Kia Stonic review

The Kia Stonic is the Korean marque's take on the small SUV, a type of car that’s now so irresistible to buyers who once drove handy little hatchbacks. 

In fact, the Stonic has managed to outlive the rather mediocre Kia Rio hatchback it’s based on, adding chunky wheels and tyres, a bit more height and tougher styling for a bit of SUV ruggedness. 

It’s one of the smaller contenders in the class and has an attractive price tag as well, so it could well be the answer for those who’d like a slightly raised seating position and a more car-like driving experience than its bigger rivals.

How does it stack up against the best small SUVs, though? Well the talented Volkswagen T-Roc is at the pricier end of the scale, but there are plenty of contenders that major on value, including the Ford Puma, Renault Captur, Seat Arona, Skoda Kamiq and more.

In other words, the Kia Stonic has a tough fight on its tyres. Read on to find out how it fares.

How fast is it and which engine is best?

The cheapest Kia Stonic engine, which is only available with the entry-level Pure trim, is the 98bhp 1.0 T-GDi. Performance-wise, it'll officially get from 0-62mph in 11.0sec with a manual gearbox and 12.1sec with the seven-speed automatic ‘box. The former’s time is about the same as the equivalent Seat Arona TSI 95 and Skoda Kamiq TSI 95.

So far, we’ve tested the manual version. The engine and gearbox are a good match for each other, with the engine being nippy enough when driving around town. You do have to work it hard to get up to speed, though.

The two more expensive trims – GT-Line and GT-Line S – get a more powerful unit developing 113bhp with the help of mild hybrid tech. We’ve tested this engine with the automatic gearbox, and while it’s better at keeping up with fast-flowing traffic, you still have to work it quite hard. We managed a 0-60mph time of 10.2sec, vs 9.2sec against an equivalent Arona TSI 115. The Arona has more low-down shove and pulls consistently across the rev range, feeling far more effortless to drive.

We haven’t yet tried this engine with the manual gearbox, but we’ll report back once we have. 

All Stonics feature front-wheel drive. If you want a small SUV with four-wheel drive take a look at the Suzuki Vitara or VW T-Roc.

Is it agile and is the ride comfortable?

The Stonic isn’t the tallest or widest small SUV in the class, which makes it feel a bit more car-like and easy to manoeuvre down tight city streets.

On the open road, it doesn’t lean too much, either. However, we’d stop short of calling it fun to drive, because it doesn’t feel as tied down as the best in class. Mid-corner bumps can cause the car to briefly wallow before it settles down again.

Meanwhile, the Stonic’s light steering that works well in town feels vague at higher speed and doesn’t inspire much confidence. The Ford Puma and Arona are sharper and much more enjoyable to drive. 

The Stonic’s ride settles down well enough at motorway speeds but it doesn’t take much for the ride to trip up over bumps. At worst, the back of the car thumps over harsher imperfections, while occupants are jostled around in their seat. At low speeds, there’s a subtle amount of fidgeting that’s simply absent in the Arona, Kamiq or T-Roc, which remain smooth and controlled right up to a high speed cruise.

Is it quiet and how easy is it to drive smoothly?

On the motorway, all Stonics suffer from wind noise filtering through the side windows and a moderate level of road noise. You can also hear the suspension thumping away as it takes on the brunt of harsher bumps. The engine is also pretty vocal when you work it hard, which you have to do more frequently than rivals when keeping up with traffic. The Seat Arona, Skoda Kamiq and Volkswagen T-Roc are quieter alternatives.

The six-speed manual gearbox you get as standard is slick and precise. The seven-speed automatic changes gears pretty seamlessly, but the Stonic’s default Eco drive mode really dulls the car’s initial accelerator response, meaning it can be a bit hesitant to kick down a gear when you ask it for a sudden burst of speed. 

This also means there’s a frustrating pause when setting off from stationary, and while switching into Normal mode will sharpen up the response, it’s still far from perfect. Sometimes, the Stonic will move off the line with just the right amount of urgency, while at others, it’s almost overcompensating and ends up feeling quite lurchy, especially when trying to drive gently uphill. This unpredictable response makes it quite jerky to drive.  

More positively, the mild hybrid system fitted to the 113bhp engine has a clever clutch system that allows the car to coast at higher speeds to save fuel, and when the engine restarts, it does so unobtrusively.

The brake pedal in the mild hybrid version has to blend its regenerative braking system (that charges up the battery while slowing the car down) with its regular friction brakes, and it does so smoothly at low speeds. It’s just a shame when stopping from high speeds the pedal initially feels light before the brakes suddenly bite, which results in a slightly grabby response. 

