2025 Kia Stonic Owner Review2025 Kia Stonic S owner review

Have you experienced any reliability issues with your vehicle since you purchased it?

No.

Have you had to make any warranty claims?

No.

Has your vehicle been serviced at least once since you took ownership?

No.

Overall, are you satisfied with your ownership experience so far?

Yes. Cheap as chips for what you get. Balance of seven-year manufacturer's warranty was beefed up by five years for an extra $2000. Peace of mind because we keep our cars as long as possible.

May suit seniors or younger first-car drivers. The accident insurance premium was reasonably cheap.

Yes, Kia or Hyundai are held in high regard. The Getz gave us no major problems whatsoever over 16 years of ownership, and although the Stonic has more tech and a turbo, we expect a good run.

This reader’s experience with the 2025 Kia Stonic S

It took a while for my wife to actually like it. Size does matter!

She was driving a Hyundai Getz, so the comparison was huge. The trick was not too big, because she's petite and didn't want anything that would make her too stressed parking it – but it had to be bigger for the growing grandies and with a decent-sized boot.

I drove it more than her initially as I'm a more confident driver, don't read manuals, and I like the discovery phase! First mistake was not realising it had 3 driving modes. It defaulted on Eco from the dealer's yard.

It felt sluggish around the burbs, and roundabouts gave me a feeling that this was somehow a cruiser and not a city runabout.

So we drove it on a long drive south of the city, about 300kms actually, mostly highway speeds and with a tank full of fuel courtesy of the dealer.

Here it shone as long as the momentum was kept up, as slowing down below 80km/h and then powering out of some large roundabouts felt like I had to stamp on the accelerator to hit the magic 110km/h again.

That was underwhelming as it manifested as turbo lag (note, still in Eco mode and none the wiser). I tried my best to explain to my dear wife that it was just a matter of getting used to a turbo-driven car... Oops. More on driving modes later.

Steering is superb, and those bends and roundabouts got dealt with and with ease, with minimal body roll. Road noise is a little harsh on the wrong type of bitumen, but equally quiet on smooth, which could be the Kumho tyres?

Seats front and back are very comfortable, although my wife now uses a cushion to give her a better view of the road.

Tech is great, as this particular model has both front and back sensors with cross traffic alert in reverse, and the camera view is great day and night.

The basic manual controls for AC etc are a welcome relief in lieu of diving down into an electronic screen, especially on highway runs. AC is freezing cold, and the grandson said he was very comfy in the back.

Steering wheel controls are nicely set out, and the wheel itself feels nice and meaty. Headlights on this model are halogen (not LED) and are adequate but a little disappointing.

Surprised it can run a turbo with a 1L motor on 91 RON (according to Kia specs) as GDI engines are supposed to be prone to LSPI... Low Speed Pre-Ignition, also known as 'pinging' in older motors, which can burn pistons.

We choose to run it on 95 RON for that reason, and will likely do intermediate oil changes using the specified Kia oil and oil filter until Kia service tells us otherwise.

Back to driving modes. Aha! We stumbled onto the Drive Mode Selector (or DMS switch) at which time I then embarrassingly realised we should have driven the burbs in Normal Mode!

What a difference that made, with better response and perkier acceleration, just made me sigh with relief.

With Sport Mode also uncovered, I then realised this little tub can really pull off at the lights and up to 70km/h quick smart, albeit with a bit of an engine roar and the odd jerky gear change. Not to be taken for granted around bends, it should be rated R for race mode!

So, after a week or two of giving this little Stonic a good going over and using all the drive modes (especially Sport up steep hills), it dawned on me that Kia engineers made an annoying mistake.

The DMS button isn't on the wheel controls, nor on the T-bar selector, but infuriatingly is sort of hidden on the third of four button spaces on the console in front of the gear selector, nearer to the passenger! So any notion of being able to dynamically switch driving modes on the go, especially between Normal and Sport, is out the window.

Just really degrades what could have been a much better driving experience than having to look down at the console and fidget with the correct button, whilst trying to decide what the road conditions will be around the next corner or rise.

I read that bigger models like Seltos have a Smart Drive Mode which apparently automates the decision-making just described, by selecting the correct modes for the driving conditions encountered. Bugger!

MORE: Explore the Kia Stonic showroom