Summary: The Kia Rio was a hatch that just couldn’t compete with the flood of SUVs. So maybe the Stonic (which is an SUV version of the Rio) might stem the tide.

2025 Kia Stonic GT-Line compact crossover hatch

Pricing:  $29,990 (driveaway)

Warranty: Seven-years, unlimited km, seven-year roadside assistance

Safety: 5-star ANCAP (expired 2024)

Engine: 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine

Service intervals: 12 months or 10,000km

Power: 74kW @ 4500-6000rpm

Torque: 172Nm @ 1500-4000rpm

Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch auto, front-wheel drive

Ground clearance: 183mm

Body: 4140mm (long); 1760mm (wide); 1520mm (high)

Build country: South Korea

Kerb weight: 1227kg

Towing capacity: 900kg

Wheels: 17-inch alloy

Tyres: 205/55 R17, usually Hankook, Kumho or Nexen

Spare wheel: space saver

Turning circle: 10.2m

Fuel tank: 45 litres

Claimed consumption: 5.4L/100km (91 RON unleaded)

Consumption on test: 6.4L/100km (600km)

seniordriveraus consumption on test: not tested

[review]

Remember the Kia Rio, that top little hatch that fell victim to the tsunami of SUVs?

You might not be aware but the spirit of Rio lives on in the compact Kia Stonic which is the SUV counterpart.

You hear very little about the Stonic these days, but it remains a very practical, cost effective, compact solution for those who just want to get from A to B.

The Stonic dates back to 2017 but didn’t make it here until 2020 and is the smallest of a range of 14 SUVs, many of them now hybrid or fully electric vehicles.

It’s very close in size to the Niro and it makes us wonder whether one of them might eventually have to go.

What’s it cost?

There are three grades to choose from: S, Sport and GT-Line, priced from $22,990 driveaway. That’s for the S with a manual transmission; a six-speed auto adds $1000 to this price.

Sport manual is priced from $24,990 and the top-drawer GT-Line, which comes with an auto, is $29,990 – both prices driveaway.

Both S and Sport are powered by a 1.4-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine.

Standard kit includes 15-inch steel wheels, cloth trim and manual air conditioning, long with cruise control, auto headlights, driver attention alert, front and rear parking sensors, and a 4.2-inch driver information panel.

Stepping up to Sport adds 17-inch alloys, premium steering wheel and shifter, smart key with push button start, electric folding mirrors, 8.0-inch touchscreen and built-in navigation with 10-year updates.

Our top of the range GT-Line scores a smaller, but more powerful 1.0-litre turbocharged engine and seven-speed dual clutch tranny, together with a sportier suspension tune.

It also adds 17-inch alloys, a sports body kit, alloy sport pedals, digital instrument cluster, LED headlights, combo cloth and artificial leather trim, tinted windows, tilt/slide sunroof, heated front seats, single zone climate control air, idle-stop-and-go (also on manual S and Sport), auto lights and wipers and an auto-dimming rear view mirror.

There’s also an auto defog system that automatically activates the air conditioning to clear the windscreen.

The Stonic is available in seven colours: Clear White, Silky Silver, Perennial Grey, Aurora Black Pearl, Signal Red, Mighty Yellow and Sport Blue.

GT-Line offers the option of four exclusive two-tone treatments: Clear White, Mighty Yellow, Sporty Blue or Signal Red, all with an Aurora Black Pearl roof.

The infotainment system features an 8.0-inch touchscreen, with Bluetooth, voice control, AM/FM and DAB+ digital radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto plus a generic six-speaker sound system.

Bluetooth lets you pair two phones simultaneously, with a small shelf for your phone which looks like it might offer charging – but not in this neck of the woods.

The GT-Line also has satellite navigation, while Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are wireless only with the S grade.

In the others they require a cable. Odd, huh?

Sport and GT-Line score Kia’s Sounds of Nature background soundtracks to soothe the nerves.

There are USB-A ports front and back, plus a 12-volt outlet in the front.

Stonic’s five-star safety rating expired at the end of 2024. However, it comes standard with six airbags and a reversing camera with dynamic parking guidelines.

Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) is standard across the range and works off a combination of camera and radar, with car, pedestrian and cyclist recognition.

It works from five to 180km/h for vehicles and five to 85km/h for pedestrians and cyclists.

Driver attention alert monitors driver behaviour and recognises signs of fatigue before recommending the driver take a break.

There’s also leading vehicle departure alert; lane keeping assist which will take control of the steering if the car drifts out of its lane, as well as lane following assist which automatically centres the car if unintentional lane departure is detected.

Rear occupant alert is a class leading inclusion which monitors rear door opening and closing to assist the driver when exiting the vehicle.

The Stonic is covered by a seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty.

What’s it go like?

The Stonic is 4140mm long, with a 2580mm wheelbase and seats five, at a pinch.

In case you’re wondering, the Hyundai Venue is shorter with a smaller wheelbase, but is marginally wider and higher.

The boot is a good size, but it comes at the expense of rear legroom which is severely limited.

The overall impression is enhanced by some subtle SUV cues such as the aggressive fender treatment around the wheel arches, the thick C-pillar and a unique roof rack design.

The theme continues at the rear with a prominent silver-painted rear diffuser and scuff plate and rear spoiler with a high-mounted brake light.

The GT-Line features LED head- and fog lights reinforcing the dynamic image while framing the chrome framed radiator grille gives it a stronger on-road presence.

Inside, the GT-Line features unique seats, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, 8.0-inch multimedia screen and a carbon fibre-like treatment for the dashboard.

The basic Kappa 1.4-litre engine produces 74kW of power at 6000 rpm and 133Nm of torque 4000 rpm, while the 1.0-litre turbo dishes up 74kW from 4500-6000 rpm and 172Nm from 1500-4000 rpm.

Both engines drive the front wheels, through a choice of six-speed manual or automatic in 1.4 models.

The GT-Line, as mentioned, gets a seven-speed twin clutch auto.

The turbo with more torque lower in the rev range is the more interesting of the grades.

Despite the severe restrictions imposed by COVID, Stonic has still benefitted from local ride and handling tuning.

The priority for the GT-Line was to reinforce its position as hero of the range and as such it receives a firmer ride, sportier dynamics and a handling bias with good rough road absorption stability.

It’s a shame GT-Line is not offered with a manual change, because the drive experience really benefits from driver input.

There are no paddles, but you can change gears sequentially using the transmission lever. It’s not quite the same.

Left to its own devices, the thing tends to move up a gear, with a drop in revs. As a result, it loses the benefit of turbo boost.

Cruise control is an unexpected inclusion at this end of the market, however it’s not adaptive.

Fuel consumption for the GT-Line is a claimed 5.4L/100km. With a 45-litre tank it takes standard 91 unleaded. We clocked up just 600km at a rate of 6.4L/100km.

A space saver spare is provided.

What we like

• Low price
• Smart looks
• Doesn’t use much fuel

What we don’t like

• Not much rear legroom
• How about a manual?
• Cruise control not adaptive

What over-50s need to know

Stonic has retiree written all over it.

It’s cheap, compact and doesn’t cost much to run. Access is easy and the controls are uncomplicated.

The GT-Line definitely ups the ante and for the price you can’t go wrong.

seniordriver comments

Kia’s Stonic is a no-frills, cheap-and-cheerful, so-called SUV. In reality, it’s simply a hatch. Kia seems to like dropping the basic hatchback models, forcing buyers to move up to the more expensive SUV variants, even though they’re really not suited to off-road use, other than (very) occasionally.

It’s handily larger than the Venue, but it is worryingly close to the Niro in size, so Kia might very likely rationalise the range by dropping one of the other of them.

The 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine in the GT-Line and the sportier handling make it particularly appealing, and although the power output is the same as in the 1.4-litre manually aspirated engine, the additional torque makes it more engaging to drive. And Kia is to be congratulated for persevering with its local ride and handling tuning.

The expired ANCAP safety rating is worthy of some concern, although there’s a useful suite of safety features.