Kia Stonic Review (2017)
Read a full Irish road test of the Kia Stonic 1.4
The Kia Stonic is Kia’s new B-segment compact crossover and will arrive in Irish showrooms from October 27th, priced from €18,599. I’ve been driving the new Kia Stonic at the Irish launch in Barberstown Castle.
Styling
The Kia Stonic is based on the Kia Rio supermini but is sporting a whole new ‘outdoorsy’ look. It’s got a raised ride height and cladding and is a compact but smart presence, likely to look equally at home in the city or in the country.
Interior
The interior has more character than the interior of the Kia Rio supermini: there is a greater mix of materials and colours that lift the cabin a bit more. Hard plastics prevail but that’s common in this segment and it doesn’t look too cheap. A 7” touchscreen with Bluetooth comes as standard and is easy to use.
Practicality
In terms of space, it’s not much bigger than the Rio but the increased headroom makes it feel more spacious. In the back, it will be tight for a tall driver and a tall passenger, but the flat transmission tunnel is a welcome addition for middle passengers. The boot is a respectable 352 litres with a false floor giving a flat loading area.
Engines
The new Kia Stonic is available in Ireland with a choice of three petrol engines and one diesel engine: a 1.2-litre petrol (84hp), a 1.4-litre petrol (100hp), a new 1.0-litre turbo petrol (120hp) and a 1.6-litre diesel (110hp).
At the launch I drove the Kia Stonic 1.4-litre petrol with 100hp. It needs to be revved hard to pick up speed but feels nippy enough and should be plenty for urban driving. CO2 emissions for this model are 125g so motor tax will be €270 and fuel economy is a claimed 5.5l/km.
On the road
On the road the new Kia Stonic is light and easy to drive. It feels agile and holds the road well through bends. There is some road noise and a little bit of firmness in the suspension catches it out over rough surfaces. A full review will follow in 2018 when I have the car for a longer road test.
Equipment
The new Kia Stonic is available in four grades: K1, K2, K3 and K4. The K1 entry level spec includes a skid plate front and rear, Bluetooth, 7 inch touchscreen, 15 inch alloys, front armrest, spare wheel, privacy glass, speed limiter and cruise control. K2 includes 17 inch alloys, roof rails, auto lights, DRL LEDs, electrically heated and folding wing mirrors, and manual air con. K3 includes ADAS safety equipment, LED rear lights, chrome belt line, two tone leather, heated front seats, Sat Nav, DAB radio and rear view camera. The top of the range K4 model includes Smart Key, metal pedals, blind spot detector, and dual auto air con.
All K3 and K4 models come with the option of two tone roof and interior trim personalisation.
Pricing
Petrol
Stonic K1 model 1.2 €18,599
Stonic K2 model available in 1.4 €21,099
Stonic K3 model available in 1.4 €22,599
Stonic K4 model with 1.0TDGi €24,599
Diesel
Stonic K2 1.6 D €23,099
Stonic K3 1.6 D €24,599
Rivals
The Kia Stonic will face competition from established names like the Peugeot 2008, Nissan Juke and Renault Captur and newcomers like the Hyundai Kona and SEAT Arona.
Verdict
The new Kia Stonic commands about a €3000 price premium over the similarly sized Kia Rio supermini but B-segment crossovers are hugely popular and in this segment image counts. The Kia Stonic has the SUV ‘image du jour’ and is well specced. Engines vary from the more breathless naturally aspirated units to a punchy turbo unit so it depends on budget. In a busy segment, the Kia Stonic will be up against it but Kia has a good track record of selling SUVs.
Caroline Kidd
Kia Rio Review
The Kia Rio supermini has been bit of a slow burn on the Irish market, but with a new generation of the car just landed here, it feels like a car that is finally coming into its own.
Style and sophistication were words missing from Kia for a long time but in recent years the Korean brand has been firing out some really good designs, and this new generation of the Kia Rio just builds on the previous generation’s compact silhouette.
This is a good-looking car in the metal, and the distinct tiger nose grille makes it look more mean than cute. Around the rear it looks sharper too and with the LED daytime running lights and alloys on LX and above, the Rio has a touch of class.
