On April 25, Kia's all-new small SUV Sonai was officially launched, with two configuration models priced at 91,900 yuan and 100,900 yuan respectively. As Kia's new entry-level SUV, the Sonay replaces the old entry-level SUV E-Pao, with a new look, power and name, rather than an upgrade to the E-Pao, which is puzzling.
In fact, it is not the first time for Kia to change the name and then sell it, starting from the Sportage being called Sportage, Zhipao, KX5, and Liontop, to the switch between KX3 and Setus, it seems that Kia is more enthusiastic about changing the name of the model. As everyone knows, it takes a long time for a model to be accepted by the market and word of mouth accumulation, and changing the name will undoubtedly have a greater impact on its model brand, except for those that do not sell well, of course.
Sonai and Erun may be this "exception". According to the data, the sales volume of Yipao in March this year was only 745 units, and the cumulative sales from January to March this year were 1539 units, which is not even as good as a very niche model like Skyworth HT-i. With the launch of Sonet, Kia may be hoping to capture the freshness and attention of consumers through a comprehensive refresh.
In terms of appearance, Sonai basically continues the design of the Yipao, the body is not large but very coordinated, and the tough lines bring a good sense of momentum. Of course, as a new car, the front face of the Sonai has been newly designed, using a tiger's roaring large-mouth grille, which is connected with the L-shaped headlights on both sides, and is also equipped with a wide front lip decoration below, which increases the visual impact, but it is a bit overdecorated.
From the side, the new car has a more capable figure, and the bottom is equipped with a large encirclement of the whole car, which has a stronger sense of crossover. Compared with the Epao, Sonay's C-pillar has been adjusted, and it is raised backwards under the effect of the two-tone body, which is a little more sporty. The changes at the rear are mainly focused on the low taillights, which have been replaced by a continuous shape with L-shaped ends that echo the headlights.
In terms of dimensions, the length, width and height of the Sonay are 4110/1790/1625mm, respectively, and the wheelbase is 2500mm. Compared with the Yipao, its body length is 4100mm, and the wheelbase is 2570mm, with slight changes and each has its own strengths. Such a size is not popular in the pursuit of large space, which is also one of the reasons for the poor sales of Yipao.
In terms of configuration, the new car provides a 10.25-inch colorful LCD instrument cluster and a 10.25-inch LCD touch screen, integrated with Kia Connect & Baidu Intelligent Interconnection System 3.0, which supports voice control, real-time online navigation, remote control, car-home interconnection, online entertainment, etc. In addition, the high-end model of Sonai also provides L2 autonomous driving assistance, which is relatively rare in the same class of models.
In terms of power, Sonet's engine has been upgraded from the 1.4L of the Easyrun to the 1.5L naturally aspirated engine, with a maximum power of 84.7kW and a maximum torque of 144Nm, which is a lot higher than the 73.6kW of the Easyrun. In terms of transmission, the new model is equipped with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and no longer offers a manual transmission, with a WLTC fuel consumption of 6.29L/100km. A fully rejuvenated Sonay, will you choose?