2025 Kia Stonic review
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TechTranscript
00:00The Kia Stonic may not look any different, but there have been some important changes
00:04made to this updated version.
00:06It's got a new engine, it's got new safety tech, and, well, the prices have gone up.
00:11But in this review I'll tell you what you need to know about it, including the best
00:14alternatives to the Kia Stonic.
00:16So if you haven't already, please ring the bell to keep up to date with all of my content,
00:20and let's take a look, shall we?
00:21Just like before, there are three versions of the Kia Stonic available in Australia.
00:31The entry-level model is called the S, and it now gets a few extra features to make it
00:36look a little bit nicer from the outside.
00:37It gets alloy wheels, it used to have steel wheels with hubcaps, but now it gets alloys
00:43and it looks, well, slightly better from the outside.
00:46It still gets halogen headlights and halogen daytime running lights, which is not great.
00:51And on the inside you've got cloth trim with manual seat adjustment.
00:54There's a decent-sized touchscreen media system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and there's
00:59also a new-look digital instrument display as well for the driver.
01:03And that entry-level model also gets new heated folding side mirrors, and front parking sensors
01:09are standard now as well.
01:10I'll tell you a bit more about the safety spec inclusions because there have been some
01:13improvements over the previous version in a couple of sections' time.
01:18Now, this version here is called the Sport.
01:20It does look a little bit sportier on the outside.
01:23It does get the 17-inch alloy wheels, so two inches bigger than the other version below it.
01:27Front fog lights, and on the inside it adds sat-nav to the equation, but in the entry-level
01:32version you get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
01:35In this one you have to plug in because it doesn't work with the sat-nav, they don't play ball together.
01:39So I think that, I mean, could be a consideration for you, maybe.
01:43But at the top of the range is the one that I reviewed last time, the GT Line.
01:48It still looks very much the same as it did.
01:50It gets things like full LED headlights and daytime running lights, and that does make
01:54a difference in terms of the night driving factor because, I mean, it's important to
01:58be able to see where you're going at night, and on the inside it's got different interior
02:01trim too.
02:02So the GT Line, for me, just stacks up as a really good choice if you can afford to
02:07spend the extra money to get into it, but I've got some really good value alternatives
02:11that you might want to consider.
02:14Righto, if you're shopping for an entry-level version of the Kia Stonic, well you might
02:19want to go and take a look at a Hyundai Venue as well.
02:22It is a slightly better proportioned car in terms of the interior space for the size of
02:28that vehicle.
02:29I don't think it's necessarily better to drive or anything like that, it's got a pretty lethargic
02:32engine, but it does have space on its side, and it is a practical, well-priced option
02:38if you aren't so sold on this car in particular.
02:42If you're shopping at the higher spec versions of the Kia Stonic, well, I reckon you should
02:47go and take a look at the Skoda Kamiq.
02:50It's just a few thousand dollars more than this Sport version of the Kia Stonic, but
02:53it does have European flair to it, it's got a 7-year warranty just like this car, but
02:58it also has a thrummy 3-cylinder turbo petrol engine in the base grade, and while it is
03:04missing a couple of features that you might want, it does have a much nicer interior in
03:09my opinion.
03:10And finally, if you are also in that higher end market, the Volkswagen T-Cross is one
03:15you should go and check out.
03:17The updated version of it is about $35,000 for the base grade, and I know that's quite
03:21a lot of money for a little car, but that thing does things brilliantly because it is
03:25very little, but it has big practicality on the inside.
03:29It's also got a nice upmarket feel to the interior, and a sliding second row seat to
03:34make the boot bigger if you want, or to prioritise passenger space.
03:38It's very, very practical, very smart, and well-sized as well.
03:42Would you pick any of those?
03:43Would you choose something different?
03:44Let me know in the comments.
03:48The Stonic is about 4.1 metres in length, so it is a pretty small car compared to some
03:54of the other vehicles in this small SUV segment, and in fact, I think that it looks smart still.
04:01I'm just not sold on this whole hanging on to the idea of halogen headlights and halogen
04:06daytime running lights.
04:08I mean, they're just so dull and they don't work as well at night time, it's disappointing
04:12that Kia didn't decide to upgrade the Stonic with better light technology for the lower
04:18spec versions.
04:20People who drive cheap cars still need to be able to see at night, and people who are
04:23walking on the street still need to be able to see cheap cars, in my opinion.
04:26Alright, so let's have a look at the back end.
