Kia actively courting younger crossover drivers with the Stonic
SEOUL: A week after Hyundai revealed the Kona, its sportier stablemate Kia is launching its own attack on one of the world’s fastest growing automotive markets - the B-segment SUV.
According to the company’s European COO, Michael Cole, when the new car goes on sale this fall it will be “One of the most compelling new cars in this rapidly-expanding class.”
This demand for ultra-compact crossovers, particularly in Europe, shows no sign of abating and has developed so quickly that it’s taken a number of carmakers some time to catch up. “By volume, the B-SUV market is expected to overtake the C-SUV segment by 2020, when more than one in ten new cars sold in Europe will be from the Stonic’s segment,” said Cole.
While for years, Kia has been able to highlight its industryleading 100,000 mile/ seven-year warranty for differentiation, a car like a compact crossover is bought with the heart, not the brain.
So, there’s a very European feel to the exterior design, even to the extent that the usually prominent “tiger nose” grille that adorns all new Kias, though present, has been toned down and minimised so that the car doesn’t appear overly aggressive.
Inside, the dashboard is very clean, sharp and uncluttered to emphasise the amount of space on offer. As for digital details, it comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard and among the cost options is a compressive suite of active driver aids including emergency autonomous braking, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning and cross traffic alert.
As for powerplants, they’re derived from existing models and have been downtuned to suit the new car. The smallest will be a one-litre turbocharged engine with 120hp and the most potent a 1.4-litre naturally aspirated unit. Those who prize fuel economy over everything else will get the option of a 1.6-litre diesel.— Relaxnews