Kia Clavis SUV to be positioned between Sonet and Seltos
To be a lifestyle offering, albeit without an AWD option
Clavis petrol to debut by the end of this year, launch early 2025
Kia Clavis design highlights
While the test mule is fully camouflaged, the boxy shape of the SUV is evident. The SUV boasts of a flat roofline with functional roof rails, while the bonnet, nose and the rear-end are also upright and flattish. The diamond-cut alloy wheels seem to have taken inspiration from the facelifted fourth-gen Kia Carnival MPV. The Clavis will be a sub-4-metre SUV, but its upright styling would result in better headroom compared to the Sonet. Bigger windows would also contribute to the cabin feeling airier. Essentially, it will be more lifestyle-oriented that the Sonet which is quite urban.
Kia Clavis powertrain options
As we’ve reported earlier, the Clavis will be offered with both petrol and electric powertrains. Both versions will be based on the same platform and a hybrid powertrain could also be introduced at a later stage. However, all versions will feature a front-wheel drive configuration as standard, with specific details about the powertrains available closer to its debut.
Kia Clavis launch timeline
The petrol-powered Kia Clavis SUV is expected to be unveiled in India by the end of this year, followed by a launch in early 2025. The battery-powered version of the Clavis is expected to arrive about six months later. Considering its market positioning, the Kia Clavis will be slightly pricier than the Sonet, which is currently priced at Rs 7.99 lakh.
Update (Dec 21, 2023): After carefully analysing the brochure and variant wise features of the Sonet 2024, we have updated the expected prices of the Sonet facelift. Please note that these are our estimations based on the information available as of December 21, 2023. We’re not expecting to modify these prices anymore. So, you can consider this as the final revision from our side to the Sonet 2024 expected prices.
As we saw with the Seltos facelift, we’re not expecting any significant price revisions. At the time of the launch, even the Seltos facelift didn’t add too much to the old Seltos price. Even with the addition of ADAS, dual-zone auto AC and a larger sunroof, the prices were only mildly higher than the older model.
We’re not expecting Kia to disrupt the market with the Sonet facelift either. So, we should see a marginal increase at best in the Sonet facelift’s prices over the outgoing model. However, we also have to keep in mind the feature revisions. Every single variant of the new Sonet gets a few extra features. The 2024 Sonet price expectation following table takes all of these factors into account:
2024 KIA SONET FACELIFT
EXPECTED PRICE (EX-SHOWROOM)
Variant
1.2L Petrol MT
1.0L Turbo Petrol ACMT
1.0L Turbo Petrol Auto
1.5L Turbo Diesel MT
1.5L Diesel ACMT
1.5L Diesel Auto
HTE
₹8,00,000
–
–
₹10,00,000
–
–
HTK
₹9,00,000
–
–
₹11,00,000
–
–
HTK+
₹9,90,000
₹10,70,000
–
₹11,70,000
–
–
HTX
–
₹11,70,000
₹12,50,000
₹12,20,000
₹12,60,000
₹13,40,000
HTX+
–
₹13,00,000
–
₹13,50,000
₹13,80,000
–
GTX+
–
–
₹13,90,000
–
–
₹14,90,000
X-Line
–
–
₹14,00,000
–
–
₹15,00,000
The only notable thing here is that the Sonet facelift is getting a new diesel-manual powertrain, which wasn’t available earlier. This will help them keep the starting prices for Sonet diesel buyers under control as it won’t get the auto-clutch manual transmission.
Even with the addition of ADAS features in the 2024 Sonet top model shouldn’t increase the prices too much. We noted with the Seltos facelift that even with so many extra features in the top model, the launch prices still respected the Rs. 20.0 lakh price barrier. While Tata have already breached it with the Nexon diesel-automatic, we still expect Kia to mind it. Unlike Tata, we have seen sensible pricing from Kia in the past and we’re confident that even with the Sonet 2024, we should get a reasonable price tag for most of the variants.
Thus, we expect the Sonet 2024 facelift to cost between Rs. 8.0 lakh and Rs. 15.0 lakh (ex-showroom).
Now, let’s evaluate each variant one by one to see how much it could cost. For this estimation, we’ll use the old Sonet’s prices as the baseline. Then, we’ll see the feature changes and add the appropriate perceived value for the features. Here, we’ll also take into account any other considerations like round figures and Kia’s historical pricing strategy to get to a final price. To know more about what you get extra with each variant of the new Sonet, visit the following link:
In the base model, you get almost Rs. 35,000 worth of features but you also lose some basic features. Net, the new Sonet base model adds about Rs. 30,000 worth of features over the outgoing model. To keep the prices under Rs. 8.0 lakh, we expect Kia to ask for another Rs. 20,000 for this model.
