DESIGN & ENGINEERING

THE similarities to the Arona are striking, as the Stonic’s overall shape and contrasting roof colour resemble that car’s. The engineering approach isn’t that different, either.

The Stonic is related to the Kia Rio supermini, so the engine and transmission are carried over here, as is much of the technology inside, which at least means the Stonic should be reliable.

Kia’s smallest SUV uses a similar suspension set-up to its competitors, with a Macpherson strut layout at the front and a torsion-beam rear axle. However, the car’s chassis has been tuned in Europe, so this should hopefully translate to decent performance on the UK’S rough roads.

The car’s design is such that the contrasting roof colour picks out the shape of the Stonic sweetly. Yet there’s no denying that, lined up next to its rivals here, it’s the least Suv-like model on test.

It’s the lowest and narrowest, too, and while this means it’s easy to drive, it feels more like a mildly raised Rio than an SUV in its own right. Its rivals are clearly related to their supermini cousins, but they differentiate themselves from these conventional hatchbacks more than the Stonic does.

However, the Kia is functional inside, with coloured trim parts adding some flair. In First Edition trim you get lots of equipment. In fact, you won’t want for anything: parking sensors, a reversing camera, cruise control, autonomous braking, climate control, heated seats, sat-nav, Bluetooth and DAB are all standard.