Sure, if you want to get all emotional over the RS badge then obviously a small 1,4-litre hatch, even with a turbo, is going to fall short of your expectations.
But if you are realistic then you are really going to enjoy all this R225 300 car has to offer.
This Sonic runs the 1,4-litre turbocharged ECOTEC petrol engine that sees a nice 103kW of power at 6 000rpm and a useful 200Nm of torque delivered at 4 000rpm via a close ratio six speed manual gearbox.
I enjoyed the drive that this combo offered but there's a question regarding the tuning of the car that has the torque come in so high.
Doing this made the car feel like it actually wasn't turbocharged because the dollop of torque that normally arrives not long after idle was not there.
The claimed performance figures include a 0 to 100km/h sprint time of 9,5 seconds and a top speed of 197km/h, which seemed achievable to me and would have put the Sonic right in the Suzuki ballpark. Fuel consumption was good too at around 7,0-litres per 100km if you don't spend the day flat out.
The slightly lowered ride height and stiffer suspension set-up that sees MacPherson struts up front and a multi-link setup at the rear provided for a sporty enough drive without being harsh.
You also get a host of other standard features that include 17" gunmetal alloy wheels, multi-function steering wheel with satellite controls for the audio system as well as cruise control, MyLink including full media support and Bluetooth for handsfree cellphone use and audio streaming, piano black and matt silver trim, red RS-specific detailing, sports leather and suede combination seats, sports pedals and RS floor mats.
The Sonic's safety equipment includes disc brakes all-round with ABS, EBD and BAS, ESC and Traction Control, a full-size spare wheel, ISOFIX child seat anchors and four airbags - all of which completes what is a great package at the price.
The multi-function steering wheel has satellite controls for the audio system as well as cruise control.
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