Kia adds to SUV garage with compact Stonic

Kia Motors has topped up its SUV offerings with the arrival of the recently upgraded Stonic model.

Developed off the core Rio platform, the first generation of the Stonic was released in Europe in 2017 but Kia is confident the upgraded Stonic PE has ticked the right boxes to now join its local SUV range here in Australia.

“When Stonic was first mooted we had a close look at it and made the decision that Seltos made a more attractive proposition for the Australian market – a decision backed by the fact that at the time, there was limited Stonic supply available for Australia,” Kia Motors Australia Chief Operating Officer Damien Meredith said.

“What Stonic offers are all the touch points people find so desirable in an SUV-style vehicle in a practical, urban-sized package which is both affordable and easy to live with.”

Like all new Kias, the Stonic benefits from extensive standard equipment across the three-model range S, Sport and GT-Line and KMAu’s extensive localised ride and handling tuning program.

The Stonic starts at $22,990 drive away for the S manual ($1000 extra for 6-speed automatic), $24,990 drive away for the Sport manual ($1000 extra for automatic) and $29,990 drive away for the GT-Line which features the addition of the 1.0-litre turbo GDI engine, and a 7-speed dual clutch transmission.

Both engines will drive the front wheels, through a choice of 6-speed manual or automatic in the 1.4 models or 7-speed DCT in the GT-Line. The 1.4 has a impressive fuel economy of 6.0 l/100km in manual trim (6.7 in automatic) with the turbo GDI using 5.4 l/100km. From an environmental perspective CO2 emissions range from 155 g/km for the 6-speed automatic down to 125 g/km for the turbo.

As with all Kia models, safety is a priority in the new Stonic with a host of active and passive systems offering protection for driver and passengers across all scenarios. Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) is standard across the range with car, pedestrian and cyclist recognition with an activation spread ranging from 5km/h to 180km/h for vehicles and 5km/h to 85km/h for pedestrian and cyclists. Alongside 6 depowered airbags (driver, passenger, two side and two curtain bags) further safety features include:

• Driver Attention Alert (DAA)
• Leading Vehicle Departure Alert
• Lane Keeping Assist (LKA)
• Lane Following Assist (LFA)
• Parking Distance Warning (PDW)
• Rear Occupant Alert (ROA) .
• Cornering Brake Control (CBC)
• Vehicle Stability Management (VSM)
• Straight-Line Stability (SLS)