Inside, the latest generation interior stacks up well against the competition in terms of quality and it’s very easy to navigate, if not particularly exciting to look at. The Rio range starts from €15,950 for an ‘L’ model with 1.25 litre petrol engine, but the EX model with same engine (€18,150) has a nice mix of equipment including 16″ alloys, electric heated, folding mirrors, LED daytime running lights, front fog lights, Bluetooth, rear parking sensors, cruise control and air con.
The EX ADAS adds more safety equipment: Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) with pedestrian recognition and lane departure warning,
There’s also a 1.4 litre diesel (77 or 90hp) priced from €17,750.
It’s fair to say that the Kia Rio is reasonably priced for a small car and it feels spacious enough inside too for this class of car. The new Kia Rio is a bit lower, wider and longer than the car it replaces , while the boot capacity is up by 37 litres to a very competitive 325 litres.
My test car was powered by the 1.25-litre petrol engine, which makes a lot of sense in a car like this. It’s nippy around town where you want it to be but out of town it’s not enthusiastic about picking up speed quickly. It does the job without getting too noisy in the cabin when revved and a 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine with 100hp is to join the range soon. It should have a fair bit more oomph if you’re looking for perkier performance.
Elsewhere, the Kia Rio is pleasant to drive with light steering and agile handling. To improve refinement, there are new soundproofing materials around the dashboard, and a stiffer front subframe minimises vibrations from poor road surfaces. There is lean in the corners and it’s not the sportiest of superminis, but it’s comfortable, refined and generally a pleasant little car to drive.
And that’s the Kia Rio in a nutshell. The Kia Rio is not the most fun to drive of its competitors but it's maturing nicely with improvements to comfort and refinement. There is not much razzle dazzle to this car, but the Kia Rio will make a polite and discreet small car companion.
Model tested: Kia Rio 1.25 EX ADAS
Price: €19,450 (Range starts at €15,950)
Engine: 1.2-litre petrol
Power: 85hp
Torque: 122Nm
0-100km/h: 13 seconds
Top speed: 170km/h
Economy: 59mpg
CO2 emissions: 109g/km
Motor tax: €190 per year
If you are looking for a good value supermini, you might also like this review of the Honda Jazz.
Caroline Kidd
Kia Picanto Review
City cars account for just a small portion of all the new cars sold in Ireland each year. In Ireland it’s the Hyundai i10 that has nailed this market. Now sister brand Kia has an all-new Picanto, so can the new Kia Picanto do anything to toss up the city car league tables?
Design tends to be one of the areas that Kia uses to differentiate itself from Hyundai with more adventurous designs. The styling of new Picanto is evolutionary but a definite improvement and the distinct tiger nose grille certainly gives the Picanto its own character.
The interior has also been freshened up, but hard plastics prevail. That’s not a huge criticism as it’s all solidly built and effort has been made to make it more stylish, with the quirky air vent controls being a case in point.
In Ireland, the new Picanto is available in base TX trim or EX, while both trims are available with an ADAS pack, which includes autonomous emergency braking.
TX models (from €13,295) have electric windows, electric heated mirrors, leather wrapped steering wheel, Bluetooth, and steering wheel mounted audio controls.
EX models (from €14,795) add 15″ alloy wheels, LED daytime running lights, rear privacy glass, front fog lamps, speed limiter and cruise control.
The Kia Picanto comes with five doors as standard. Inside there is good shoulder for driver and passenger and reasonable space for this class of car in the back, but it will be more comfortable for children than adults. The boot in the new model has gone from 200 litres to 255 litres, which is one of the best in this class.
In Ireland, there are currently two engine options: a 67hp 1.0-litre petrol engine with a manual gearbox and an 84hp 1.2-litre petrol engine with an automatic gearbox. A 1.0-litre turbo charged engine is on the way.
The 1.0-litre is the emissions star with CO2 emissions of 101g per km and a claimed fuel economy of 4.4/100km.
The Picanto comes with a five speed manual as standard, with automatics available from €16,495.
