Kia Sonet 2024 vs Nissan Magnite

The launch of the 2024 Kia Sonet facelift has filled the segment with excitement. With well-thought-of cosmetic changes adding to the Sonet’s appeal, a host of new features and revamped safety have truly elevated the SUV’s already alluring package. Now that the all-new Kia Sonet is all set to hit the road, it will be exciting to see how the facelift fares against key competitors that are already deep-rooted within the segment. With modern-day technology offered onboard a contemporary package, the Sonet plays well on its value-for-money quotient and affordable price tag. Talking of which it is pertinent to mention the Nissan Magnite, which is hands down one of the most affordable and value-oriented SUVs in the market right now. With its exceptionally humble price tag, the Magnite could be a considerable threat to the Kia Sonet’s potential reign. And for those wondering how, here the all-new Kia Sonet compared head-on with the Nissan Magnite.

Kia Sonet 2024 vs Nissan Magnite: Dimensions

As far as dimensions go, the head-on comparison above shows that despite sharing the same segment, both SUVs are quite different from one another in terms of overall dimensions and appeal. Talking about the Kia Sonet 2024, the SUV comes in as a well-proportioned offering that gracefully balances a contemporary design with classic muscular attributes. With a 32 mm wider and 70 mm higher stance, the Sonet comes with a much more assertive appeal.

Coming to the Nissan Magnite, the SUV’s narrower and shorter silhouette comes topped with a conventional and upright SUV design that is well-implemented keeping in mind the SUV’s compact bodyline. With its distinctive front profile and swanky alloys, the Magnite offers polarising looks that are either an instant hit or a miserable fail. However, despite its compactness, the Magnite offers great cabin comfort and space. Nonetheless, both SUVs are perfect family cars that are easy to drive around in cities as well as highways. 

Overall, when compared head-on, both SUVs offer a compact and balanced silhouette that is perfect for the city. While the Sonet offers an assertive, contemporary and muscular stance, the Magnite on the other hand comes with polarising looks blended with a conventional and upright SUV stance.

Kia Sonet 2024 vs. Nissan Magnite: Engine and Transmission

With a quick glance at the engine comparison above one would realise that the engine game is where the Kia Sonet 2024 gets a technical edge over the Magnite. In terms of what’s offered onboard, both the Sonet facelift, as well as the Magnite come with a turbocharged as well as naturally aspirated petrol engine. 

However, when compared, the Turbocharged engine of the Sonet offers 20 PS of more power and 12 NM of more torque, despite the same cubic capacity, translating to peppier performance, especially when you need those sudden bursts of power. Another factor that adds up to the Sonet’s turbo charm, is the bliss of driving around with the 7-speed DCT that offers exhilarating performance and unmatched responsiveness. But with that said, the Magnite too comes with a 5-speed CVT onboard, that’s equally efficient and fun to drive. Manual transmission mileage is where the Magnite’s turbo engine does well with up to 20.5 km/l on offer, compared to 18.7 km/l offered by the Sonet. In terms of mileage offered by the automatic transmission, the Sonet’s DCT returns 19.2 km/l while the Magnite’s CVT falls behind with 17.7 km/l, which is not bad at all. Overall, both SUV’s turbocharged engines perform well, returning impressive driving dynamics, despite minor differences on paper. 

When it comes to the naturally aspirated petrol engine, the Sonet takes the win, with its bigger 1.2-litre engine, which offers impressively better power (11 PS higher) and torque (19 NM higher) figures. The engine itself is well-refined and performs great in both city as well as highway runs. The only thing the engine misses out on is an automatic transmission, which isn’t offered as of yet. The magnite on the other hand comes with a smaller 1.0-litre naturally aspirated engine that is better when it comes to mileage, but not the best in terms of performance. But with a 5-speed AMT onboard, the combo can be a great pick for those who are looking for a comfortable drive with great mileage of up to 19.3 km/l.

Overall, when considering the petrol versions of both SUVs, for those looking to bring home a turbo-powered SUV, the KIA Sonet Facelift and the Nissan Magnite are both neck-to-neck in terms of real-life performance. But with 20 PS of extra power and 12 NM of extra torque, the Sonet does beat the Magnite, but strictly on paper. But for those who are looking to buy the naturally aspirated petrol version, the Sonet comes in as a much better option in every way, be it power, torque or refinement, despite missing out on an automatic transmission altogether.

The diesel engine arena is where the Kia Sonet facelift takes the unchallenged win since the Magnite fails to offer a diesel engine altogether. With that said, the diesel engine onboard the Sonet is a good one with ample power and torque at its disposal, offering balanced and punchy driving dynamics along with great mileage that goes as high as 22.3 km/l. This engine offers three transmission options including a 6-speed manual, a 6-speed iMT and a 6-speed AMT.

