KIA STONIC: What’s not to like?
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| Stonic 'First Edition' |
After exhibiting commendable restraint through the
alternating thirty and forty limits from Heathfield to Punnets Town, Three Cups
Corner is the signal for all those going into Battle to cut loose for the
rollercoaster ride along the near Alpine connecting ridge road.
White vans, agricultural vehicles and home-going workers
hurtle confidently and apparently safely through hills and valleys, long
straights and s-bends, squeaking past oncoming drivers with the opposite goal
in mind.
Some cars are better suited to this adventure than others.
Few make it a real pleasure and one such is the Kia Stonic.
If you drive a lot of different cars, getting used to a new
one doesn’t usually take too long, although it might be a while before you
really drive it to its best advantage. I’ve remarked before how easy it is to
feel at home in Kia models. Everything seems to be where you would wish to find
it (with the exception of bass and treble settings on the test car’s radio), so
all controls not only fall easily to hand, but respond in a natural and
comforting manner.
I initially drove Stonic at a UK presentation in its ‘First
Edition’ - i.e. upper spec - version, and was immediately impressed by its
poise and balance. There are some fine roads in and around Newbury and the
Oxfordshire border and the car made the best of all of them.
Styling, as we have come to expect from the Korean firm, is
distinctive and exudes a real presence. Slightly curving the forward edge of
the bonnet works well and slightly reduces the vertical dimension of the ‘shark
mouth’ grill. The two tone colours of the example I drove lend further
distinction to the car, though these are not to be found on the ‘2’ model I’ve
been living with this month.
Visibility is another plus point, with no enormous A-pillars
to dodge around to view the outdoors.
On a journey from Kent to Gloucester by way of Watford,
Stonic demonstrated what an easy car it would be to live with. Frugal on fuel,
more than able to keep up with other traffic and hardly ever out of sixth gear,
it scores as highly on the mechanical end as the matters of comfort and
convenience. Even overtaking manoeuvres can be achieved without the necessity
to change down in many cases thanks to the seemingly never ending supply of
torque from the 1.6 diesel engine and the perfectly mated box.
I remember when 10:1 was a high compression ratio for a
family motor. Nobody talks about it any more, and the amount of pressure under
which modern engines operate is best not thought about on a daily basis, but we
can only imagine what it takes to produce 260 foot pounds of torque from 1500
revs upwards.
Along with other manufacturers, much of Kia’s attention has
been on the stiffening of the passenger compartment. As I explained earlier
(see Body Torque in the Randle Report archive), there has been a long history
of compromise between suspension and torsional rigidity. As tolerances in build
quality can be more finely tuned, so the suspension set up can really come into
its own. And Kia have gone the extra kilometre to refine ride and handling for
European expectations.
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| Stonic 1.6 CRDi '2' |
Especially in the handling department, this has been a total
success. Ride wise slightly less so on the test car with the ghastly potholed
thoroughfares of Cheltenham causing no little disturbance to car and occupants.
Miracles are not to be expected, of course, and Cheltenham is about as bad as
it gets. I wonder if Gold Cup racegoers realised they’d need to be going over
the jumps before they clapped eyes on a horse.
Meanwhile, back on the road to Battle, I’m leading the
charge into an s-bend when a misguided game bird breaks cover from the woods on
the right and runs out into my path. A glance in the mirror and I have time to
stop, let him finish his crossing and get back up to speed without
inconveniencing the next car through the bend.
It helps that, in the tradition of great front-wheel-drive
cars, Stonic can be taken up through the gears without losing its sense of
direction.
Over the brow of the next hill and there’s a lorry parked
facing me. The oncoming carriageway is clear as far as I can see, so I keep up
the momentum and sweep past the obstruction. However, the lorry is also parked
directly opposite a side lane from which, with perfect timing, emerges one of
those people who only look one way before pulling out.
I’ve long since given up attempting to use modern car horns.
You usually have to hurl yourself at the steering boss with enough force to set
off the airbag to get any response from them and, since the advent of multiplex
wiring, by the time they manage some kind of squeak you are probably already at
home in bed.
So it was a case of getting through the narrowing gap while
it still existed, and all of Stonic’s systems - chassis, steering, gearbox and
engine - delivered what was needed, still leaving time to flash warnings at the
now swiftly oncoming traffic.
Passenger and luggage spaces are all very adequate, and the
extra height granted to the suv concept makes entering, leaving and loading
easier than ever. Four hours at a stretch was comfortable in the car without
any stiffness or after effects, and Kia’s unique seven year warranty could help
you get very attached to it indeed.
At this writing, the on the road price for the Kia Stonic CRDi ‘2’ is £17,795.
Manufacturer site: www.kia.com/UK
