The Kia Stonic is the access SUV of the Korean brand, a small SUV that the truth is that it does not have excessive relevance within the range of the firm, which has its main strongholds in other models. Despite this, it is a remarkable and very reliable vehicle: these are the opinions of the Kia Stonic that the autobild.es team has.
But first, we must make a general review of the model to put ourselves in a situation and place it within the Kia range.
And the truth is that the Stonic is somewhat soulless, since it has a correct offer but it does not go further, something that is clear when compared to the Kia Ceed (and its Xceed jacket version), the Kia Sportage or, looking at Hyundai, the Hyundai Kona, his cousin, who has received a lot of care and has a really short range of variants.
At his side, the proposal of the Kia Stonic seems compliant and correct, but without further ado. The access engine is a naturally aspirated 84 hp 1.2 associated with a five-speed manual gearbox that is an unrecommended alternative in general terms, for power and performance.
The other block available is the 1.0 T-GDi, which has microhybridization (and the DGT ECO label), in addition to being available in two powers, 100 and 120 hp, either solvent to move a model of these characteristics.
Kia Stonic tests at autobild.es
Kia launched it in 2017 and from the first time we were able to put ourselves at its controls, the tone that was going to set the model was clear: “a product that has all the ballots to become a success: striking aesthetics, a good range of engines and a sale price from 12,919 euros”, we wrote in our first contact.
After that, it took us a while to face some of its most direct rivals. In a test against four other models (Seat Arona, Opel Crossland, Mazda CX-3 and Volkswagen T-Roc) it came in a creditable third position.
Of him we said that “it is a balanced car that has no notable flaws or stands out especially in any aspect, except for its great seven-year warranty.”
Later we would compare it again, this time with two other heavyweights in the B SUV segment: Renault Captur and Skoda Kamiq. It would not go so well for him and he finished in last place, highlighting his sportsmanship but weighing down the fact that he “lacks space, comfort and voice control”.
We also had the opportunity to do a 100,000 km test in which he got an 8. There was not much expectation before his arrival, but he ended up beating the team, who highlighted “the size is adequate for the city, the appearance is nice, the technology solid, just like the finishes. Just a little more refinement would round out an almost round product even more.”
And last year, with its mid-life update, we got on it again to ratify a continuous line that was clear in the headline itself and earned it revalidate its remarkable something: “facelift and the same sincerity always”.
