Kia Sonet 0-100 kmph Acceleration: Diesel MT vs Diesel AT

Kia Sonet is gaining a lot of popularity around the Indian audience. The sub-compact SUV is clocking numbers on the sales chart faster than all other Kia cars that are sold in the country. But, if it is similarly fast in a pedal to metal test, we thought of finding that out. At our disposal, we had the diesel manual and diesel automatic trims of the Sonet. Hence, we conducted a 0-100 acceleration run with both cars. A total of three runs were performed for both the variants. However, before we tell you the result, let’s have a glance at the specifications of Sonet’s diesel engine.

It is a 1.5L 4-cylinder turbocharged unit that pushes out a peak power output of 100 PS against a peak torque of 240 Nm when coupled to the 6-speed MT. With the 6-speed AT in place, the peak power and torque outputs are rated at 115 PS and 250 Nm, respectively. In the first attempt, the MT variant took 11.83 seconds to reach the 100 kmph from the standstill, whereas the AT trim took 12.27 seconds.

In the second attempt, the Sonet with the stick shift gearbox reached the 100 kmph mark on the speedo in just 11.84 seconds. The torque-convertor-equipped car, however, managed to clock the 100 kmph mark in 12.12 seconds. In the third and final attempt, the time reduced to 11.43 seconds for the MT trim and to 12.03 seconds for the automatic variant. Well, with these numbers at our convenience, we can say that the diesel variant of Sonet feels faster with the manual gearbox, though it produces 15 PS less power and 10 Nm less torque than the AT trim.

A big reason for this goes to the fact that torque-converters are basically fluid-couplings, and therefore weigh a tad bit higher than a manual gearbox. Also, the overall gear actions (upshift/downshift) are slower here in comparison to a manual gearbox. Other than a diesel engine, the Sonet is offered with two petrol engines as well – 1.2L N/A petrol and 1.0L turbo-petrol. Also, two more gearbox options are available with the Sonet – 6-speed iMT and 7-speed DCT.