
This month, I got to spend a few days with two luxury cars – the spanking new Volvo S60 and the updated Audi A4. Usually, when it’s time to go back to mass-market machines after driving cars such as these, it feels like a crash landing back on earth, with your face firmly pressed against the grim realities of life. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad this time, all thanks to the Sonet. In fact, truth be told, it wasn’t bad at all. That’s because the Sonet feels right up there with the big boys in terms of creature comforts, cabin quality, and refinement. It’s so well equipped and so damn refined that it spoils you silly. And it’s not just the features, it drives like an expensive car too. For a compact-SUV, it’s a winning combination with very little to complain about.
That said, with constantly dropping mercury levels in Delhi, the Sonet’s diesel-engine clatter has become even more pronounced during cold starts. It gets better once the engine warms up, but that takes a good 10 minutes or so. Apart from that, this engine does enjoy sipping fuel. In normal city driving, it returns close to 12.5km/l. I thought it was quite bad, and then Dhruv took the car for a couple of days and, with his driving style, he could only manage 10km/l from the Sonet.
- LOGBOOK
When it came: October 2020
Current Odo reading: 8,908kms
Mileage this month: 1,289kms
Fuel efficiency: 13km/l
What’s good: Quality, creature comforts
What’s not: Drinks fuel
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