They say you can’t sit in two chairs at once. They’re clearly unaware of the Hyundai Motor Group. No, not the Hyundai Motor Company that has sold India some great cars through its wholly owned subsidiary Hyundai Motor India Ltd. since 1996, but the aforementioned parent organisation that also owns the newest Korean kid on the Indian automotive block, Kia Motors. Just a few hours ago, my inbox rattled with two new emails, one from Kia and one from Hyundai, both announcing the appointment of Euisun Chung as chairman of the Hyundai Motor Group. Makes me wonder why they were both skittish about this story.
Perhaps all this distance away from the Korean Peninsula, the unifying possibility of Kim Jong-un blowing them both up doesn’t quite register anymore. Or perhaps the Kia Sonet does have a chance of upsetting the order that Hyundai has established over two and a half decades, one that continues with the Venue. Nonetheless, an opinion will not unsettle confident manufacturers, as sure as marketing clichés that come as standard equipment in brochures. In fact, I think it’s quite a clever strategy, one that is quite plain to see, but I shall come to that later. The machines always come first.
To begin with, the name ‘Sonet’ isn’t inspired by a 13-line poem. Instead, it’s a portmanteau of ‘social network’; anyone who’s seen the documentary The Social Dilemma will likely flinch at this. The Venue, on the other hand, still lends itself to location-based humour. For this particular story, we had both the Sonet GTX+ and the new Venue Sport trim propelled by the lovely 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol, its progress monitored by the new 6-speed iMT, the gearbox that allows one to shift gears manually but which has no clutch pedal. In fact, this gearbox is just one of the ways in which the Korean expertise with technology comes through in both the cars.
This story is from the November 2020 edition of Motoring World.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 2020 edition of Motoring World.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Sedan Sensation
Volkswagen Virtus is India's definitive choice for sedan!
PLEASANT X-FACTOR
The X3 delivers a thrilling driving experience without sacrificing comfort, making it the ideal SUV for the discerning driver
ONWARDS AND UPWARDS
In the last two decades, India has seen unprecedented growth in public infrastructure. We set out to experience some of it first hand, in partnership with Mahindra and JK Tyre
THAT FAMILIAR FEELING
There's a new Swift in town. Is it a case of 'so what else is new?'
COFFEE CULTURE
Two friends head out to explore the coffee capital of India with the Nissan Magnite HRAO X-Tronic CVT
PLEASANT X-FACTOR
The X3 delivers a thrilling driving experience without sacrificing comfort, making it the ideal SUV for the discerning driver
P FOR VENDETTA
Makes sense considering that a V-Strom comes with a parallel-twin engine, right?
ONE FOR ALL
Pretty obvious thing to say about a scooter, right? Yet here we are...
GOOD COLD DAYS
Riding the new Himalayan in the new Himalayas (sort of)
A MOTHER'S EMBRACE
Volvo C40 Recharge: A safe and sustainable choice!