“The manual gearbox enhances the Stonic’s driving experience, allowing you to get much more out of the engine than the sluggish automatic.” – George Hill, Used Cars Writer

What does the interior look like and is it well made?

After its recent facelift, the Stonic’s interior looks very modern. It now features the same touchscreen and digital driver’s display as other Kia models, including the Kia Sportage, bringing it bang up-to-date. It also gets a touch-sensitive climate control panel and a strip of ambient lighting stretching across the width of the dash to give it some visual appeal in the dark. A new twin-spoke steering wheel is fitted on entry-level Pure trim and a three-spoke design for GT-Line and above. 

The Stonic feels solidly made inside. When you press and prod the dashboard, nothing wobbles, and all the switches and stalks feel well-damped. There is a "but" here, though. As with many other small SUVs in this price bracket, many of the surfaces are made from unyieldingly hard plastics, including the upper door trims. It’s a similar story with the Citroën C3 Aircross and Ford Puma, but the Seat Arona, Skoda Kamiq and VW T-Roc feel more plush, thanks to the addition of soft-touch plastics.

As you might expect, premium-badge wearing rivals such as the Lexus LBX have the best interiors in the class but you’ll pay more for the privilege – even the cheapest LBX costs more than the top-spec Stonic.

Is the driving position comfortable and is it easy to see out?

When behind the wheel of the Kia Stonic, it feels more like you’re in a family hatchback than a small SUV, because you sit low down with your legs stretched out. This might disappoint those looking for a high driving position, similar to what you’ll find in the Dacia Duster and VW T-Roc. 

Still, there’s no doubt that you’ll find a comfortable posture in the Stonic, because there’s standard seat-height adjustment and plenty of in-and-out steering wheel adjustment to suit drivers of most sizes. The seats themselves are comfortable – it’s just a shame you have to lift a lever and awkwardly lean back and forth to choose from a limited selection of angles for the backrest. You also don’t get adjustable lumbar support (even as an option) like you do in the T-Roc, either.

The Stonic's relatively slim windscreen pillars make it pretty easy to see what’s in front of you from behind the wheel. The view backwards isn’t too bad, either – the rear pillars are a bit wide but the rear screen is deep. To make parking even easier, every Stonic comes with front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera as standard.

All Stonics get automatic headlights but you’ll need GT-Line or above if you want bright LED headlights. Likewise, if you’d like automatic windscreen wipers, you’ll have to upgrade to GT-Line and above.

Is the dashboard and infotainment system easy to use?

The Stonic’s 12.3in touchscreen infotainment system is pretty good. It’s one of the bigger screens available in the class, has a simple layout and a reasonably quick response. The graphics aren’t as colourful as those in the Arona or T-Roc but it’s easy to get along with. As a bonus, it comes with built-in sat-nav, DAB radio, Bluetooth and wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring as standard.

While the screen is positioned high on the dashboard, making it easy to see from the driver’s seat, it can be difficult to reach certain functions while driving. Flicking through the list of radio stations, for example, requires you to reach to the far left hand side of the screen. Connected to the 12.3in touchscreen is a digital driver’s display, which together form a giant housing. The driver’s display is easy to read, with clear icons for your speed and revs, but it’s not very configurable; you can’t choose from a range of layouts like you can in the Arona or T-Roc.

The chunky physical climate controls you got on earlier models have been removed with the facelift. Instead, you get a touch-sensitive panel with shortcuts for the climate-control system and other commonly used functions below the touchscreen. You get rotary dials to adjust the temperature, but they also alternate to control the media system, which can make it more fiddly to use than the switches in the Dacia Duster, Renault Captur and Seat Arona. That said, it’s still easier to use than the touchscreen-based controls in the Ford Puma and Peugeot 2008.

“The Stonic’s interior is filled with lots of hard plastic. But then, this is one of the cheapest small SUVs in the class, so I’m not entirely surprised.” – George Hill, Used Cars Writer

How much space does it have for people?

With plenty of head and leg room, you won’t be short of space in the front of the Kia Stonic. Interior width is good for a small SUV too, so the driver and front passenger won’t be clanging elbows. However, some rivals (such as the Seat Arona, Skoda Kamiq and VW T-Roc) feel even airier, thanks to a higher ceiling.