As for the HTE diesel-manual, this powertrain is new for the Sonet. But the Sonet diesel-ACMT was earlier available for Rs. 9.95 lakh (ex-showroom). With the lack of auto-clutch manual, we can expect it to make up for the additional features and maintain a sub-Rs. 10.0 lakh starting price.
KIA SONET HTE PRICE EXPECTATION
(Ex-Showroom)
Powertrain
Old Price
Difference
Exp. Price
1.5L turbo diesel-ACMT
Rs. 9.95 lakh
–
Not Available
Difference
Rs. 2.16 lakh
–
1.2L petrol-MT
Rs. 7.79 lakh
Rs. 21,000
Rs. 8.0 lakh
Difference
–
Rs. 2.0 lakh
1.5L turbo diesel-MT
Not Available
–
Rs. 10.0 lakh
Kia Sonet 2024 HTK Expected Price Logic
The HTK variant adds almost Rs. 40,000 worth of features. So, we’re expecting the new Sonet to deliver better value here by only asking for Rs. 30,000 more. This way, the petrol variants price will remain (barely) under Rs. 9.0 lakh while the diesel-manual can respect the Rs. 11.0 lakh psychological barrier.
Here again, the older 1.2L petrol to diesel price gap can remain at Rs. 2.0 lakh. The lack of auto-clutch (IMT) will help compensate for the costs of adding extra features.
KIA SONET HTK PRICE EXPECTATION
(Ex-Showroom)
Powertrain
Old Price
Difference
Exp. Price
1.5L turbo diesel-ACMT
Rs. 10.69 lakh
–
Not Available
Difference
Rs. 1.99 lakh
–
1.2L petrol-MT
Rs. 8.70 lakh
Rs. 30,000
Rs. 9.0 lakh
Difference
–
Rs. 2.0 lakh
1.5L turbo diesel-MT
Not Available
–
Rs. 11.0 lakh
Kia Sonet Facelift HTK Plus Expected Price With Logic
The Sonet 2024 HTK Plus variant adds about Rs. 12,000 – 15,000 worth of features. But the price gap could be higher than that. The Sonet HTK Plus 1.2L petrol could cost Rs. 9.90 lakh and remain below the Rs. 10.0 lakh psychological barrier.
Meanwhile, the jump to the turbo petrol is easier to justify as it may only cost Rs. 80,000 more. Not only does it offer more power and better drivability, it does so without compromising on the fuel efficiency. Not to mention, the inclusion of auto-clutch manual transmission makes it almost as good as an automatic in crawling traffic.
This variant may maintain a turbo petrol to diesel price gap of Rs. 1.0 lakh. While it was only Rs. 90,000 before, we expect Kia to keep this variant a little pricey so that the jump to diesel-ACMT comes across as more reasonable. With this strategy, regardless of whether the buyer chooses HTK Plus diesel-MT or the HTX diesel-ACMT, Kia will stand to make a better profit.
KIA SONET HTK PLUS PRICE EXPECTATION
(Ex-Showroom)
Powertrain
Old Price
Difference
Exp. Price
1.2L petrol-MT
Rs. 9.64 lakh
Rs. 26,000
Rs. 9.90 lakh
Difference
Rs. 85,000
Rs. 80,000
1.0L turbo petrol-ACMT
Rs. 10.49 lakh
Rs. 21,000
Rs. 10.70 lakh
Difference
Rs. 90,000
–
1.5L turbo diesel-ACMT
Rs. 11.39 lakh
–
Not Available
Difference
–
–
1.5L turbo diesel-MT
Not Available
–
Rs. 11.70 lakh
New Kia Sonet HTX Expected Price With Logic
The HTX variant of the Sonet 2024 could cost Rs. 11.70 lakh with the turbo petrol-ACMT powertrain. This price is Rs. 25,000 higher than before as it also gets almost Rs. 30,000 worth of additional features than before.
The gap from petrol-ACMT to petrol-automatic will be higher than before as it also gets some Rs. 25,000 – 30,000 worth of additional features. Similarly, these extra features are also available with the diesel-ACMT and diesel-automatic powertrains but not with the diesel-manual. This move will also encourage buyers to skip the diesel-MT and go with the diesel-ACMT for better value.