On the road the Kia Picanto is a neat and agile drive and holds the road well, with light but accurate steering. There is some cabin noise at high speeds, but refinement is generally good for a small car. The 1.0-litre engine with 67hp in my test car is perky around town, but shows more limitations out on bigger roads where overtaking manoeuvres will need to be given plenty of thought!
The Kia Picanto is keenly priced, well-specced and while the 1.0-litre engine won’t set your pulse racing, the Picanto is undoubtedly a fun small car to drive that’s worth a test drive if you like your motoring cheap but cheerful.
Caroline Kidd
Model tested: Kia Picanto 1.0 EX ADAS
Price: €15,195 (Range starts at €13,295)
Engine: 1.0 litre petrol
Power: 67hp
Torque: 96Nm
0-100km/h: 14.3 seconds
Top speed: 161km/h
Economy: 64mpg
CO2 emissions: 101g/km
Motor tax: €190 per year
If you are looking for a budget city car, you might also like this review of the Ford Ka+.
Kia Optima SW Review
Kia has recently added an estate to the Optima range, and though estates are not big sellers in Ireland, the new Optima estate is arguably better-looking than the saloon. It also boasts more space and a practical interior, so it most definitely is a worthy addition to the range.
The Optima SW (Sportswagon) is a looker and Kia has not strayed too far from the Sportspace concept that preceded this production version. It has tonnes of presence and looks more expensive than its modest €29,950 price tag.
The Kia Optima SW is exceptionally good value because Kia Ireland are making it available in just one high specced trim level (EX) and this is a very large car (no kidding!). The rear footwells are huge and the roofline is high enough to accommodate taller passengers. The boot is huge too of course – 552 litres versus 510 in the saloon, with the bonus of a wide opening and low loading sill. It’s not too difficult to see how the Kia Optima SW would make an excellent family car.
The interior feels well-built and there are soft touch materials mixed through that add more sophistication to an otherwise quite plain interior. But plain usually means easy to navigate and that applies here too. Infotainment is provided via a 7” touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity.
Other equipment as standard on the Optima SW includes 18” alloys, auto lights and wipers, cruise control, leather covered steering wheel, dual zone climate control, lane keep assist, traffic sign recognition, parking sensors and reversing camera.
There is just one engine available – Kia’s 1.7 diesel with 141hp. It is perfectly capable in the Optima SW and overtaking manoeuvres can be done quickly and efficiently. Yes, the engine does get a bit coarse at high revs but at a cruise it blends away into the background. This car will cost €190 to tax per year and can return up to a claimed 64mpg.
On the road, this is a large, comfortable car that takes motorway journeys in its stride. But it is not the sharpest car dynamically. The light steering is wonderful in town because it makes it very agile in low speed manoeuvres. It becomes frustrating as you pick up speed on faster roads out of town, where you would long for a bit more weight, and there is also not much in the way of feedback.
It holds the road well enough but naturally that big long body starts to lean if it’s pushed too hard through corners. But so long as you’re not looking for a sporting estate, the Optima gets by just fine at a more relaxed pace.
The Kia Optima SW is a handsome beast that is exceptionally good value for its high spec and large interior and capacious boot. The Optima SW may find its biggest competition coming from its Sportage SUV stablemate because they are similarly priced, but don’t rule out this stylish estate car.
Caroline Kidd
Model tested: Kia Optima SW 1.7 EX diesel
Price: €29,950
Power: 141hp
0-100km/h: 10.2 seconds
Economy: 64mpg
CO2 emissions: 113g/km
Motor tax: €190 per year
Kia Niro Review (2017)
Scroll down to watch my video review of the new Kia Niro.
The Kia Niro is a new crossover that also happens to be a hybrid. It’s a brand new model for Kia, built on a dedicated eco-car platform that has been engineered in isolation from Kia’s other models. Consumer demand is strong for crossovers and SUVs, and hybrids are also gaining notoriety, so the Niro seems like the perfect product to launch at this time.
