Kia has updated the Stonic, its small crossover, which originally launched in 2017 and is now one of the oldest vehicles in the Kia lineup.
Is the Stonic all new?
Not, really. Kia has essentially kept the basic mechanical bits of the existing Stonic and given the styling a good going over, inside and out, to freshen things up. So, at the front, there's a whole new face which ditches the Ceed-like styling of the original Stonic in favour of something that looks much more like the EV3 and Niro. There are new alloy wheel options too, and two new paint colours — Adventurous Green and Yacht Blue.
What about the inside?
The Stonic is much more altered within. There's now the expected big screen layout, as used in other Kia models, which combines two screens into a common panel, with one display for the driver's instruments and the other for the infotainment system. the Stonic also gets the handy little control panel beneath the screen which can be switched from a series of infotainment shortcuts to climate controls and back again.
There's also a new steering wheel — which, as with the exterior styling, is very much like that of the EV3's — a new centre console, a new gear shifter, and some tech updates in the shape of USB-C sockets, a wireless phone charger, and ambient lighting.
There's also the addition of Kia Connect online services, including smartphone connectivity and the ability to use that phone as a digital key.
Anything else?
Kia has also upgraded the Stonic's safety package, which now includes blind spot collision avoidance, adaptive cruise control with sat-nav-based speed control, and lane keeping steering.
What about the engines?
Technically, it's just the one engine — a 998cc three-cylinder turbo unit, but you can have it in either 'vanilla' spec or with mild-hybrid assistance. The standard engine develops 100hp and the mild-hybrid version gets 115hp, and both come with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, or an optional seven-speed dual clutch automatic. CO2 emissions range from a low of 120g/km to a high of 133g/km, depending on the engine and equipment levels.
When can I have one?
Pretty soon, and we'll keep you updated with Irish prices and specs as they're announced.