like changing gears, fate has added another gear – the 6th gear!
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Brought home the KIA Sonet HTK (O) Diesel Manual variant on 6th May 2024.
Likes & Dislikes
+ Powerful 113bhp 1.5L CRDI VGT 6MT diesel engine
+ Big 215/60/R16 wheels
+ High ground clearance 205mm
– No head rest for rear 3rd passenger
– No boot parcel tray
– Diesel lag
BACKGROUND
My wife and I had been aware for a year now, that we would soon need to look for a replacement for our 2014 Hyundai Xcent Crdi (manual) – Weekend Warrior! Hyundai Xcent Diesel (base variant). But a during this year’s Easter trip to Kerala, the AC failed 45 mins away from our destination and we had to sweat it out till we reached. Back in Bangalore, we went through our options and since I was really wanting an automatic this time. I am a person who doesn’t like driving, but am forced to drive thousands of kilometers every year and so I really wanted an automatic with cruise control and paddle shifters — all of which the Exter had!! Plus we had wanted a sunroof in our next car because our routine route to Kerala is through the Bandipur and Mudumulai wildlife reserves, so we wanted our children to be a little closer to the wildlife & scenery than just experience it from behind the glass. All these considerations led us to decide on the Hyundai Exter since the Exter SX (O) AMT was within our budget of Rs.12 Lakhs. I also took a test drive of the Exter at the Hyundai showroom on Hosur Road and instantly fell in love with it! It was the same Hyundai showroom from where we had purchased the Xcent, so they valued the Xcent at Rs.2.1 lakhs for exchange. The day was Saturday, 13th April 2024 afternoon, we were ready to book. I was finally in the promised land of Automatics after 10 long years!
THE EXTER GETS BOMBED !
In the evening of Saturday, I was watching a couple of reviews of the Exter on YouTube and people were complaining about the back suspension which would sag when fully laden. Also I was apprehensive about the front bumper scraping in the rough road to my wife’s coffee estate. I had experienced a lot of problems with the front bumper of my Xcent which had to be changed 3 times due to the scraping problem. Then the tyre size of 165/65/R15 was also not very impressive, my Xcent already had 165/70/R14 and I would be paying 12 lakhs for just 1 inch increase in the tyre size. In the night of the same day, BREAKING NEWS! IRAN ATTACKS ISRAEL! Suddenly it clicked to me that if the MiddleEast went up in war and petrol prices shot up, I would be left with the petrol bill for 2 cars in my household since my wife had a Suzuki CELERIO. Also, last year my Co-brother and sister-in-law had purchased a Renault KIGER RXZ and not a day goes by when they used to crib about the mileage & the fuel bill and they also started using my wife’s Celerio for in-city errands! The next day Sunday 14th April was spent stewing on the fuel price issue and somewhere around afternoon I saw a small ad about the KIA Sonet base diesel being offered at a starting price of Rs.9.79 lakhs. This was a big shocker because in comparison the Hyundai Venue diesel version was pegged at Rs.10 lakhs plus. Additionally, the Sonnet base diesel version had a variant with sunroof retailing at Rs.9.99 lakhs! At last I had to eat humble pie … the Iranians & Israelis had conspired against me and forced me to stick to a diesel manual car!
THE SONET BASE …+1…+1…+1 !
On Monday 15th April, with a heavy heart I turned up at the KIA JSP showroom on Hosur road to test drive the Sonet. They didn’t have the base variant, but they had a diesel HTK variant (without sunroof) which was two levels about the base variant. It was very smooth to drive and I enjoyed everything except that I had to change the gears manually. But after the drive I told the Sales Rep Ms.Sahana that we wanted to book the Sonet diesel HTE (O). She tried to pitch the Sonet diesel HTK (O) variant but I strictly said no. But she said she’ll bring the Sonet to our house also so that my wife & kids could see it, I told her please bring the HTE variant. Back at home my wife said that after buying a new car why run around trying to fit audio system and remote central locking? I also felt slightly uncomfortable since the Sonet came with airbags as standard and I didn’t want the after market fitment guys damaging the airbag mechanism in some way. So reluctantly I agreed to go for the HTK variant which was above the HTE (O) variant, but without a sunroof. Next day a valuer turned up at my house to value the Xcent and he said that we could expect somewhere around Rs.2 lakhs for it – which was a relief. A day later, they turned up at our house with a Sonet HTK petrol variant! But my wife and kids loved the car. So then and there we booked the HTK (O) variant and we asked for white color, since that was our preferred color. The Sales Rep gave us a waiting time of 3-4 weeks. After 2 days, the Sales Rep calls and tells us that there are 3 Sonet HTK (O) diesel cars readily available at the stockyard – 1 White, 1 Imperial Blue and 1 Wine Red. I politely declined. But the next day my wife suggested let’s give the kids a sunroof. And so it was that on 20th April 2024 we caved in to the Sales Rep and agreed to take the Sonet HTK (O) in white. But we were told that the white was already taken, so upon checking with the children they wanted the Imperial Blue one and we went with it.
