Kia Sonet stuck in slushy Bangalore road: Tow truck to the rescue

Sub-4 meter SUVs are now a very segment in Indian market. The number of contenders in this segment have increased over the last coupleof years. Korean car manufacturer Kia Motors had launched their feature loaded sub-4 meter compact SUV Sonet in the market last year. Just like Seltos, Sonet also became popular among the buyers in a very short span of time. The main reason behind that was its bold looks, feature loaded cabin and price. It competes with SUVs like Hyundai Venue, Maruti Brezza, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300, Ford EcoSport in the segment. The recently launched Nissan Magnite and Renault Kiger are also in the race. Now, these sub-4 meter ‘compact SUVs’ are actually not proper SUVs. They are crossovers/raised hatchbacks made to look like a SUV.  Here we have a video that tells you why such  ‘compact SUVs’ must be treated like hatchbacks.

The video has been uploaded by Shweta and Amitabh on their YouTube channel. The video starts by showing Kia Sonet that is stuck in mud. Now, this is not happening in some rural part of the country but, in Bangalore. It looks like the vloggers their friend were going out for a party when their Kia Sonet got stuck. The vlog does not show how exactly the car got stuck or why is the condition of the road like this. In the beginning of the video, vloggers and their friend can be seen standing outside the car as it got stuck in the mud badly.

According to the vlog, they have been trying to get the SUV out of the mud for over an hour. Kia Sonet is a front wheel drive SUV and the mud seems very soft in the video. It looks like, some sort of construction was going on in the road due to which there was mud. The front wheel was completely inside the mud. The front bumper on the SUV was almost touching the ground.  After trying to get it out for a while, the vloggers realised that it was not going to come out on its own and they called  recovery van. The recovery van then came and towed Kia Sonet and pulled it out of the pit within no time.


If this would have been an AWD or 4WD vehicle in this situation, things might have been a lot more easier. In such SUVs power is not just transferred to one set of wheels. They transfer it to wheel where traction is available and helps it bring in tricky situation like the one seen in the video. The Sonet could have not gone in reverse as there was no traction in the front wheel. This is one of the reason why it is not recommended to go off-roading with 2WD SUVs or crossovers.

Kia Sonet is available with three engine options and variety of transmissions. There is a 1.2 litre naturally aspirated petrol engine that is available with a manual gearbox only. There is a 1.5 litre turbo diesel engine that comes with manual and an automatic transmission. The most powerful engine is the 1.0 litre, three cylinder turbo petrol which comes with 7-speed DCT and iMT gearbox options.