LEFT FIELD

The Kia Sonet and the Mahindra Thar are selling like hotcakes. Which one of these two vastly different SUVs should you buy?

- AATISH MISHRA

LINING THESE TWO UP SIDE BY SIDE WAS DOWNRIGHT ridiculous. They couldn’t be more at odds with each other — the Mahindra Thar with decades of legacy and heritage, elbowing its way in to the 21st century. Meanwhile, the Kia Sonet is at the bleeding edge of India’s obsession with ‘more for less,’ cramming everything from Bose speakers to a sunroof and ventilated seats into its tiny footprint. At first glance, there seems to be little in common with them save for the fact that they both roll down the road on four wheels. But look closer, and you will start drawing parallels. They’re both under four metres in length. They sit in a similar price bracket. They have got massive waiting periods. That last bit is crucial — both the Thar and the Sonet have managed to command attention from the market like few other cars have in the last year. Spec to spec, there’s no comparing them but plenty of people walking into Kia showrooms have the modernised Thar on their shortlist. And the other way around. It’s a head or heart decision on the face of it, but being the dedicated journalists that we are, we brought them both together to investigate.