Good luck with making a decision in this segment, though
Of course the B-segment SUV segment is the fastest growing niche and of course Kia wants a piece of the pie. For that, they’ve come up with the Stonic crossover, which as of today, wears a price tag in the United Kingdom.
Kia expects to sell around 70,000 Stonic models in 2018 alone, with sales steadily growing towards 100,000 units per year, out of which the UK would make around 10%, or 8,000 to 10,000 Stonics sold every year.
We’ve met the new Kia Stonic in the metal at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, but the model was previously shown in June at an event in Amsterdam. The crossover is a close relative of Hyundai’s Kona and shares the same platform and interior with the Kia Rio hatchback.
In the UK, three powerplants define the engine range: a 1-liter turbocharged T-GDi petrol mill with 118 bhp and 171 Nm on tap, followed by the 1.4-liter MPi naturally-aspirated petrol engine making 98 bhp and 133 Nm. The only diesel choice is a 1.6-liter CRDi borrowed from the cee’d range, delivering 108 bhp and 260 Nm of torque.
Fuel consumption-wise, the one-liter returns 56.5 mpg, the n/a engine promises 51.4 mpg while the most frugal alternative remains the diesel, courtesy of a declared fuel efficiency of 67.3 mpg.
Two trim levels are available for now: Stonic 2 and Stonic First Edition. Every Stonic comes with front-wheel drive (Kia doesn’t offer all-wheel drive for the Stonic not even as an option), power windows, hill start assist, 17-inch alloy wheels, rear parking sensors, ESC, LED DRLs, 60/40 split-foldable rear seats and a stability management program linked to a torque vectoring setup, among others.
Optionally, customers can specify the likes of blind spot detection and rear cross traffic alert plus a 7-inch touchscreen controlling the infotainment and navigation systems.
The price list starts at £16,259 for the Kia Stonic 2 1.4 ISG (ISG is Kia’s Start/Stop function). Should you want the 1-liter turbo’ed engine with the Stonic 2 trim level, then the starting sticker is £16,995. At the top of the price pyramid sits the Stonic First Edition 1.6 CRDi ISG model, which will have you pay £20,495.