Turbocharged tyke

 A touch of turbocharging breathes new life into Kia's baby crossover

- Gareth Dean

Price: R359 995 Engine: 1,0-litre, inline-four turbopetrol Transmission: 7-speed, dual-clutch automatic Power: 88 kW @ 6 000 r/min Torque: 172 N.m @ 1 500-4 000 r/min 0-100 km/h: 11,3 seconds Top speed: 185 km/h Fuel consumption: 6,0 L/100 km CO₂: 137 g/km Rivals: Ford EcoSport, Hyundai Venue, Volkswagen T-Cross, Toyota Urban Cruiser/Suzuki Vitara Brezza

Since its introduction to the SA market just over a year ago, the Kia Sonet's combination of rakish good looks, solid build and pleasing road manners has garnered it a great deal of praise from the motoring public. But while its talent spread is broad, the turbo-petrol-shaped hole in the Sonet line-up has been something of a glaring omission in a compact-crossover landscape in which 78% of the models on offer now feature turbocharged powerplants. Now, Kia SA has introduced a brace of newcomers with forced-induction engines into the fray... could this extra power be the thing to elevate the already impressive Sonet from good to great? We sampled the EX model on the local launch in Cape Town to find out.