Kia is planning to introduce a 7-seater version of the Sonet compact SUV for the Indonesian market soon. The Indian version of the Sonet measures 3995mm in length but Kia produces a 4120mm long Sonet SUV for the Indonesian market which is likely to come with interior modifications to accommodate the extra row of seats.
The 7-seater version of the Sonet will come with changes to the interiors which may compromise the boot space but apart from that, the brand may not make any major design changes such as a longer overhang. Kia is also likely to make some changes in the interiors such as air-conditioning vents for the third-row passengers. The brand could also make some cosmetic changes to the exteriors to help customers differentiate the 5-seater model from the 7-seater.
In the engine department, the Kia Sonet 7-seater is likely to carry over the same engine options from the 5-seater model. Powering the India-spec Sonet is a 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol motor, a 1.0-litre T-GDi turbo-petrol engine and two options in the 1.5-litre CRDi diesel engine, one with a WGT turbo-diesel and another with a VGT turbo-diesel engine. The brand is also likely to provide a plethora of transmission options such as the 5-speed manual transmission, a 6-speed clutch-pedal less iMT (intelligent manual transmission), a 6-speed torque converter type automatic gearbox and a 7-speed DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission) automatic gearbox. The 7-seater Sonet for Indonesia is likely to come with a 1.5-litre dual CVVT dual-injection petrol motor that makes 115 PS of power and 144 Nm of torque.
The brand’s Anantapur manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh, India produces both the India-spec and Indonesian-spec models, but the smaller sub-4-metre Sonet benefits in terms of taxes due to its smaller size.
Kia is also planning to introduce a 7-seater MPV that underpins the SP2 platform which also underpins the Kia Seltos and the Hyundai Creta. A test mule of the 7-seater MPV codenamed ‘KY’ has been spotted testing recently in its home market.