2022 Kia Stonic Style Edition AT Review

The Kia Stonic entered the Philippine market as the brand’s entry into the subcompact crossover segment. It was competitively priced and brought along many features that Kia Philippines thought many younger car buyers would enjoy. It made its local debut with two trim levels, the LX, and the EX with two transmission options also available a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed automatic gearbox. Two years later, the South Korean automaker would add a 5th variant to its model lineup with the addition of the Kia Stonic Style Edition. 

This new model brings better looks to the car that already has “style that’s iconic” and hopes to attract more buyers with its slightly sportier looks. With that said, we look at the Kia Stonic Style Edition to see what it brings to the table and how it enhances the model lineup. 

As this is the Style Edition of the Kia Stonic, it does come with a few cosmetic upgrades to the exterior of the vehicle. The upgrades take the form of a new front chin, a new blacked-out set of wheels, new side steps/ side skirts,  and a new rear diffuser to help differentiate it from the regular models. Something to note is that Kia Philippines based this Style Edition model on the LX model of the crossover hence its lack of daytime running lights. 

Aside from these cosmetic enhancements, the Kia Stonic Style Edition remains largely the same as the LX model. This means that it gets 16-inch alloy wheels, halogen headlights, and halogen tail lights. However, it does get halogen foglights which is a great addition to the vehicle. 

Overall, the additions of the new bumpers and side skirts make the Kia Stonic a bit wider and a bit longer but don’t affect the overall handling of the vehicle. It just makes it look slightly sportier compared to the other models. Just make sure to widen your step when exiting the vehicle as the side steps aren’t meant to take on too much weight. 

The interior of the Kia Stonic Style Edition remains largely unchanged compared to the LX variant of the crossover. This means you get a black dashboard with a silver accent across it, a large infotainment system, manual climate controls, and analog gauges with a small digital trip computer. It also does come with steering wheel controls which is great for helping you navigate the infotainment system. Sadly, there is no cruise control on this model which is understandable. It also comes with fabric seats that unfortunately do not come with a height adjustment function.

One thing to note is that the air conditioning system takes its time to cool the vehicle, especially on a hot summer day. While it is adequate to cool the car, if you are coming from a hot parking spot, you will need to properly air out the hot air inside the vehicle before everything starts to cool down. However, aside from this, the inside of the vehicle is roomy enough and comfortable as it won’t stress you out on long drives, just note that the rear seats are better suited for two passengers as three in the back can be a bit tight.

Speaking of comfort, the Kia Stonic Style Edition gives you a comfortable ride. While it is a relatively small car with small suspension components these work well to deliver a smooth and comfortable ride over small road imperfections. It does tend to hit the bump stops pretty quickly over rougher roads which just indicates that this crossover is better meant for the city. The fabric seats are comfortable and supportive which makes it easy to take the Stonic on long drives. Its only downside is that the seats aren’t height adjustable which makes finding a good driving position a bit more difficult to achieve. 

NVH inside the vehicle is still the same with road and wind noise creeping into the cabin at around 80km/h. The engine remains largely quiet with normal driving, however, when you rev it out you will hear it scream. It is not a bad experience nor is it deafening but you will hear it struggle a bit to get the crossover quickly to speed. 

Overall and for its entry-level position, the Kia Stonic Style Edition is a great choice for those looking for a well-equipped crossover.

For its technology, the Kia Stonic Style Edition gets an 8-inch infotainment system. This head unit comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard with sound being played via a 6-speaker (4 speakers + 2 tweeters) sound system. The infotainment display also doubles as your reverse camera monitor that comes with dynamic guidelines. Its technology suite is at the standard for what vehicles of this price point should have and we don’t have too many complaints about it.

As for safety, the Kia Stonic comes with dual front airbags and ABS. Since the Style Edition is based on the LX variant, it does not come with electronic stability control, hill start assist, or an anti-theft system. It does come with ISOFIX child anchors and a child lock. Given that this is an entry-level model, we expect there to be a few features missing, however, we hope that Kia Philippines will, later on, add more safety features to the vehicle for its next version or facelift.

The Kia Stonic has a surprisingly sporty drive as the suspension has been set up well to handle not only the rough roads of the Philippines but also mountain roads. It's no sports car thanks to the limited power that the 1.4-liter motor offers but it is a great momentum car. The 6-speed automatic transmission responds well to your inputs and will shift to a lower gear when the RPMs permit. If left alone the gearbox delivers smooth shifting and tries to maximize the power of the engine. The suspension is also great at absorbing minor bumps and road imperfections but for the harsher stuff, you will need to slow down. With a full load, the rear will squat so you will have to consider that when driving. 

That being said the Kia Stonic Style Edition is a great urban cruiser as well as a decent highway car as it putters along fairly smoothly. When it comes to overtakes, just make sure you give yourself a lot of room to overtake as the car takes its time when accelerating. Where it lacks in power, it makes up for it with fuel economy.

As we mentioned before, the Kia Stonic is powered by a 1.4-liter naturally aspirated gasoline engine. It produces 98 hp and 132 Nm of torque. While on paper it doesn’t seem like much, it's decent enough to get you around the city and to maintain cruising speed on the highway near or at the speed limit. 

In terms of fuel consumption, the Kia Stonic Style Edition was able to do 10km/L in the city and 16.9 km/L on the highway. These are great fuel economy figures, especially for its position in the crossover segment. 

The Kia Stonic faces stiff competition, especially with the Toyota Raize. What the Kia Stonic has on its side is its great standard feature set and the nearly 100 hp right off the bat. This bests the Raize turbo model as it only has 96 hp versus the Stonic’s 98 hp. That being said, the Kia crossover is a bit wider and more spacious than the Raize giving it a roomier cabin. 

Priced at P940,000 the Kia Stonic Style Edition can be a bit of a tough ask especially with the Toyota Raize 1.2 G CVT being a cheaper alternative. That being said, if you like your car with a Kia badge and want the unique styling proposition that the Stonic Style Edition gives you, then by all means get it. It is a great alternative to Raize which offers you the same number of features but with a body kit that gives the Stonic a slightly sportier and more SUV-like look.