The Niro slots in between the Cee’d hatchback and Sportage SUV in the Kia range. While some manufacturers have chosen to give their hybrids radical and futuristic design flourishes, Kia has conservatively styled the Niro so it will fit in well on the road with the other crossovers and SUVs. There’s a small badge on the back that reads ‘eco hybrid’ but other than that, the Niro’s relatively innocuous as anything other than sensible transport.
In terms of interior design, Kia has stepped things up a notch with the Niro and the cabin is well-built with quite a premium feel. Again everything is very conventional, but there are a few hints to the car’s hybrid powertrain including a power meter and a screen to monitor the energy flow between the different parts of the system. Kia wanted their Niro to be practical and the space inside the car is very good for the car’s compact footprint. The leg room in the back is generous as is the headroom all round. There is a 427 litre boot that’s highly practical for its size, shape and low loading sill.
The Niro’s petrol/electric hybrid powertrain is made up of a 1.6-litre petrol engine, a battery pack, and an electric motor and together the system produces 141hp. A strong selling point for the Niro is of course that it is cheap to run. CO2 emissions are just 88g/km so motor tax is €180 per year. Kia quote 74mpg for the Niro. I averaged 52mpg over a week of driving, though I did see 56mpg on some trips.
Like most hybrids, on the road the Niro is mostly a very smooth and silent driving experience. The car starts off on electric power so it is completely silent, and then the petrol engine kicks in as appropriate. Kia has opted for a dual clutch automatic transmission, which changes gear in a more natural way and with less noise than the CVT gearbox that has been common in many hybrids to date. The Niro is classed as a crossover but it’s not a particularly tall vehicle which actually helps the handling because it behaves on the road more like a hatchback than a tall SUV. The handling is not particularly exciting but it is predictable, the steering is decent enough and ride comfort is generally very good.
The problem with the Niro is that it doesn’t feel very responsive. The throttle feels lifeless most of the time and that’s okay if you’re just coasting around but if you want power quickly, it’s a bit frustrating. There is a sport mode, which you access through the gearbox, and that does solve the problem of the lifeless throttle. But you buy a hybrid for efficiency and to save money on your fuel bills so you really don’t want to be driving it in sport mode all the time! If you need speed quickly for overtaking, at least it’s an option as in the normal setting you can sometimes be left wanting for any sort of pace.
The Kia Niro is priced from €29,095, and that price includes the €1500 VRT reduction for hybrids. Niro is offered with a high spec that includes four electric windows, full leather interior, heated front seats and steering wheel, cruise control, dual zone aircon, lane keep assist, and a touchscreen with navigation and Android Auto compatibility.
The Niro is a welcome addition to the Kia range and the execution of the car is very convincing as Niro feels like a good quality product, and is spacious, practical and easy to drive. The Niro won’t set your pulse racing for performance and pin sharp handling but it’s a low emission hybrid that’s packaged in a way that will be very appealing to a lot of people.
Model tested: Kia Niro hyrid
Price: €29,095
Power: 139bhp
0-100km/h: 11.5 seconds
Economy: 74mpg
CO2 emissions: 88g/km
Motor tax: €180 per year
Caroline Kidd
Kia Sportage Review (2016)
The new Kia Sportage landed in Ireland earlier in 2016. This is the fourth generation of the popular compact SUV and Kia are hoping to build on the success of the outgoing model with improvements in efficiency, performance, refinement and drivability.
Kia did make real progress with this car’s predecessor, the third generation that is a common sight on Irish roads and has made the Sportage a household name in the burgeoning and fashionable compact SUV segment.
This is a brand with real prominence now in Ireland, one of the top ten selling carmakers here, and the Sportage has been a key driver in that growth with over 11,000 sold here to date.
With a strong new exterior design, which manages to both retain a classic Sportage profile but add much more definition and character, the new model certainly does look the part. There is a genuine rugged 4x4 look to the Sportage and it also has the height to indicate the same.
Of course to any petrolhead, the grille and front-end styling is strikingly similar to the Porsche Macan, which I think is a wondrous thing. Kia has pulled off the best bit of copycat styling since Ford started digging an Aston Martin grille.
