Hyundai Venue VS Kia Sonet : Which Compact SUV to Buy

We have lots of compact SUVs on sale today. The Hyundai Venue and the Kia Sonet are among the most selling SUVs in the Indian market both of them are Korean and both of them are very similar yet they are so different. We will help you to pick the right one for you

Exteriors

The Hyundai Venue and the Kia Sonet are based on the same platform both of them have the exact same length, but the Sonet wider by 20MM, and taller by 37MM.

Dimensions: Hyundai Venue -

Length	Width	Height	Ground Clearance
3995 MM	1770 MM	1605 MM	190 MM

Kia Sonet

Length	Width	Height	Ground Clearance
3995 MM	1790 MM	1642 MM	205 MM

The Kia Sonet is slightly bigger than the Hyundai Venue but actually, the Hyundai Venue looks bigger because of its more proportionate styling. The Kia Sonet has a very stylish design, it has a lot of bold styling elements that are really in your face while the Venue looks pleasant in comparison and the styling is also a bit more simple. The venue actually appeals to a larger section of audiences while Sonet's design is more likely to appeal to the younger generation only. The Hyundai Venue gets halogen projectors and cornering frog lamps while the Kia Sonet fets full LED headlamps, the LED headlamps are really bright but out in the rain, the LED's don't perform as nicely as Projector headlamps. Both the Car gets the same wheelbase even the tire sizes are exactly the same (215/60/16), the design of the alloy wheels isn't very different and both these cars come with red color brake calipers. Both the car comes with shark fin antenna and roof rails but the difference is the fact that the Hyundai Venue has some gap between the body and the roof rails while the once on the Kia Sonet does not have gaps between the body and the roof rails they are directly fixed. The Kia Sonet gets a curved A-Pillar while the A-Pillar on the Hyundai Venue is a bit sharper and it offers better ingress and egress too. The Kia Sonet gets stylish looking rear LED tail lamps with a red stripe that runs across the length of the tailgate reflectors on the rear bumper and halogen bulbs on the indicator and the reverse lamp, while in the Venue you also get LED tail lamps while the indicators and the reverse light are halogens the reverse light of the venue is placed at the bottom part of the bumper. None of them comes with a rear fog lamp. The boot capacity of the Hyundai has a boot capacity of 350-litres while Kia Sonet has a boot capacity of 392-liters.

Interiors

Venue:

The layout of the Venue's cabin feels very familiar it is ergonomic outward visibility is good because the front windshield on the venue is bigger than the one on the Sonet. The common features in the Venue and the Sonet are six airbags, ABS, Vehicle Stability Management, Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Cruise Control, Climate Control, A sunroof, keyless go with push-button start, wireless mobile charger, rear AC vents, automatic headlamps, and an air purifier but the one on the Hyundai Venue is a simple unit while the one on the Kia Sonet has a digital readout. The layout of the AC controls on the Hyundai Venue is much easier to use compared to Kia Sonet because the AC controls on the Sonet look a bit basic and the switches or buttons look a bit cluttered. The venue gets a couple of charging ports at the front along with the wireless charger you get a standard USB port, a 12 Volt charging socket, and another 12 Volt charging socket which has been converted to a USB unit. There is no mirror offered on the driver's side visor there is a mirror offered on the passenger's side visor but there is no separate light for it. The storage spaces at the front in the Venue, you get a storage space in the lower of the dashboard slightly above the glove box, you get a decent number of cup holders in the cabin, there's a small slot in the car to keep the keys and both the doors comes with large bottle holders and small storage spaces. The front seats are comfortable under that support is satisfactory and it also has adjustable headrest for both the front seats. The Venue gets an 8-inch touch screen infotainment system with Apple Car Play, Android Auto the screen is easy to use it is easy to navigate through menus you really don't get lost. This car gets 6 speakers sound system, the sound quality from the stock speakers are just above average it's not all that great. The placement of the screen is much better than the Kia Sonet because it does not hinder the outward visibility something which happens in the Kia Sonet. The space in the rear seat of the venue is decent it is not all that great, the rear seat isn't very wide so seating 3 people at the rear could be a task, but 2 people can seat comfortably along with a kid in the center, the rear seat offers two adjustable headrests, but the Venue does not offer headrest for the center passenger, at the rear seat the car also offers an armrest with two inbuilt cup holders. At the rear, the car also offers AC vents and a single 12V charging socket. The cabin of the Hyundai Venue has a fair amount of hard plastics both at the front and the rear, at the rear there is very less amount of leather that has been used on the doors. The rear doors of the Hyundai Venue get a 1-liter bottle holder each apart from that there is not much space to keep things at the rear.

