Kia Stonic to arrive in Australia by late 2020

Kia has confirmed the arrival of its new Stonic compact SUV for the fourth quarter of 2020. The new car by Kia resembles a similar length as the Mazda CX-3 and aims towards the growing demand for little SUVs in the Australian market.

The automaker has ruled out the Stonic from Australia four years ago. At that time, the car was offered with a 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo engine generating a maximum power output of 118 hp. 

Dimensionally, Kia’s latest compact SUV offering is based on the same platform as its Rio lineup but sets out Venue, the offering from its sister company Hyundai by being 100 mm longer. Interestingly, sharing a similar length to the CX-3, Stonic features a much larger boot to maintain family appeal.

The car is powered by a 1.4-litre non-turbo four-cylinder engine which generates a maximum power of 98 hp and produces a peak torque of up to 133 Nm. Additionally, Stonic also retains its initial 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo engine in its lineup. 

Talking about the future of their compact SUV segment, Kia product planner Roland Rivero said, “There is an emerging light SUV segment. We see an opportunity to take a slice,” he also added. “There’s a clear step up. You go Stonic, Seltos, Sportage, which will grow in the new generation, and Sorento will complete our SUV lineup.”

Stonic is most likely to have a high level of security like the new arrivals from the automaker. However, the car features autonomous emergency braking, a warning of blind spots and a lane departure warning system as standard.

Interestingly, Stonic will offer the buyers a wide range of colour options along with contrasting roof colors on top trims. The car is said to carry a price tag, starting at around $ 20,000 and will get a place between, Cerato, and the small SUV Seltos.

Lastly, Kia was the only among the top 10 manufacturers that resembled an improving sales chart in 2019 over the previous year. 

Also read: Check out the next-generation Kia Sorento