2021 Kia Stonic — What you need to know about it

The 2021 Kia Stonic is the newest addition to the local lineup of Kia Philippines. It's a subcompact crossover that comes at an affordable price that is packed with features. Being a newcomer to the market it has a lot to contend with especially in its segment. With that in mind here is what you need to know about the all-new Kia Stonic.

Under the hood, the Kia Stonic comes with a 1.4-liter naturally aspirated gasoline engine that is standard across the entire lineup of the vehicle. It produces 94hp and 132 Nm of torque for the manual variants and 99hp and 132 Nm of torque for the automatic transmission models. If these figures seem familiar it is because it shares the same motor with its subcompact sedan brother the Kia Soluto. It comes with Dual-Continuously Variable Valve Timing (D-CVVT) technology that will not only help you maximize performance but return great fuel efficiency as well. Unlike the Soluto which has a 4-speed automatic, the Stonic comes with a 6-speed automatic transmission. A 5-speed manual transmission is also available but only for the LX trim-level.

The Kia Stonic is available in the Philippines with three variants. The first is the entry-level LX MT model which comes in with a standard retail price of P735,000. Thanks to Kia’s pre-launch discount this variant can be had for P675,000. Up next is the automatic variant of the LX which comes with a standard retail price of P835,000 with the pre-launch discounts in play the variant price drops to P785,000. Last but not least is the top-of-the-line EX variant. It is important to note that it is only available with an automatic transmission. The standard retail price for the EX is P925,000, with pre-launch discounts applied this decreases to P875,000.

The 2021 Kia Stonic utilizes the Hyundai-Kia GB platform which it shares with the fourth-generation Kia Rio. In terms of suspension, the crossover comes with McPherson struts at the front and a torsion beam setup at the rear. If this is anything to go by then the Stonic will ride similarly to its subcompact brother the Rio. Thanks to its much bigger wheels and its unibody design, the all-new crossover comes with good ground measuring at 185mm. Stopping power is taken care of by disc brakes all around.

Kia Philippines has set the bar with this crossover as it offers the entire lineup now comes with an 8-inch infotainment system that comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capabilities as standard. This adds more value to the crossover as more and more brands are starting to add smartphone integration into their vehicles. Having these features not only makes it easier to stay connected with your phone but it also helps you keep your eyes on the road, where they need to be.

When it comes to safety the Kia Stonic is no slouch, as its 2017 model in the European market comes with a 3 and 5-star NCAP safety rating. The 3-star rating is for the standard variant while the 5-star rating is for the model that comes with the optional safety pack. 

The standard model was able to get an adult safety rating of 32.5, for child occupant safety it got a score of 41.2, for pedestrian safety it was able to get a score of 26, and finally, a score of 3 for its safety assist. This puts the vehicle on par with its rivals in the Philippine market.

While not available locally the optional safety pack increases the safety rating of the Stonic further up to 5-stars. Thanks to the addition of new safety features, the crossover was able to get a score of 35.5 for adult occupant safety, a 41.2  for child occupant safety, 29.8 for pedestrian safety, and a score of 7.1 for safety assist technology. All together these features give the crossover a score of 5 stars.