Kia Stonic Estate

1.0T GDi 99 2 5dr [2020]

SUPER STONIC?

The Kia Stonic offers small SUV buyers yet another tempting choice. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Kia has entered the market for small Juke-style compact Crossover SUVs with this model, the Stonic. It showcases the brand's fresh, more charismatic styling approach and offers buyers a highly personalisable choice in this growing segment.

Kia couldn't afford not to be in the B-SUV segment for Nissan Juke and Renault Captur-style Crossovers. This sector of the market does, after all, currently account for over 1.1 million sales in Europe each year and that figure is only likely to grow. Forecasts expect the number to top 2 million by 2020, at which point ales will overtake those in the 'C' part of the SUV segment - that for Nissan Qashqai and Kia Sportage-sized Crossovers. Kia has noted that the B-SUV segment attracts buyers from across the spectrum, with 21% of customers upsizing from a supermini and another 15% downsizing from their family hatchbacks. Cars like the Stonic also appeal to those looking to replace their compact MPVs. This model is based on the underpinnings and engineering of Kia's Rio supermini and shares much of its design with anther Korean contender in this class, Hyundai's Kona.

As expected, the Stonic shares the engine line-up used in Kia's Rio supermini. That means a range of lightweight, downsized, turbocharged petrol and diesel powerplants, each paired with a manual transmission. Buyers have the choice of the brand's lightweight 118bhp 1.0-litre T-GDI turbo petrol unit, as well as the older-tech but cheaper 98bhp 1.4-litre naturally-aspirated MPI petrol engine. An efficient 108bhp 1.6-litre CRDi diesel engine completes the range, offering the lowest emissions in the line-up. The car's European-tuned steering and suspension are designed to offer the kind of fun responses buyers are now expecting from small SUVs these days. The stiff bodyshell should help here, this having allowed the development team to introduce a more compliant suspension system. A carefully calibrated power steering system should provide decent feel through the helm too. The standard 'VSM' 'Vehicle Stability Management; system includes 'Torque Vectoring; and 'Cornering Brake Control; to help you get the power down through the corners. All models are front-driven: there's not much appetite in this segment for 4WD.

This is one of the most strikingly Kia models we've seen to date, though the shape incorporates several of the brand's key recognisable signature design elements, such as the 'tiger-nose' grille. Styled in Europe, in collaboration with Kia's Korean design studio, the body aims to blend sharp horizontal feature lines with softer sculpted surfaces. The brand knows that individuality is important to many customers in the B-SUV segment and the Stonic's 'Targa'-style roof enables buyers to choose a two-tone paint finish. The idea has been to distance this Crossover from the Rio hatchback on which it's based. Hence also the sharp creases and kinks near the door sills and the way that the window line kinks upwards too. Rugged-looking black plastic cladding runs in a ring around the bottom edge of the car and around the wheel arches, plus there are brushed metal skidplates front and rear. Inside, it's all much more Rio-like. The fascia is basically the same as is the switchgear, though Kia has tried o disguise this with a range of customisable colour schemes. Plusher variants get a seven-inch infotainment touchscreen. Space inside is slightly better than you'd expect from a car of this class, with decent leg and headroom, plus class-leading shoulder room. In the back, a two-step floor allows owners to expand or shrink the 352-litre boot to suit their needs.

Stonic pricing starts at just over £16,000 and rises to just under £21,000; that's the same kind of pricing bracket common to the two leading small SUVs, Nissan's Juke and Renault's Captur. There are currently a coupl of trim grades - '2' and 'First Edition'. It will be available with up to 20 two-tone colour combinations, with a choice of up to five distinctive colours for the roof. The car gets Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity as standard, bringing seamless smartphone-mirroring functionality to the touchscreen infotainment system. Options include niceties like heated front seats, cruise control and keyless entry. Kia claims that the Stonc is an intrinsically very safe car thanks to a strong lightweight platform and bodyshell, 51% of which is fashioned from Advanced High Strength Steel. Thanks to a clever fusion camera system, a wide range of camera-driven safety features are available and buyers can choose from a selection of Kia's 'DRiVE WISE' 'ADAS' 'Advanced Driver Assistance Systems'. These technologies include 'Autonomous Emergency Braking with pedestrian recognition and Forward Collision Alert', plus there's also 'Blind Spot Detection with Rear Cross Traffic Alert', a 'Lane Departure Warning System', 'High Beam Assist' and 'Driver Attention Warning' to further satisfy the safety needs of customers.

The headline engine is Kia's well regarded 1.0 T-GDI petrol turbo unit and it should certainly prove to be very frugal. Expect this 118bhp unit to manage over 55mpg on the combined cycle and under 110g/km of CO2. The older-tech 1.4-litre MPI petrol engine won't be quite as efficient, being likely to return around 50mpg and 120g/km. Obviously, the 1.6-litre CRDi diesel will be much better. Expect about 70mpg and about 100g/km. On all models, Kia's ISG engine stop/start system is standard. As with all Kias, the Stonic is covered by a seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty that's longer than any other car in the same class. Servicing should be affordable and the various pre-paid servicing packages you can buy will further help manage costs in this regard, with 'Care-3' or 'Care-3 Plus' packages offering retail customers fixed-cost, inflation-proof servicing for either three or five years. Should you sell the car in this period, the remaining scheduled maintenance allocation can be passed on to the next owner.

Kia may be a late entrant in the B-SUV segment but it's produced an impressively complete contender here. Change the perception you might have of this brand as being somewhat dull and characterless. Products like the Stinger are changing that and this Stonic model is further evidence that Kia is mastering the art of producing desirable, yet affordable cars. Which is just as well because buyers in the small Crossover class want charisma and individuality, attributes delivered in surprising measure here. If you're buying in this class, this contender is another that really ought to be on our list.