Apparently, Kia decided to mix the words “speedy” and “tonic” together to make Stonic making it something “new and fresh” in the compact SUV market.
To me, the word Stonic sounds like something people say when they’ve seen the Doctor “I have to go into get this sonic removed”. This all adds to my theory that companies should always ask an Irish person if the name they are choosing is funny as we always see the humour in everything, even Stonic.
Funny name aside there’s actually quite a lot going on with this new car from Kia. The Stonic is what’s known as a B-SUV and Kia recon that this segment will show a lot of growth between now and 2020 and so they have taken the chassis of the Rio and lifted it up a bit to make that higher ground clearance.
That said, don’t think that this car is going to be a big off-roader as Kia has already ruled that out and they’ve also ruled out electric and hybrid versions for now. The Stonic is going to lean much more towards that funky, youthful style based five-door hatch.
Kia has done very well in Europe this year with growth around the 7.8% mark when most other companies are moving backwards. Kia Ireland is showing the same kind of growth here with a market share of 5.42% putting them in eighth place. Most of that growth is because of the Sportage which is consistently in the top ten, now resting at seventh.
It’s more of this kind of growth that Kia is banking on and the Stonic is going to lead the way. This five-door, four-seat car is exactly what you are looking for, or that’s what the marketing people are saying at the moment as there’s a load of these kinds of cars coming between now and 2018.
The Kia Stonic is a perfect blend of cute and tough with a little dash of a sporty layer on for good measure. The car will come with the 1.0 turbo, 1.2 and 1.4 petrol engines along with the 1.6 diesel. As you can see there’s a real push towards getting you out of the diesel one and that’s because the petrol engines are better and cleaner to run.
The best engine is also the pricey one and that’s the 1.0 turbo that puts out 120hp and feels fizzy and great to drive. The engine that Kia recon will sell very well in Ireland is the 1.4 petrol and that’s not a bad engine as it’ll cruise happily on the motorway or cope well with stop-start traffic.
Kia has changed their range numbers with the entry-level car called K1 and the top range K4 which does make my life a little easier. So K1 with a 1.2ltr engine will set you back €18,599 but the one you need to look at is the mid-range K2 and K3 with the 1.4ltr and they start at a very reasonable €21,099. There are various combinations of colours and trim to choose from if you really want that exterior unique look.
The Kia Stonic goes on sale in the next few weeks and is really worth your time to have a drive.
The petrol models and prices are: 1.2 petrol K1, €18,599; K2 1.4 petrol, €21,099; K3 1.4 petrol, €22,599; K4 1.0 TDGi petrol, €24,599.
The diesel models are: K2 1.6D, €23,099; K3 1.6D, €24,599.
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