04:29Nothing's really changed in terms of the design, but it's still a well-proportioned little
04:33high-riding hatch thingy, so let's have a look in the boot and see how much space there
04:37is to play with.
04:39Okay, so you can see for yourself that that is a pretty decent-sized boot for a little
04:44car like this.
04:45It does have some pretty handy features in the back, too.
04:48So on this side, there's like a little contraband hidey-hole there, and on this side, you've
04:54got a light and a shopping bag hook.
04:56Oh, there's a shopping bag hook on that side as well.
04:58And down here, well, the floor is one of those more flimsy options, but there is a space
05:04saver spare underneath, so that is a bonus.
05:08And I guess you could put this floor up, no you can't, you can't.
05:11It does have the provisions to do so, but no, that's flimsy.
05:16So anyway, put it in its lowest position and you'll be happy anyway.
05:20But it's kind of strange that they've got the provisions there to put a harder floor
05:25covering section in there, but we don't get that, obviously.
05:28Oh, one other thing, there's a little shopping bag hook underneath the parcel shelf, too,
05:32so that adds extra practicality.
05:35I like that.
05:38OK, so some of the other rivals in this class do have a bit more bling on the inside, big
05:43screens and all the flashiness that you might expect, but this car has a bit better functionality
05:49in terms of the technology and gear on the inside.
05:53So you do now have a digital instrument display, it's got digital speed, which is good, and
05:58a digital rev counter as well, and there are some menus on the trip computer that you
06:02can cycle through using the controls on the steering wheel.
06:06Those controls, very simple to get used to, a nice steering wheel as well with leather
06:10on it in this spec, and you also get this touchscreen media system.
06:15As I mentioned, you've got sat-nav built in, and that is handy to have if you're the sort
06:20of person who likes using inbuilt maps, but I'm more often using Apple CarPlay and the
06:27Google Maps system.
06:28So it is pretty good in terms of the tech, yes, you do have to plug in to use the Apple
06:34CarPlay in this particular grade.
06:36The entry-level one, as I said, does get wireless Apple CarPlay, but it doesn't get sat-nav,
06:41so I'm sure you'll make up your own mind as to what you prefer.
06:44What I like about it is that you do get dials here, you've got buttons down below, all this
06:48is tactile and simple to use, and there's not too much to go through in terms of the
06:52actual screen itself, so if you are au fait with Apple CarPlay, and you just plug in your
06:59phone every single time, you'll be happy, I'm sure, in one of these higher spec versions.
07:03But yeah, there's other little things that you might want to pay attention to.
07:06I like this menu layout, and you can adjust things if you want to, but I'm not going to
07:11go into too much detail because I'm sure you'll figure it out if you're interested.
07:14Now you've got climate control in this car as well, as I said, so it's single zone with
07:20dials.
07:21I like that you get dials here as well.
07:22I'm a bit of a dials guy, in case you didn't notice, and, I mean, there's a couple of buttons
07:27down below, recirc, and your demisters front and rear, and also the direction control for
07:31the airflow.
07:33It's a rather conventional looking T-bar shifter, there's a drive mode controller down there,
07:38yep, you've got drive modes in this car, there's a little shelf above that USB port down there,
07:43and yes, I've got my phone plugged in down there.
07:47All those things, pretty handy, 12 volt port there as well, but it's not necessarily that
07:51special in terms of the storage, you've got some cup holders here, manual handbrake, fun,
07:57and also a decent sized centre console bin.
08:00There are some things I want to call out, sorry if the rain's a little bit noisy, just
08:03started, that you do miss out on.
08:05You don't get an auto-dimming rear vision mirror, and you do get these vanity mirrors
08:10with little lights that you have to turn on to use, so that's something, and there's a
08:14sunglasses holder up there as well, I know some people love that.
08:18The cloth trim, I think it's okay, it's not necessarily overly special looking or feeling,
08:23but hey, I think it's good enough.
08:25But what isn't good enough are these scratchy plastics where your elbows sit.
08:30All that is hard plastic, and if you're the sort of person who likes to rest their elbows
08:36on the door when they're driving, yes, that gets uncomfortable.
08:41Down there there's also a decent sized set of bottle holders too, and yeah, I think that
08:46for the most part, it doesn't feel special, it doesn't feel blingy, but it does the practicality
08:50thing pretty well, this car.
08:51So let's check out the back seat and see what it's like.
08:54Righto, so the back seat, yeah, my knees are hard up against the seat in front.
