Articles by Andrew Chesterton

The Stonic S opens the batting for Kia’s cheap and cheerful city SUV, listing at just $28,180 in its cheapest guise.

Kia has detailed a timeline of when to expect key updates for its Tasman ute, including its long-awaited Ford Everest-fighting SUV version and a petrol-hybrid powertrain.

I know, I know, the small passenger car segment is on its last legs in Australia. Dying, if not already dead. The eulogy is written. The hole has been dug. All that's left is to lower the few remaining stragglers into the ground.The problem is, nobody seems to have told Kia. The Korean brand is doubling (or even tripling, if you consider the Picanto) down on its passenger car offering in Australia with the launch of the K4 hatch.You're no doubt already familiar with the K4 sedan – the brand's Cerato-replacing small car that arrived in Australia at the beginning of this year. But this slower-to-arrive hatch version is the one they've been waiting for."Australians are hatchback people," the brand tells us, and so this wagon-esque body shape will be the model's best-seller. And considering the sedan managed 5942 sales to the end of November (in a segment that shrank by 23.6 per cent over the same period) that would be good news for Kia.It's worth remembering here that this is supposed to be one of Kia's entry-level vehicles, but it really doesn't look like it, does it? I love the new design language on both K4 examples, but I like this one even better, mostly because it blends Kia's future-friendly front-end design with a sportier-feeling silhouette.It also doesn't look like a hatchback, at least in the traditional sense. It might be shorter than the sedan (4440mm versus 4710mm), but the way the design seems to stretch back from the b-pillar gives the K4 hatch a kind of wagon-ish profile.Like the sedan, the K4 hatch is available in five grades, and pricing and equipment is identical across the body styles. That means no matter the shape you choose, you can have a K4 S for $32,090, an S with Safety Pack for $34,190, a Sport for $36,690, a Sport+ for $39,090 or a GT-Line for $43,790.I won't detail the full spec here, but we have a detailed article that covers all the inclusions at each price point.In hatch guise, I've only really tested the GT-Line trim, and yes, nearly $44k before on-roads is a sizeable ask, but I've got to say it does also feel quite plush in the cabin. All the materials kind of melt under the touch, and you get leather-ish seats trimmed – in my test car at least – in sharp-looking white and black.The twin-screen setup (one 12.3-inch screen for multimedia and another for driving info, with a climate control panel sandwiched between) is probably my favourite iteration of Kia's cabin layout, because not only do you get the tech, you also get a whole bunch of shortcut buttons so you don't have to go digging through screens every time you want to do something.But the big news for most of the K4 range is a new and more efficient 2.0-litre engine with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) that drops power slightly, and fuel use more significantly.The new engine and gearbox combination makes 110kW and 180Nm, compared to 112kW and 192Nm, with fuel use falling from 7.4L/100km to a more frugal six litres flat.The K4 hatch is slightly shorter and slightly lower than the Cerato that it effectively replaces, but there is some clever interior packaging, so much so in fact that Kia says you get more legroom and headroom in both the front row and the second row than you did in the old Cerato, but marginally less shoulder room in the back seat.What does that mean in real terms? It means that I think you'd actually get away with this as a family car, at least in terms of passenger space.Sitting behind my own 175cm driving position, I had tonnes of knee room and enough headroom to get comfortable. Yes, it would be tight with three adults across the back, but you could have two kids back there, or a child seat or two, easily. But it is at the boot where the first chink in that family-friendly armour does appear. The boot is 438 litres VDA, which is very solid, but not good enough to swallow a massive pram comfortably. There is, however, a space-saver spare under the boot floor, which is a tick.I'm going to have to limit my drive impressions to the GT-Line, which is possibly no bad thing. A turbocharged engine and an actual gearbox is a rarity in the world of cars these days, plus the 1.6-litre turbo and eight-speed automatic reserved for the GT-Line makes 142kW and 265Nm – both big jumps over the rest of the range.I've driven a lot of newcomer brands to the country recently, and I've got to say, really none of them shine on Australian roads the way that cars have been tuned and tested here shine on Australian roads, and the K4 hatch is no exception. It rides firmly but comfortably, the steering is nicely weighted, and there's a level of engagement to the experience sometimes lacking from the competition.Now, that's not to say it isn't without some quirks. It can feel a little bit loud and ragged in the cabin when you put your foot down. And the steering, which has a really nice weight to it, doesn't feel overly linear all the time either. When you turn into a corner, sometimes it feels like you have to have another bite at it, or less of a bite of it. It's like it turns on some lock and then a lot of lock all at once.But in terms of cruising around the city or the suburbs, this thing is comfortable, mostly quiet, and easy to live with, and it'll do pretty much what you need it to do without too much drama.But one final caveat. Before I set out to film this car for the video review above, I had to studiously make sure that all the safety systems were either turned off or turned to silent, because you just know they're going to interrupt filming with bings and bongs and chimes.That is a curse of the modern car. I really do hope they find a way to iron it out sooner rather than later, because believe me, you will get familiar with turning off the safety systems in this one, too.

The Kia Stonic has just come in for a very big upgrade, without being a complete model changeover. But is it enough to compete with the top-selling Chery Tiggo 4 and new Mahindra XUV 3XO?

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