Kia Sonet vs. the competition

Kia Philippines has just added the Sonet to its lineup, pushing a new nameplate Philippine subcompact crossover segment. 

Style-wise, the all-new Sonet gets a compressed but still attractive take on the brand’s current design language. Present on its front end is the Kia signature Tiger Nose Grille, which is colored black. The latter is flanked from the sides by angular LED headlamp clusters, which are made more eye-catching thanks to hook-shaped LED daytime running lamps. 

Its sides, meanwhile, offer black plastic claddings, power-folding side mirrors, black-colored window pillars to match a black-colored roof, and a set of 16-inch alloy wheels. It likewise has roof rails and a sunroof. 

Meanwhile, the rear of Kia’s new subcompact crossover features a reasonably chunky rear bumper and an eye-catching LED taillight bar. 

Other exterior features on the said Kia model include LED fog lamps, high-beam assist, and a shark-fin antenna. 

Inside, the Kia Sonet boasts a well-arranged interior filled with plenty of soft-touch surfaces and convenience-oriented features such as leather-wrapped seats, a push-to-start button, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and 60:40 split-folding rear seats. The Kia crossover uses an automatic air-conditioning system to cool its occupants. 

The Sonet provides a digital gauge cluster for the driver. The latter sits side-by-side with a 10.25-inch central touchscreen infotainment system that offers wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Sound, in turn, is fed into the Kia model’s cabin by a six-piece speaker system. 

To keep devices charged, the Sonet has a wireless charger, several USB ports, and a 12-volt outlet. 

Under the hood, the Kia Sonet uses a 1.5-liter gasoline engine capable of making up to 113 horsepower and 144 Newton Meters of torque. Power is sent to its front wheels via an intelligent variable transmission (IVT) or a six-speed manual gearbox, depending on the variant. 

Dual front airbags, parking distance warning, keyless entry, and an engine immobilizer, to name a few, ensure safety aboard the said model. The latter is supported by an advanced driver-assist suite consisting of forward collision assist, lane-keep assist, and lane-follow assist. 

The price for the Kia Sonet ranges from P758,000-P1.138 million across four variants. 

So what are the rivals of the Kia Sonet in the Philippines? 

Toyota Raize

One of the largest rivals of the Kia Sonet in the Philippine market is the popular Toyota Raize. 

Style-wise, the Raize has an assertive boxy look made all the more aggressive thanks to a large grille and angular headlamps. The latter is accentuated by a black-colored roof and some measure of black plastic cladding on its side. Its rear, meanwhile, gets more eye candy thanks to its LED taillights and angular rear lower bumper. 

Other exterior features of the Philippine-spec Raize include front fog lamps, LED daytime running lamps, LED headlamps, a 17-inch wheelset, a rear spoiler, and power-folding side mirrors. 

For its occupants, the Toyota crossover model gets fabric-covered seats, a 60:40 split-folding rear bench seat, a push-to-start button, and a seven-inch TFT multi-information driver’s display, among others. 

Cooling inside the Raize is done through an automatic air-conditioning system. On-board entertainment, meanwhile, is handled by a nine-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Sound is fed to the cabin by a six-piece speaker system. Charging one’s devices inside the Raize is done via USB ports or a 12-volt accessory outlet.   

Under the muscular-looking hood of the Raize is a 1.0-liter turbocharged inline-3 engine or a 1.2-liter naturally aspirated three-pot gasoline mill. The turbocharged version can make up to 96 horsepower and 140 Nm of torque, while the naturally aspirated version can churn out 86 hp and 113 Nm of torque. 

Depending on the variant, the Raize's aforementioned engines use a continuously variable transmission (CVT) or a five-speed manual gearbox. 

Several standard safety features provide safety aboard the Raize, including dual front airbags, side airbags, curtain shield airbags, a rear-view camera, front and rear parking sensors, stability control, ISOFIX, hill-start assist, and anti-lock braking. The top-spec trim (Turbo) gets a blind-spot monitor and a rear cross-traffic alert system. 

Hyundai Creta

Yet another competitor of the Kia Sonet is the Hyundai Creta.

From a styling standpoint, the Creta borrows the confident looks of its larger Hyundai crossover siblings by implementing a compact version of the brand’s Parametric Jewel Pattern Grille. As a result, the small crossover sports hidden LED daytime running lamps, which are separate from its square-shaped main LED headlamp cluster. 

From the side, the Hyundai crossover sports a set of 17-inch alloy wheels, a lot of deep character lines, and black plastic claddings. Like the models mentioned above, it also has a black-colored roof. Over to its rear are a pair of sharply styled LED taillights and even more angular details. The latter are then capped off from the bottom by a stylish-looking lower rear bumper. 

For its other exterior amenities, the Creta gets power-folding side mirrors, as well as roof rails. 