KIA SONET HTX PRICE EXPECTATION
(Ex-Showroom)
Powertrain
Old Price
Difference
Exp. Price
1.0L turbo petrol-auto
Rs. 11.99 lakh
Rs. 51,000
Rs. 12.50 lakh
Difference
Rs. 44,000
Rs. 80,000
1.0L turbo petrol-ACMT
Rs. 11.45 lakh
Rs. 25,000
Rs. 11.70 lakh
Difference
Rs. 80,000
Rs. 90,000
1.5L turbo diesel-ACMT
Rs. 12.25 lakh
Rs. 35,000
Rs. 12.60 lakh
Difference
–
Rs. 40,000
1.5L turbo diesel-MT
Not Available
–
Rs. 12.20 lakh
Difference
–
Rs. 1.20 lakh
1.5L turbo diesel-auto
Rs. 13.05 lakh
Rs. 35,000
Rs. 13.40 lakh
Kia Sonet 2024 HTX Plus Expected Price With Logic
The HTX Plus variant of the Sonet facelift adds a little more than Rs. 25,000 worth of features. So, we’re also expecting the similar jump to reflect in the new prices.
KIA SONET HTX PLUS PRICE EXPECTATION
(Ex-Showroom)
Powertrain
Old Price
Difference
Exp. Price
1.0L turbo petrol-ACMT
Rs. 12.75 lakh
Rs. 25,000
Rs. 13.0 lakh
Difference
Rs. 80,000
Rs. 80,000
1.5L turbo diesel-ACMT
Rs. 13.55 lakh
Rs. 25,000
Rs. 13.80 lakh
Difference
–
Rs. 30,000
1.5L turbo diesel-MT
Not Available
–
Rs. 13.50 lakh
Kia Sonet Facelift GTX Plus Expected Price With Logic
The GTX Plus variant is where you can expect to see some real fireworks. Because of the ADAS features, the value proposition just jumps through the roof. Since they are using cameras to enable ADAS, the cost of implementation is low. But, the real-world benefits are immense if it ends up working as intended.
We feel like this variant will offer a perceived value of almost Rs. 1.0 lakh with the ADAS features while costing only a little more. Keeping the prices per our expectations will also allow Kia to keep the GTX Plus variants under the psychological barrier of Rs. 14.0 lakh for the petrol-automatic and Rs. 15.0 lakh for the diesel-automatic.
KIA SONET GTX PLUS PRICE EXPECTATION
(Ex-Showroom)
Powertrain
Old Price
Difference
Exp. Price
1.0L turbo petrol-ACMT
Rs. 13.09 lakh
–
Not Available
Difference
Rs. 70,000
–
1.0L turbo petrol-auto
Rs. 13.79 lakh
Rs. 11,000
Rs. 13.90 lakh
Difference
Rs. 80,000
Rs. 1.0 lakh
1.5L turbo diesel-auto
Rs. 14.69 lakh
Rs. 21,000
Rs. 14.90 lakh
Difference
Rs. 80,000
–
1.5L turbo diesel-ACMT
Rs. 13.89 lakh
–
Not Available
New Sonet 2024 X-Line Expected Price With Logic
With a Rs. 10,000 space for plough through, we can expect Kia to use it for the X-Line variants. It also adds a couple thousand rupees worth of features. So Rs. 10,000 jump from the GTX Plus is reasonable.
KIA SONET X-LINE PRICE EXPECTATION
(Ex-Showroom)
Powertrain
Old Price
Difference
Exp. Price
1.0L turbo petrol-auto
Rs. 13.89 lakh
Rs. 11,000
Rs. 14.0 lakh
Difference
Rs. 1.0 lakh
Rs. 1.0 lakh
1.5L turbo diesel-auto
Rs. 14.89 lakh
Rs. 11,000
Rs. 15.0 lakh
Why 2024 Sonet Facelift Won’t Cost More Than Rs. 15.0 Lakh?
It’s worth noting that the Nexon was the first car in the B2-SUV space to blow through the Rs. 15.0 lakh psychological price barrier. It offers such poor value and feature distribution that we couldn’t recommend even a single variant of the car.
So, it’s not unrealistic to expect the Sonet to also do so. However, we’re still betting on Kia to approach the Sonet 2024 with a sensible pricing strategy and bring it back in the game with a bang. We’re pretty confident that this pricing will help the Sonet achieve consistent 5-figure monthly dispatch numbers and turn on some heat on the low value-for-money offerings like the Nexon.
If you are interested in learning more about the variant-wise features of the new Sont facelift and our booking recommendation, you can watch the following video: