Kia Seltos vs Kia Stonic

What's the difference?

Kia’s updated Seltos is more expensive than the previous version but it's better as well.

The entry grade no longer has hubcaps and gets alloy wheels, all grades have directional air vents in the second row, the jerky dual-clutch auto is gone and an excellent regular eight-speed auto has arrived, plus there’s more safety tech and modern displays screens.

What hasn’t changed is the Seltos’s size. It’s a big, small SUV, that’s easy to park in tight spaces but roomy inside even for tall, awkward humans like me. 

The sweet spot in the range is the Sport+ with the 1.6-litre engine, if only it had the LED headlights that only come on the GT-Line.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

Unlike a lot of rivals in this segment, the Stonic's actually quite a bit of fun to drive, and that alone earns it a tick from me.

Yes, it can feel underpowered in places, especially when you're trying to do high-speed overtakes or if you're on a really engaging road and on and off the accelerator. But just cruising around, the little powertrain gives you plenty to get around the city.

And I guess that is the point. This does feel like a very city-friendly vehicle, even if it is undeniably showing its age in places.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer with meals provided.

Note: The author, Andrew Chesterton, is a co-owner of Smart As Media, a content agency and media distribution service with a number automotive brands among its clients. When producing content for CarsGuide, he does so in accordance with the CarsGuide Editorial Guidelines and Code of Ethics (https://www.carsguide.com.au/ethics), and the views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

This updated Seltos has had a few styling tweaks, too. The grille is taller and  there’s a new headlight design which on the GT-Line is stunning with its LED running lights.

The rear of the Seltos has been restyled as well, with a new tail-light design and again on the GT-Line there’s an LED strip which runs between them.

The Seltos is pretty big for a small SUV. At 4.4m long it’s bigger than a Hyundai Kona and a Honda HR-V and about the same size as a Nissan Qashqai and Corolla Cross.

What’s good about that is you’re getting more space inside with a package that’s still smallish on the outside.

If you think the Seltos’ look is familiar, then I agree. The Honda HR-V and Haval Jolion have very similar tail-light designs and the profile follows many of the same styling cues of the Toyota Corolla Cross.

To my eyes, though, I think the Seltos is the more refined looking of its peers with a more modern and interesting interior.

Speaking of which, keep in mind that the top-of-the-range GT-Line’s cabin is far more fancy than the interior of the entry grade S. The GT-line’s large double digital displays are impressive and the buttons around the shifter for seat heating and ventilation are replaced with blank plastic panels in the S. 

Hard plastic armrests were another of my gripes about the previous entry grade Seltos, too.

Still all cabins have a premium look even if the feel isn’t luxurious throughout on all grades. 

I'm not gonna spend too much time on the exterior design, because from most angles it largely looks a lot like a Kia Stonic, right? The big exterior change occurred up front, where the old Kia 'face' was retired, and replaced with an LED-trimmed front-end more in keeping with modern Kia models.

It is a tale of good and bad in the cabin of the Stonic. The good is the fact that it all feels very familiar and very Kia, which isn't a bad thing.

Th bad is some of the door materials aren't just cheap and hard plastic, but they feel a bit flimsy in places as well. Same with the centre console plastics. There are some elements where you could definitely lift up the ambience in the interior.

Some small SUVs are seriously small, which might be fine for some, but if you’re hoping to also have enough space for passengers in the back seats, and a boot which can carry plenty of luggage then the Seltos is a good choice.

Even at 191cm tall I had more than enough room to sit behind my driving position with good headroom back there, too.

Cabin storage is also good with door pockets front and rear, and a deep centre console box. As for cupholders there are two up front on all grades, while the Sport+ and GT-Line get two more in the second row fold-down armrest.

Boot capacity depends on if you’ve requested a full-sized spare wheel or the space-saver spare. With the space-saver you’ll have more room at 469 litres, while the full-sized wheel under the boot floor will leave you with 433 litres. That’s still decent for the class.

The new Seltos has directional air vents for back seat passengers which is a win (motoring journalists had been complaining about the lack of them for years) and there are also two USB ports (Type-C) for the second row along with another two for those in the front, plus a 12V outlet.

In the GT-Line trim, you get the twin screen setup, which looks sharp, and I do like Kia's multi-function control bar, which takes care of things like navigation and media on the one digital screen.

It really is feeling a little bit old school in places. There's no wireless phone mirroring, for example, so you need to plug in. And even then you need to plug in with a USB-A rather than a USB-C, despite having both plugs at your disposal.

The other thing is that the GT-Line is almost $36k before on-road costs. And there are places where it just doesn't feel like that much money.

It's a case of what you see is what you get in the back seat of the Stonic. And what you see is... not that much.

There are two USB-C ports in the more expensive trims. There are bottle holders in each of the doors, but no cup holders, and no pull-down seat divider. It is a fairly sparse back seat experience.

What you do get, however, is the luxury of space. Sitting behind my own 175cm driving position, I had absolutely no problem with knee room and no problem with head room. In fact, even as an almost full-size adult, I reckon I could sit back there pretty comfortably, even on longer road trips.

