Look who's talking! The Kia Stonic debuts with a striking design, both on the outside and on the inside

Step by step, Kia is in the process of updating the look of all its models, with only a few left to go. Among them is the Stonic, a compact crossover from the Korean brand with great importance in the European market, which now receives updates not only to its interior and exterior design but also at the technology level, especially regarding its safety.

In this way we can see how the Kia Stonic now adopts the brand’s new “Opposites United” design philosophy, giving it a much more imposing presence and design than previous generations. The front end features the new light signature provided by the LED optical unit in an “L” shape, along with a grille with very pronounced and prominent lines that is practically blind, while a little lower down, the bumper in a different colour from the bodywork gives way to angular shapes and rather discreet air intakes.

From the side of the new Kia Stonic we can notice a slight difference in size: the redesigned bumpers have also meant that it has grown 25 mm in length, keeping the rest of the dimensions similar to those of the outgoing model. The wheel arches, also pronounced, retain the black trim to reinforce their crossover character and embrace wheels that, depending on the trim, can be 16 or 17 inches. The rear also changes completely, with a very striking optical unit and a bumper that follows the line of the front, something that has also meant the layout of the tailgate had to be modified. In addition, the colour palette is expanded with the new Adventurous Green and Yacht Blue.

As you can see, the interior also changes substantially, with horizontal lines gaining presence and dividing the dashboard into three distinguishable volumes. In the upper section, the two screens stand out, serving both the digital instrument cluster and the infotainment system; both are joined under a single frame and each is 12.3 inches in size, displaying all the necessary information and most of the controls. Traditional buttons are replaced by touch controls located in the second volume, together with the redesigned air vents and a striking two- or three-spoke steering wheel depending on the trim. In a third volume, independent of the others, we find the centre console, where you will find USB-C charging ports, wireless charging for smartphones, traditional buttons for various functions and the gear lever.

The new Kia Stonic also raises its standard in terms of driver assistance and safety systems, which can be expanded more or less depending on the trim and options chosen, but overall it comes very well equipped with systems such as Blind Spot Collision Avoidance Assist, Safe Exit Warning, Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, navigation-based cruise control using GPS data, Highway Driving Assist and Lane Following Assist, among others.

Mechanically, the Kia Stonic will remain a crossover focused mainly on getting around the city and its surroundings, offering for this purpose the 1,000 cc T-GDI petrol engine with 100 CV of power; while if its use will be mainly urban, we can benefit from the ECO label with the mild-hybrid (MHEV) version of this same engine, whose power increases slightly to 115 CV. Either way, both engines can be paired with a six-speed manual gearbox or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.

We will soon have more details about the Kia Stonic regarding equipment and prices, as its arrival in the various European markets is expected this autumn.

Technical specifications of this car

CrossoverKIA Stonic7 versions · from 24,210 €