Inside, meanwhile, the Hyundai-made crossover boasts a well-arranged interior that combines durable plastics and soft touch points. It also gets leather-wrapped seats, a leather steering wheel, a push-to-start button, a 10.25-inch LC gauge cluster, automatic air-conditioning, a cooled glove box, a 60:40 split folding rear seat, 

For onboard entertainment, Hyundai’s entry into the local subcompact crossover segment gets an eight-inch central infotainment touchscreen display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The screen is linked to a four-piece speaker system, while devices can be powered up through a wireless charging pad or USB ports. 

Propelling the Creta is a 1.5-liter engine, which can make up to 113 hp and 144 Nm of torque. Depending on the trim, the said engine goes together with an IVT unit or a five-speed manual gearbox. Like the rest of the models in this list, the Creta is a front-wheel-drive vehicle. 

For safety, the Creta gets anti-lock braking, stability control, hill-start assist, tire pressure monitoring, ISOFIX, a rear seat occupant alert, a rearview monitor, a parking distance warning system, and a manual speed limiter. 

The Hyundai crossover's aforementioned safety features are reinforced by ADAS technologies such as blind-spot collision avoidance assist, forward collision-avoidance assist, driver attention warning, high beam assist, and lane follow assist. 

Pricing for the Hyundai Creta ranges from P1.048 million-P1.388 million across three variants. 

Geely GX3 Pro 

The Geely GX3 Pro is another crossover model looking to make waves in the local subcompact segment. 

On the outside, the Geely-made model features halogen headlamps with automatic functionality, LED daytime running lamps, power-folding side mirrors, and roof rails. 

In terms of appearance, it gets the usual crossover appointments, such as relatively tall ground clearance and black plastic claddings. However, it is more conservatively styled with just the right amount of character lines combined with several exterior chrome bits on its front end. 

The interior of the GX3 Pro gets a stylish dashboard, leather-wrapped seats, and enough space for up to five. Present on the aforementioned dash is a manual air-conditioning system with electronic controls, a push-to-start button, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and an eight-inch central touchscreen. The said screen offers smartphone linking via a third-party app. A six-piece speaker system then feeds sound into the vehicle’s cabin. 

Other interior amenities found inside the GX3 Pro are a 60:40 split-folding rear seat, a sunroof, a push-to-start button, and a 3.5-inch meter cluster. 

Propelling the Geely crossover is a 1.5-liter gasoline inline-4 engine making 102 hp and 142 Nm of torque. Power is sent to its front wheels through a CVT or a five-speed manual gearbox. 

Dual front airbags, stability control, traction control, hill-start assist, hill-descent control, a reverse camera, rear parking sensors, and an engine immobilizer provide safety aboard the GX3 Pro. It likewise has a cruise control system. 

In the Philippines, the Geely GX3 Pro’s price ranges from P778,000- P878,000. 

MG ZS

Another rival the Kia Sonet faces in the local market is the Morris Garages (MG) ZS.

Style-wise, the MG ZS gets a bold exterior look. In particular, the refreshed variants for the model year 2024 come with black-colored exterior bits on its fog lamp housings, vents, and grille. The vehicle's sharp-looking LED headlamp clusters are found on the sides of the aforementioned grille. 

From the side, the ZS assumes a slicker look with some bits of chrome. Its top is also adorned with silver-colored roof rails, but its lower portions on the wheel arches and side sills are clad in black plastic trim. A set of 17-inch wheels provides the MG crossover with a sportier appearance. 

Other exterior features of the ZS include power-folding side mirrors, LED taillights, and LED daytime running lamps. 

Its interior, meanwhile, uses a mix of soft and hard materials sculpted to present a slick and modern cockpit. The latter includes a leather-wrapped flat-bottom steering wheel, a digital gauge cluster, a push-to-start button, an electronic parking brake, and a 10-inch central infotainment display. The aforementioned infotainment system, meanwhile, features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. 

Other interior features of the MG crossover include a panoramic sunroof, a six-piece speaker system, 60:40 split-folding rear seats, and automatic air conditioning. 

For safety, the MG ZS gets cruise control, dual-front airbags, side airbags, curtain airbags, anti-lock braking, stability control, ISOFIX, etc. The latter is reinforced by a 360-degree view camera, intelligent fog lamps, blind-spot detection, etc. 

The MG ZS uses a 1.5-liter gasoline engine mated to a CVT for its engines. The aforementioned powertrain can generate up to 112 hp and 150 Nm of torque at most. 

The MG ZS’s updated trims cost P918,888-P1.088 million. The older pre-updated version, meanwhile, costs P848,888-P1.048 million. 

Photos from Juan Paulo Papa, Ruben Manahan IV, Hyundai

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