New-look Kia Stonic hopes to steal the Ford Puma's thunder
Kia has spruced up its smallest SUV with tweaks to its technology, styling and powertrain
The Kia Stonic was launched in 2017, making it the brand’s oldest model you can currently buy as a new car. So in a bid to keep it looking and feeling modern, the small crossover has been given a thorough facelift, along with new interior technology.
The fresh look has been heavily influenced by newer models such as the Sportage, Picanto and Kia’s all-electric offerings including the EV3 and EV5. Bringing the Stonic in line with Kia’s ‘Opposites United’ design themes, there’s a completely new front end featuring the ‘Star Map’ LED headlight signature, while the alloy wheels, rear lights and rear bumper are all new too. As a result of the tweaks, the Stonic is 15mm longer than before, although it has the same 352-litre boot capacity.
European specifications for the new Stonic are set to be revealed in October along with pricing later this year. However, we don’t expect a huge change over the current model’s £22,085 entry-point with the Kia still likely to undercut the Volkswagen T-Cross and Nissan Juke, which start at £25,425 and £24,045 respectively.
Two trim levels have been shown off for other markets, but we’ll have to wait and see if UK buyers will be given the choice of both. The differences between the ‘Base Line’ and ‘GT-Line’ include bumpers, wheels and even the steering wheel design.
Like the old car, the updated Stonic offers two 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engines. The standard car gets 99bhp and 172Nm of torque for a 0-62mph time of 11 seconds with the six-speed manual gearbox, or 12.1 seconds with the seven-speed automatic. There’s also a mild-hybrid variant of the same engine with 113bhp, lowering the 0-62mph time to 10.7 seconds. This version is also available with both manual and automatic gearboxes.
Inside the Stonic there’s a new twin-12.3-inch screen set-up on the dash – bringing it in line with the Sportage – along with a sleeker, simpler layout for the air vents and controls for the climate, radio and media.
The Stonic’s 2017 Euro NCAP rating of three stars has expired, but Kia has upgraded the car’s safety technology. This includes a new driver-assistance system comprising blind-spot collision avoidance, forward collision avoidance, navigation-based cruise control, and lane-following assist.
The small SUV genre is a competitive field with the Stonic having to battle the likes of the Ford Puma, Renault Captur and Vauxhall Mokka - all of which have either been updated or completely renewed since the Stonic was last facelifted in 2020. If any of those models or other small SUVs take your fancy, then why not head over to the Auto Express Buy a Car service, where you’ll find loads of fantastic deals.
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