08:59I'm 6 foot tall, 182 centimetres, yeah, I've got a little bit of toe wiggle room, but knees
09:05very much firmly against my driver's seat position, so if you've got tall teens, might
09:10not be the ideal car for you and your needs, but in terms of headspace, it's actually pretty
09:16good.
09:17So yeah, I've got a bit of room above my head, there's a grab handle, there's a coat hook
09:20up there as well, and there is a light, but it's sort of in the middle here, so you don't
09:25get map lights in the back or anything like that.
09:28Missing a few other features as well in the back.
09:31You don't get a map pocket on this seat, but you do get one on that seat.
09:35You don't get directional vents, but you do get a USB-A port.
09:39There is a slight transmission tunnel intrusion down there.
09:42There is a pair of bottle holders in the doors, but there's no flip-down armrest in
09:47this seat, but you do get ISOFIX points in the window seats, and three top tethers as
09:51well, so I mean, it's going to be good enough for some people's needs, but maybe not everyone's,
09:57and same story back here, scratchy, hard, plasticky stuff that doesn't really feel very
10:03nice, but otherwise, I guess you could make it work for a small family, or if you've got
10:08young kids, it might be fine.
10:13Nice to see that Kia Australia has finally added the 1.0-litre turbo petrol three-cylinder
10:17engine across the entire range.
10:19Previously, it was only available in the GT line, and those who bought the cheaper models
10:23had to make do with the far less impressive 1.4-litre engine and six-speed auto, but now,
10:29all of them are this 1.0-litre triple with turbocharged power, and you can see the power
10:34and torque figures on your screen now.
10:36It's a pretty good engine, I have to say, and it comes as standard with a seven-speed
10:39dual-clutch automatic transmission, which takes some learning, and it's front-wheel
10:44drive as standard as well.
10:46Now, let's go for a drive and see what it's like.
10:50Okay, let's go for a drive in this little Stonic.
10:56Now, we're starting off in normal drive mode because, I mean, that's probably what you'll
11:00be driving in, and I think it's actually the best balance in this car.
11:04It is kind of strange to have drive modes in a car that's this cheap because, in theory,
11:08you don't really need them.
11:10If you've tuned the engine and transmission well enough, you shouldn't really need to
11:14have drive modes, but maybe it's just a great selling point in the showroom.
11:20But let's stop here, and let me just actually come to a complete stop.
11:24It's got Engine Start Stop technology, this little turbo petrol, so it's just kicked back
11:28to life.
11:29Now, I'll just put my foot down and see how we go here.
11:33Yeah, actually, that's not bad.
11:36We might just replicate it down here and see if we can find out if there's any difference
11:41on this slight slope.
11:43All right, let's do this right here.
11:47We'll come to a complete stop once more so we can see what happens.
11:52Complete stop.
11:53Yep, Engine Start Stop.
11:55Okay, so let's see how this goes.
11:57Taking off from a standstill, and I'll put my foot pretty much flat to the floor.
12:01Ready?
12:02Three, two, one, go.
12:05Okay, so yeah, you will need to get used to that, and I think the fact that it's got Continental
12:11tyres does help it get the power down, because it doesn't necessarily spin the front tyres
12:17very easily.
12:18I know it's not a hugely torquey engine, so it shouldn't spin the tyres easily, but in
12:23some other vehicles with this sort of engine transmission combo, that can be an issue.
12:29But this seems to be pretty balanced in the way that it behaves itself, but let's put
12:32it into Sport mode and see if it misbehaves then.
12:36So, left here.
12:38Okay, okay, come on.
12:41Oh, there we go.
12:42So yeah, I mean, you will get used to it.
12:47It's not a sporty car to drive.
12:48It does have ample power and torque, I would say, for this sort of application, but yeah,
12:55you just need to be mindful of the fact that it's got a dual clutch and they do behave
12:59a little bit differently to some other transmissions out there.
13:01If you are just going to be doing the distance trip to work and back, you're going to rejoice
13:07in the fact that there is none of that super annoying high-tech safety stuff like speed
13:12sign monitoring to interrupt your drive, and there is a lane keeping system, but it's very
13:16easy to turn off.
13:17You just hold the button down on the steering wheel and it will disable, but otherwise I
13:22think that it's got sort of like a European-ish feel to the drive experience, much more than
13:27some cheap Chinese vehicles out there that you might be cross-shopping, because it's
13:32just got this sort of planted feel.
13:35It's slightly firm in terms of the ride over little lumps and bumps in the surface, but
13:40the general body control and comfort is good, and I think, I mean, for country road driving,
13:47I've driven this car in the country before, and it does do a pretty good job at loping
13:53along on those bumpier roads pretty well.