Kia Sonet 2024 vs Nissan Magnite: Features and Comfort

Considering the price tag, both SUVs come loaded with a plethora of onboard features and comfort. However, when compared head-on, the KIA Sonet being the latest offering comes with additional features that the Magnite seems to miss out on. These include hot features such as an electrical sunroof and other features such as bigger touch infotainment, a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, a 4-way powered driver’s seat, voice-controlled power windows, and front ventilated seats.

On the other hand, the Nissan Magnite also comes in as a modern-day offering that is topped with a variety of features, which is a commendable thing, considering the Magnite’s exceptionally affordable price tag.

Overall, the feature game is where Sonet Facelift takes a considerable edge considering that it is the latest compact SUV offering in the market. The Magnite however does not disappoint in any way and is packed with great features onboard, which are justified considering its highly affordable price tag.

Kia Sonet 2024 vs Nissan Magnite: Safety Features

When it comes to safety there is no doubt that the Magnite offers all the basics that are needed for a safe and sound drive. This is evident from the SUV’s 4-star GNCAP rating, which is tough to achieve by several competitors. However, when pitched against the Sonet, the Nissan Magnite seems to miss out on a lot, as the Kia Sonet does exceptionally well thanks to its revamped safety package.

With 6 airbags as standard along with additional safety features such as all four disc brakes, front parking sensors and tyre pressure monitoring system, the Sonet shines high in the safety department. The cherry on the cake is the fact that the Sonet Facelift now comes with Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) onboard and offers advanced safety features such as:

• Forward Collision Warning
• Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (Pedestrian, Car and Cyclists)
• Lane Departure Warning
• Lane Keeping Assist
• Lane Following Assist
• Leading Vehicle Departure Alert
• High Beam Assist and 
• Driver Attention Warning.

Thus, when compared head-on, the all-new KIA Sonet is miles ahead of the Nissan Magnite, thanks to the latest and greatest safety offerings onboard including ADAS.

Kia Sonet 2024 vs Nissan Magnite: Price Comparison

When it comes to the price comparison, the KIA Sonet Facelift comes with a seven-trim lineup that includes HTE, HTK, HTK+, HTX, HTX+, GTX+ and X-LINE. The trims are spread across 19 variants. On the other hand, Nissan Magnite’s variant lineup is spread across 4 trims, including the XE, XL, XV and XV Premium which are spread across a huge 32 variants, including special editions.

While both SUVs have ample variants to choose from, it is the Nissan Magnite that offers the overall price advantage with more trims to choose from. The price game is also where Magnite truly dominates not only this comparison but also the entire segment market. The price-to-value quotient of the Magnite is truly an aspect that bridges the gap between aspiration and affordability.

Starting from the base trim, the saving offered by the Magnite ranges between a whopping Rs. 1.99 to Rs. 3.3 Lakh at the lower and upper ends respectively. Coming to the mid-level trims, this number ranges between Rs. 1.75 to Rs. 3.95 Lakh. The upper-mid trim spread is where the Magnite comes in as an unignorable and value-oriented package, with savings ranging between Rs. 3.67 to 3.94 Lakhs in the lower and upper ends respectively. Finally coming to the top-end trim lineup, the Magnite hits the final blow to the Sonet with mammoth savings that go as high as Rs. 5.9 Lakhs.

Thus as far as price is concerned, the Nissan Magnite is undoubtedly better value for money, especially for those considering the upper-mid and top-end trims. But with that said, the Sonet Facelift does offer better in terms of safety along with better features across trims, making it an alluring option, despite its dearer price tag.

Kia Sonet 2024 vs. Nissan Magnite: Summary

Be it the Kia Sonet Facelift or the Nissan Magnite, both cars come with a great package onboard that offers almost everything one might need. While the Sonet Facelift offers an assertive, contemporary and muscular stance, the Magnite on the other hand comes in with an upright, conventional and polarising look. Coming to the performance and engine, while the Sonet Facelift offers three equally capable engines including a turbocharged petrol and diesel engine, Magnite on the other hand comes with only a naturally aspirated and a turbocharged petrol engine. The Sonet however, takes the lead with its bigger 1.2-litre naturally aspirated engine and a turbocharged engine that comes with slightly better on-paper specifications. Feature-wise, both SUVs offer a lot, but the Sonet takes the win with a lot more offered in every trim. Safety is where the Sonet completely rules, with almost all modern-day safety tech onboard, including ADAS. Finally coming on to the price, while the Magnite truly dominated with its affordability and value, the Sonet Facelift still manages to justify its price.