Kia Stonic review

Unlike with some rivals, there isn't a bargain-basement version of the Stonic to tempt budget-conscious buyers. Instead, the range starts at a price slightly above that of the Renault Captur and slightly below that of the Ford Puma.

We’re yet to put the mild hybrid petrol through our True MPG test, although more than 40mpg will be easily achievable if the trip computer of our test car is to be believed. However, a Ford Puma is similarly efficient while being even more powerful

The Stonic is predicted to hold on to its value well by industry experts, but the low expected depreciation doesn’t translate into the hugely attractive finance rates you might be expecting.

We’d suggest keeping the costs down and sticking with the still relatively well-equipped entry-level 2 trim. This gives you plenty of goodies, including 16in alloy wheels, air conditioning and the other kit we mentioned earlier. 

You get a few useful niceties by jumping up to GT-Line, including sportier styling and 17in alloy wheels, plus climate control, aluminium pedals and privacy glass. Connect is a less sporty alternative that builds on 2 trim with 17in wheels, two-tone paint, keyless entry and start and climate control.

At the top of the Range is GT-Line S. Over GT-Line it gets two-tone paint, heated seats and a heated steering wheel, but it’s very pricey.

Kia as a brand came seventh out of 31 manufacturers in the 2020 What Car? Reliability Survey. However, the Stonic itself has yet to feature in the results.

If something does go wrong, there's always Kia's seven-year warranty to fall back on; this is the joint-best in the class. UK and European roadside assistance is free for a year and available at a reasonable extra annual cost thereafter.

All Kia Stonics come with automatic emergency braking (AEB) and lane keep assist, helping to give it a five star Euro NCAP safety test result. While this is good, it’s true that most rival small SUVs, including the Seat Arona, Volkswagen T-Roc and Ford Puma, have five-star ratings. When examining the individual scores in the safety assessment, the Stonic’s adult occupant and pedestrian protection results are lower than those rivals.

If you want more safety kit you’ll need GT-Line S trim. This adds blind spot warning and adaptive cruise control, the latter item only on automatic models.

Meanwhile, every Stonic has a standard alarm and immobiliser, along with deadlocking on all doors. Mind you, the Citroën C3 Aircross proved harder to break into and steal in Thatcham Research's security tests.

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