13:56The steering too is very good, it's nice and accurate with a decent amount of weight,
14:00and it's kind of direct too, so it doesn't take much guesswork in terms of just trying
14:05to switch direction in corners, or if you are going on more of a fun drive, I don't
14:10think this is a fun car to drive, but I do think that it is fun enough, and it's zesty
14:16enough with this three-cylinder engine.
14:19I drove the existing version of this car with the 1.4 litre engine and the six-speed auto,
14:24and it was dull.
14:26This is not dull, this is good, this is much better.
14:29So other things you want to keep in mind, well, you know, if you were buying an MG or
14:32a Cherry, you might get a surround view camera as standard, you don't in this car.
14:36You do get a reversing camera, it's not a bad camera system, but it's good that they've
14:40now got front and rear parking sensors on this car, because that does make a difference
14:44for a city car like this.
14:46On the whole, I am giving this a bit of a tick.
14:49I think it's a nice car to drive, and a nice engine as well, compared to the existing one.
14:55So, what about fuel consumption?
14:57Is it improved?
15:00Alright, on your screen you'll see the official combined cycle fuel consumption figure for
15:05the Kia Stonic lineup, and it's decent, I would say.
15:10I think if you can achieve that kind of number, you'll be very happy.
15:13Now this car hasn't necessarily done heaps of k's, so it might not fully be run-in yet,
15:19but the number that I've seen is still pretty impressive.
15:22You'll see it on your screen now, and that's across a mix of driving, including highway
15:27commuting, some stop-start stuff, the daily errands, all of that sort of stuff that I
15:31do with my test cars when I'm at home, and it can run on regular unleaded petrol.
15:37You don't need to fill it up with premium, which might be a good thing for you, and it's
15:41got a pretty decent-sized fuel tank too.
15:43Nice.
15:48The Stonic achieved the maximum 5-star ANCAP safety rating several years ago, and actually
15:52it wasn't the Stonic that achieved the score, it was the Rio hatchback that this car's based
15:56on, and they didn't retest it to show whether this SUV-ified version of it is the same sort
16:03of performer.
16:04But, hey, 5 stars, if that matters to you, fine.
16:07But the standard safety tech is improved, although not spectacular.
16:12You do get autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian cyclist detection, and there's
16:17also a lane-keeping assistance function.
16:19You get blind-spot monitoring as standard across the range now, front and rear parking
16:23sensors and a reversing camera are all standard as well, but standard is just plain old cruise
16:29control.
16:30No adaptive cruise control, so that might be a deal-breaker for some who do long-distance
16:33commutes and like the reliability of cruise control that does the distance thing for you.
16:38And also, there are six airbags fitted in this car, dual front, front side, and full-length
16:42curtain coverage.
16:44Kia Australia offers a seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty, and for a lot of people
16:50in Australia, that's the reason that Kia has become one of the go-to brands.
16:54There are other brands that offer seven years of warranty now as well, but it was the first,
16:59and let me tell you, it's helped this brand out a lot in this market.
17:03But there's one thing you need to know about that warranty, you sort of do have to pay
17:07for it.
17:08In terms of the ownership costs, like the servicing costs for this car, pretty high.
17:14It requires maintenance every 12 months and 10,000 kilometres, so it's a bit more needy
17:17than other small SUVs on the budget end of things, and it works out to be kind of expensive
17:25to own this car, especially if you do a lot of kilometres.
17:29You'll notice that the average service cost on your screen now, that's high, and remember
17:34that's every 10,000km, so yeah, it could add up.
17:37But you do get roadside assist included if you decide to go for a Kia Stonic and you
17:41service through their network.
17:43What do you think?
17:46This updated version of the Stonic is an improvement on the previous one.
17:50The three-cylinder turbo petrol across the range makes a big difference, and the additional
17:53spec and safety tech certainly does as well, but when it comes to, well, budget SUVs, there's
18:00plenty of choice out there, and you might have noticed I didn't call out any of the
18:04cheap Chinese ones in my Best Alternative section.
18:07There's a reason for that.
18:08I don't think any of them feel quite as accomplished as this, but there's also some really, really
18:12stiff competition out there.
18:14So tell me what you think.
18:15Would you choose this, one of those rivals, or a cheap Chinese one?
18:18I'd love to hear from you.
18:19If you haven't already, please subscribe and ring the bell, and I'll see you in the next one.
18:34Transcribed by https://otter.ai