Sonet:

Just like the Hyundai Venue the Kia Sonet also has very good quality materials and fit and finish on the inside of the car. The Sonet also has a ton of features and it also has a lot more features compared to the Hyundai Venue. The Kia Sonet comes with the much-loved front ventilated extremely useful seat feature. Sonet also gets some more features over the Hyundai Venue, it gets a sound mood lamp feature which is basically ambient lighting along with that the top variant of the Kia Sonet also gets front parking sensors. Both the cars Hyundai Venue and the Kia Sonet comes with a driver rearview monitor which basically shows the feed of the reverse camera on the infotainment screen even when you are driving straight, Just like the Hyundai Venue the Kia Sonet also gets two USB ports up front a single 12V charging socket and two cup holders in the center. The layout of the AC controls in the Kia Sonet looks a bit cluttered it looks very basic and old school the one on the  Venue is easier to use. Kia has used some really lovely and feel-good materials inside the cabin of the Sonet, the seat gets a lovely finish for the upholstery, and the overall ambiance in the cabin is quite pleasant. The outward visibility in the Kia Sonet isn't as good as Hyundai Venue because the windscreen is smaller in size. The front seats are nice and comfortable they are really supportive both the front doors get large bottle holders and some small storage spaces. The touch screen infotainment system is similar to the one on the Kia Seltos, the 10.25-inch screen is nicely placed this also has Android Auto and Apple Car Play the infotainment system also offers wireless Apple Car Play which will turn into a useful feature for many buyers, along with that you also get usual set of features you also get a smart pure air feature so you can turn on or turn off the air purifier using this and there is also a perfume dispenser inbuilt. The Kia Sonet also gets BOSE speakers and the sound quality is much better than the speakers of the Hyundai Venue. Both the cars come with connected car features, the Kia Sonet gets UVO while the Hyundai Venue gets BlueLink connectivity. Even though the Sonet is wider than the Venue by 20-MM space inside the cabin isn't very different, knee room on the Sonet is just about average just like the Venue, headroom is decent but the backrest angle of the rear seat on the Kia Sonet is a bit more reclined compared to the one on the Hyundai Venue, the rear seat of the Hyundai Venue is 40-MM longer than the rear seat of the Kia Sonet which is why the venue offers better under-thigh support. The sonet also gets two adjustable headrests, no headrests for the center passenger and it also offers an armrest with two cup holders. Along with that you also get rear AC vents, a USB port at the rear the one on the Venue is a 12V charging socket and beside the USB port there is a small space to keep a mobile phone. The rear door of the Kia Sonet also just like the Hyundai Venue comes with a single 1-liter bottle holder each along with that the front passenger gets a vanity mirror in the sun visor just like the Hyundai Venue and again there are no individual lights for this.

Ride and Handling:

Both of these cars are really nice and easy to drive the engines offers good performance, all the engine offers good performance. The ride of the Kia Sonet feels stiffer compared to the ride of the Hyundai Venue, The sonet feels stiff and bumpy over bad roads when you drive the car on poor roads the ride of the venue is a lot more comfortable. At low speed, the Venue does feel comfortable and softer than the Sonet. Out on the highways, the venue also remains quite planted but none of these cars have a very involving driving feel. The steering wheel of both the cars feels quite numb and the kind of feedback that you get leaves a lot to be desired. Both these car offers a lite steering but the steering itself doesn't communicate properly with the driver. These cars aren't really meant to push around the corner so you have to go easy, there is a slight amount of body roll in both the cars but isn't too bad not as bad as a full-size SUV of course. While the tire size is exactly the same on both the cars the Kia Sonet gets Appolo tires while the Hyundai Venue gets MRF tires grip levels are fine nothing to complain about as such. Both these compact SUVs can tackle slightly bad roads easily thanks to the ground clearance.

Both of these compact SUVs are so good that recommending one becomes a bit difficult if you want a diesel automatic car the Kia Sonet is your only choice. But for the other variants, we would recommend the Hyundai Venue because it looks a bit more aesthetic has better service and the ride is a bit more comfortable compared to the Sonet.