The Stonic's rear passenger space is pretty average by class standards. A six footer will have a good amount of leg room, although it isn’t quite as generous as that offered by the Arona, Kamiq or T-Roc, especially if there’s someone tall sitting up front. Meanwhile, their head will almost be brushing against the ceiling; it’s not as tight as it is in the Nissan Juke, but most rivals have more clearance above them.

What’s more, while the interior width is fine up front, it doesn’t translate to the rear, and trying to seat three adults in the back is a bit of a squeeze. At least the floor is almost flat, meaning the Stonic is slightly better on leg room for a middle occupant (they’ll have to straddle a tall and wide centre tunnel in the Arona).

Overall storage space is respectable. There's a decent-sized glovebox and a tray for your phone in front of the gear lever, plus two cupholders and a cubby under the centre armrest. By contrast, the rear isn’t quite as accommodating; you get a couple of small door bins and map pockets on the backs of the front seats but that's about your lot.

How much room does it have for luggage?

While there’s enough space for a decent weekly shop or five carry-on cases in our tests, the Stonic’s 352 litre boot is one of the smallest in the class. That becomes more apparent when you put the Stonic up against its rivals, with the Seat Arona having space for six cases, while the Skoda Kamiq and VW T-Roc can swallow seven. The Ford Puma is the champion, managing eight.

The boot floor isn’t height adjustable and there is quite a drop from the entrance that makes it trickier to heave heavier items in or out. There is the bonus of a storage well underneath, although the mild hybrid battery does take up a large portion of it.

More positively, the Stonic does have its own versatile features, with a useful cubby on the left hand side that can hold smaller items, and rails that allow you to slide the parcel shelf down and out the way to sit parallel behind the rear backrest.

While you get 60/40 split folding rear seats for those occasional trips to the tip, the backrest doesn’t drop completely flat, so you’ll have to contend with a small slope up from the boot floor.

There’s no ski hatch, which would be handy for when you’re loading long items, and the Stonic does without the flexibility of sliding or reclining rear seats, which the Captur and VW T-Cross does have.

“I’m 6ft2in and I struggled to fit behind my driving position in the back of the Stonic. On the plus side, the footwells are a good size and my feet could fit under the front seat.” – George Hill, Used Cars Writer

How much does it cost and what equipment do you get?

As a cash purchase, the entry-level Kia Stonic is as attractively priced as the Citroën C3 Aircross, Renault Captur and Seat Arona , while being significantly less than the Ford Puma, Skoda Kamiq and VW T-Cross. 

Both engines achieved a real-world fuel economy figure of around 45mpg during our tests and shouldn’t be expensive to run. However the Arona TSI 115 achieved nearly 50mpg, which will make a difference in cost over three years.

If you want to keep costs down, we can certainly see the appeal of the Stonic’s entry-level Pure trim. Indeed, it comes with a good level of standard equipment, including 16in alloy wheels, automatic headlights, cruise control and climate control.

Jumping up to GT-Line gives you access to the mild hybrid engine and more kit, including sportier styling, 17in wheels, LED headlights, automatic windscreen wipers, aluminium pedals and rear privacy glass.

At the top of the range is GT-Line S. It gets the same sporty styling and 17in wheels as GT-Line, but adds an electronic handbrake, adaptive cruise control, a wireless phone-charging pad, ambient interior lighting keyless entry, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and a sunroof. We don’t think it’s worth the additional cost, though.

Is it reliable and how long is the warranty?

The Stonic finished 10th out of 35 small SUVs in the 2025 What Car? Reliability Survey, which places it above the Ford Puma, Nissan Juke and Renault Captur, but below the Peugeot 2008 and VW T-Cross.

As a brand, Kia came eighth out of the 30 manufacturers ranked. For context, that's below Suzuki and Toyota, but above Ford, Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen.

Kia gives you a seven-year warranty, which is one of the most generous available (most car makers give you three years). UK and European roadside assistance is free for a year and available at a reasonable cost beyond that, too.

How safe is it and is it easy to steal?

The Stonic’s crash safety rating has expired since it was last tested by Euro NCAP back in 2017, so it’s hard to make a direct comparison against current rivals. 

On the plus side, you get a good amount of safety equipment as standard, including automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assist, a tyre-pressure monitoring system and driver attention warning. GT-Line trim adds blind-spot monitoring.

“I think it’s a shame the mild hybrid tech doesn’t really bolster fuel economy over the entry-level engine” – George Hill, Used Cars Writer

Buy it if...

- You’re looking for a more affordable small SUV

- You want a long warranty

- You want a small SUV that genuinely feels small 

Don’t buy it if...

- You like a high driving position

- Space is a priority

- You want a plush feeling interior

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