Kia Stonic officially revealed

Kia Stonic will go on sale in Europe in the third quarter of 2017 featuring a range of lightweight, downsized engines.

Just a week after Hyundai revealed their latest product, the Kona, it's sister company Kia has dropped their latest SUV offering. Kia has finally taken the wraps off the new Stonic which features a striking and bold design on the exterior and interior.

The Kia Stonic compact crossover is set to battle against the SUV competition in the B-Segment in Europe, a segment which has seen significant growth recently.The Stonic’s exterior styling is exemplary to a modern Kia and has been designed in Europe in collaboration with Kia’s Korean design studio. The Stonic’s design is inspired by the 2013 Kia Provo Concept. At the front is the ‘tiger-nose’ grille, a Kia signature design which is complimented by sharp horizontal feature lines and softer sculpted surfaces on the rest of the body. Kia offers a host of customisable features like a dual-tone exterior colour scheme which will be offered in 20 different combinations with a choice of five distinctive colours for the roof.

Kia will offer the Stonic with new lightweight downsized petrol and diesel engines mated to a manual transmission. The Kia Stonic is powered by a 1.0-litre T-GDI turbo petrol engine with direct injection, or a choice of 1.25-litre or 1.4-litre naturally aspirated multi-point injection petrol engines. A turbocharged 1.6-litre, 4-cylinder motor fulfills diesel duties in the new Stonic. All engines send power only to the front wheels.The Stonic features numerous driver-assist technologies from Kia’s DRiVE WISE Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). These systems include Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and Vehicle Stability Management (VSM). The technology in the VSM provides Torque Vectoring by Braking, Straight Line Stability, and Cornering Brake Control. Other features in the Kia Stonic include Lane Departure Warning System, Autonomous Emergency Braking with pedestrian recognition and Forward Collision Alert, Blind Spot Detection with Rear Cross, High Beam Assist and Driver Attention Warning.

The interior cabin has been designed with ergonomics being the utmost priority. Just like the exterior, the interior of the Stonic also features many customisable options with colour pack options. The Stonic has a touchscreen infotainment system which is designed to enhance safety, comfort, and convenience. The system gets Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard equipment. Kia has also equipped the Stonic with heated front seats, cruise control, and keyless entry.To build a safe and strong vehicle, Kia has made use of Advanced High Strength Steel, which accounts for over half of the Stonic’s body structure and utilised a lightweight platform as well. The Kia Stonic is scheduled to go on sale in Europe in the third quarter of 2017.