THE FIRST LOOK
On Monday 22nd April 2024, I turned up at the KIA (or it looked like a FORD service center) stockyard for the PDI. As they brought ‘our’ Sonet, I was truly impressed by it’s looks, the Imperial Blue color was really choice. I went through the PDI checklist which I had downloaded from Tbhp and also took it for a small drive inside the stockyard. Pictures from the PDI below:
The next two weeks were spent in haggling over the loan and in between came the Elections also. My father was hospitalised and me & my wife were wanting to go and see him with the kids. But I didn’t want to risk taking the Xcent since it was in a very frail state and the thought of damaging it or having to incurr some repair on it at this last stage was also a factor. So we dropped the plan and I went to Kerala by bus & wife and kids went to my wife’s place by the in-laws’ car. When I met my father in the hospital, his eyes lit up when I told him I was buying a new car and he said “…when you come next time, bring the new car”! I replied that I would and I asked him to promise that he’ll be at home rather than in the hospital when I come with the new car. The old soldier gave a thumbs up and then I returned back to Bangalore on the 29th of April 2024. The downpayment done and the loan finalised, it was now time to wait for the registration process to be completed. The final price of the Sonet HTK (O) diesel manual that we were getting was as follows:
In addition, I purchased Rs.11000 worth of accessories and also the 4-year service package for Rs.34695. So total on-road hit of Rs.13.8 lakhs.
BRINGING IT HOME
On Monday 6th of May 2024, I reach the KIA JSP Hosur road showroom at 5 p.m. to take delivery and as I wait for delivery then heavens open up! It rains heavily for 15 minutes and I think to myself I hope the roads don’t get flooded just when I am bringing home the new car! Meanwhile I hand over the Xcent to the showroom. I took delivery of the Sonet and was relieved that it had been a smooth process from booking to delivery and I thanked the Sales Rep Ms.Sahana for that. I was finally taking the Sonet home:
First stop was the petrol pump and I filled her up. Once tanked up, the information display showed a estimated range of 962 kms! As I was driving back, I was informed that my Dad was discharged and suddenly it was apparent that the new Weekend Warrior would begin it’s duty immediately on it’s first weekend home!
MY OPINIONS
Since I’m upgrading from a sub 4 meter sedan after 10 years, it should be understood that I will be largely having positive opinions only But here are my thoughts on the various aspects of my Sonet which appeal to me vis-a-vis my previous ride/s:
LOOKS
I have always been partial to the Sonet vis-a-vis the Venue mainly due to the looks from the front. Whereas the Venue looks more flat from the front due to the gril, the Sonet grill has a more rounded look which I prefer.
ENGINE
The diesel engine on the Sonet – the 1.5 CRDI VGT engine is shared by many models in the KIA & Hyundai family. But for me the important thing is that it is by far the most powerful engine among the cars I have owned. The last most powerful was the 90bhp Crde engine on my Bolero Storm (ownership thread – https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-…-attached.html (My Bolero VLX CRDE 2009 @60,000kms: rear CFLs attached). This engine supposedly develops 113.9bhp, so it’s a powerful and thirsty engine. And it produces the sweetest sound at startup — there’s this wheezing sound which I have often heard on my F-in-law’s Innova and Fortuner. My F-in-law claims that the same engine on his 2022 creta returns 24-25kmpl, though I got 18-19kmpl on my recent trip to Kochi thanks to some really spirited driving.
TYRES
This was by far one of the most important requirements of mine – 16” wheels. I have always felt that my kind of inter-state trips through multiple road types, requires big wheels. So this was a big relief that the decision to go for the HTK instead of the base HTE variant which has 15” wheels. But the spare wheel is still 15”. The plastic wheel covers also have a nice design and really looks good. Best part is the presence of the TPMS system, which was another of my requirements…because in the middle of the forest I have often worried about the tyre pressure, after one time my Xcent got a flat in Bandipur wildlife reserve.
INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM
I had just about had enough of juggling with my phone in hand for navigation & stuffing sundry headphones into my ears for taking calls while driving. So an infotainment system which provides navigation when connected to Android Auto and steering mounted call controls were a much needed feature. I particularly like the sleek ‘stand-up’ look of the infotainment system and the way it is made to look flush with the driver console which makes it look like a single piece wide-screen tablet.
AIRBAGS
This was one of our main requirements due to our inter-state drives, so the Sonet scored well with 6 airbags as standard.
STEERING
Nice chunky steering with really good quality controls. The good feature was the horn portion surrounded by a raised boundary wall — because of this your thumb doesn’t need to go flat onto the horn pad since you can apply pressure on the wall to honk. I had felt pain on my thumb many a time on my Xcent after having to apply horn frequently in city traffic.
GEAR
For a person who doesn’t like changing gears, fate has added another gear – the 6th gear! For many years now, the frustration of having to change gears had started getting reflecting in my style of changing gears – which my wife used to often remark was like ‘throwing the gear’ into each slot. Now since another gear was added, I thought I’ll change my style of changing gears and I found a nice video on YouTube about changing gears the correct way. So two weeks before taking delivery of the Sonet, I started re-learning & practicing how to change gears and was ready in time for the delivery! Now, I’m comfortable to just ‘nudge’ each gear into it’s slot!
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