Inside you can see the effort that has been made to inject the same sort of contemporary style into the cabin. It’s a mixture of black plastics, metalwork and stitched leather for a tactile finish. The design is simple and modern, and a 7” touchscreen infotainment and navigation system is standard on EX and above.
The Sportage is a five seater but increased exterior and interior dimensions mean that the new car is roomier than before. Rear legroom is generous and even the middle seat passenger can sit quite comfortably without feeling too cramped from either side. Cargo space has also grown from 465 litres to 503 litres and the sill is flat so it’s easy to slide large items in and out of the boot.
Diesels start at €27,995 in LX spec and standard equipment is good including 16” alloy wheels, front fog lights, roof rails, electric windows and mirrors, rear parking sensors, Bluetooth, cruise control, and air con. EX models (from €29,995) add 17” alloys, touchscreen, sat nav, reversing camera, driver’s power seat, half leather upholstery, high beam assist and lane keep assist. The top of the range GSE (from €34,495) adds 19” alloys, sunroof, full leather, heated seats, power passenger seat, smart key and xenon lights.
A 1.7-litre diesel is available for front wheel drive models and a 2.0-litre diesel for all wheel drive. The 1.7-litre engine has been reworked to improve efficiency and the new car also happens to have a more aerodynamic design. With the addition of Idle Stop and Go technology, emissions have been reduced and motor tax is now at a low of €200 per year.
Soundproofing has been bolstered to improve in-car refinement and on the motorway the new Sportage is impressively quiet. The 1.7-litre diesel is a bit gruff stopping and starting around town and under hard acceleration, but it is not annoyingly harsh and I found its 115hp adequate power for the car. Despite the Sportage’s imposing presence, the gearing and light steering mean it’s a pleasant SUV to drive around town and suburbia. Updates have been made to the suspension to keep the car tighter through corners and while there is lean if you push it hard, there is loads of grip and it never feels too flaccid. The engineers have definitely had a go at the idea of driver feedback when tuning the steering too. It’s reasonably effective – the steering does weight up on the twisty stuff but does feel a little bit forced and artificial at times. There is some harshness over rough/uneven surfaces, but comfort levels are generally good.
In a market where there are many slightly elevated hatchbacks masquerading as off-roaders, Kia can be commended for managing to pull off the authentic SUV feeling in the Sportage, but at a price and with a level of standard kit that makes this car a great choice if you want ‘bang for your buck’. And that’s before I’ve even written the words 'seven year warranty'. You can see why the Sportage to date has made such an impact on the Irish market. The new 2016 model only improves again what its predecessor started with a more spacious and better finished cabin, and improvements to economy and refinement. And it’s not bad-looking either, is it?
Caroline Kidd
Model Tested: Kia Sportage 1.7D EX SR
Price: €31,095
Engine: 1.7-litre turbo diesel
Power: 115hp
0-100km/h: 11.5 seconds
Economy: 61mpg
CO2 Emissions: 119g/km
Motor Tax: €190 per year
Kia Niro Hybrid Crossover On The Way To Ireland
The Kia Niro hybrid crossover is coming to Ireland this October. The car will be priced from €30,495 (excluding the current €1500 VRT relief for hybrid vehicles).
The Niro is about offering buyers the practicality and kerb appeal of a spacious crossover, but with the fuel efficiency of a hybrid powertrain. Smaller than the Kia Sportage, but occupying a larger footprint than the Cee’d hatchback, the Kia Niro occupies a new space within the brand’s model line-up in terms of its size. The Niro will be a five seater, with 427 litres of boot space that can extend to 1,425 litres with the rear seats folded down.
The hybrid powertrain is made up of a 1.6-litre GDI petrol engine, lithium-ion polymer battery pack and 32 kW electric motor producing 141PS and put to the road via a six-speed double-clutch automatic transmission. CO2 emissions are just 88g/km CO2 and the Niro’s fuel economy is rated at 3.8 litres per 100 km.
Standard equipment for Ireland will include Sat Nav with Android Auto (Apple Car Play to follow), full leather heated seats, dual zone aircon, Lane Keep Assist, LED front and rear lights, privacy glass and rain sensing wipers.
Caroline Kidd