According to the import data Kia-Lucky has imported 4 units of the Stonic subcompact crossover earlier this month as the company is planning to launch the vehicle after conducting a series of trials & tests.
The Kia Stonic is a B-Segment crossover that debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in June 2017 and received a facelift in August last year. Interestingly automotive portals of our country are creating a hype that the Stonic B-Segment crossover will compete against the C-segment Toyota Corolla Altis and Honda Civic in Pakistan which are priced close to PKR 4.0 million & above, which shouldn’t be the case.
Since long it was reported that Kia-Lucky is considering to introduce a car that will entice Yaris and City buyers into opting for a crossover, and from the looks of it, Kia Stonic might be it. The Stonic measures 4,140mm in length which is way shorter than the 4,425mm Toyota Yaris and 4,420mm Honda City (5th gen) we have here in our market, there is no way a car this small can be pitted against the likes of C-segment Corolla & Civic. The below table will give you an idea of its dimensions.
| Dimensions | Toyota Yaris | Honda City | Kia Stonic |
| Length | 4,425mm | 4,420mm | 4,140mm |
| Width | 1,730mm | 1,694mm | 1,760mm |
| Height | 1,475mm | 1,477mm | 1,520mm |
| Wheelbase | 2,550mm | 2,600mm | 2,580mm |
Despite being shorter in length, the Stonic is wider and stands taller than the aforementioned two while with an absence of trunk, the 2,580mm wheelbase will supposedly offer better space for the occupants inside.
Inside, the new Kia Stonic facelift gets an 8-inch touchscreen as standard, a 4.2-inch display within the instrument cluster, multi-function steering and a host of active & passive safety functions. It will be too early to predict what equipment & features will be offered with the Stonic here but one can obviously expect local assembled cars to fall short of equipment when compared to their international counterparts.
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The Stonic comes equipped with a choice of 1.0L turbo, 1.2L and 1.4L naturally aspirated petrol and 1.6L diesel engine options depending on the market where its offered. Available transmission options are 5/6 speed manual, 6-speed automatic and 7-speed DCT. As evident, all the engine options are smaller than those offered with Corolla & Civic, so the vehicle should ideally fall in the domain of Yaris & City in terms of segment, dimensions, engines as well as pricing.
The Stonic has won the iF product design award in the “Transportation Design” category as well as the Red Dot award in the “Car Design” category in 2018. It also holds a 5-star crash test rating from Euro-NCAP.
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Crossovers are becoming increasingly popular all around the world primarily due to their rugged appearance and high ground clearance which is considered a huge plus taking into account the sort of road conditions we have here. Although there is no trunk (diggi), still the luggage space is quite sufficient to carry goods of various sorts.
As of now, there is no authentic information regarding the pricing of Kia Stonic, however it should ideally be priced between PKR 2.5 million and PKR 2.9 million to take on the likes of City & Yaris. Do you think the Stonic crossover will prove itself as a suitable alternative to sedans, let us know with your comments.
A computer animation professional with over 23 years of industry experience having served in leading organizations, TV channels & production facilities in Pakistan. An avid car enthusiast and petrolhead with an affection to deliver quality content to help shape opinions. Formerly written for PakWheels as well as major publications including Dawn. Founder of CarSpiritPK.com
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