The big news is the addition of a 48-volt mild hybrid system, and that 48-volt battery is under the boot floor. But because it's hidden under a flat partition, it actually doesn't impact boot space.

Kia is still claiming 352 litres with the rear seats in place and 1155 litres with the rear seats folded flat. You do, however, miss out on some under-boot storage. And there's no spare wheel to speak of, just a tyre repair kit.

You can have your Stonic in three flavours, the S, Sport and GT-Line, with retail pricing stepping from $28,180, to $32,290, to the range-topping $35,740 respectively.

The S is pretty basic in terms of kit, riding on 16-inch alloys, nabbing LED lights and daytime running lights, cloth seats, manual air-con and a six-speaker stereo. Tech comes via an 8.0-inch central screen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (but make sure you pack a USB-A cable to make it work, which feels very old school), as well as a 4.2-inch driver display and a smart key with push-button start.

The Sport packs in plenty more. Your alloys are now 17 inches, you get LED front fog lights, and your cloth seats now have synthetic leather trim. You also get centre console storage, single-zone climate control, a better feeling steering wheel and shifter, and rain-sensing wipers. You also get a bigger 12.0-inch central screen, extra USB-C ports and access to the Kia Connect app and over-the-air updates.

Finally, the GT-Line rides on a unique 17-inch alloy wheel design, and nabs a sunroof, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and ambient interior lighting. It gets the full Kia twin-screen treatment, with two 12.3-inch displays handling infotainment and driving data, and you get a wireless charger.

The Seltos range has two engines to choose from: a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine making 110kW/180Nm and a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine producing even more grunt at 146kW/265Nm.

The 2.0-litre engine comes with a CVT which is a type of automatic transmission and the 1.6-litre engine has an eight-speed auto.

CVT stands for Continuously Variable Transmission and some people (me included) find the droning they cause the engine to make to be annoying. They also come with a feeling of less acceleration. 

The good news is the eight-speed auto that comes with the 1.6-litre is a great transmission with smooth shifts and a sporty nature that matches the punchy engine. 

This eight-speed auto is welcome because it also replaces the jerky dual-clutch transmission that had been paired with the 1.6-litre engine in the previous Seltos.   

All-wheel drive is only available with the 1.6-litre engine while front-wheel drive comes solely with the 2.0-litre.

So, if you’re after great acceleration and better traction then the 1.6-litre is the way to go. If you’re not after a sporty driving experience then the 2.0-litre engine will suit you, and it costs less.

All Stonics get the same powertrain. A clever three-cylinder, 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine with 48-volt mild hybrid assistance. That means 88kW and 172Nm (up from 74kW). It has a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

We don’t have an official zero-to-100km/h time, but I’m estimating in excess of 10 seconds.

The smaller engine actually uses more fuel, but not a great deal more. Kia says the 1.6-litre engine with all-wheel drive uses 7.4L/100km after a combination of open and urban roads. The 2.0-litre engine according to Kia will use half a litre less at 6.9L/100km.  

Both engines only need 'standard' 91 RON petrol, too - that’s the cheap one.

Where is the hybrid variant? Good question. The answer is, there isn’t one. And neither is one coming, I’ve asked. That’s disappointing considering the Corolla Cross comes with a hybrid version of each grade in its line-up.

It’s for this reason the Seltos range scores a lower mark for fuel efficiency.

The 48-volt system helps drop both fuel use and C02 emissions, with the Stonic pegged at 5.0L/100kms on the combined cycle and 116g/km for emissions, both of which are lower numbers than the last model.

The Stonic’s 45-litre tank could theoretically deliver a circa-900km driving range.

The Kia Seltos has two personalities. The laid back Seltos with a 2.0-litre engine and the enthusiastic sporty Seltos with the 1.6-litre engine.

Regardless of which Seltos you pick, the ride is comfortable, the handling is good, and the steering is excellent. 

Kia says it's worked to make the Seltos’s cabin more insulated from road noise, but having driven it on country roads for hours I think it could do with more sound dampening.

If you’re considering the Sport+ grade and are not sure if the $3500 premium for the 1.6-litre engine is worth it, my answer would be absolutely, if you can afford it.

That 1.6-litre turbo petrol is a great engine and the new eight-speed transmission is excellent. Even as a daily driver I think anybody would enjoy driving this version of the Seltos more, and for those who like sporty driving then it’s definitely the powerplant for you.

It is a really interesting drive proposition, this Stonic.

First and foremost, it does feel really well sorted in places. The steering has a nice weight to it. It's nice and direct. The ride is comfortable. It can get a little bit crashy over the harsher bumps, which actually isn't all that common in Kia products – like if you hit a cat's eye at speed, for example, you can definitely feel it in the cabin – but generally it's an engaged and comfortable drive.

Similarly, going around corners, even at speed, there's not a huge amount of body roll. The tires grip up pretty well, and it's really not a bad thing to throw around corners.

Where it gets interesting, though, is in its power delivery. At city speeds, so 50 or 60km/h, it's nice and easy and quiet. If you're gentle with the accelerator, and patient, it accrues speed in quite a calm, considered manner, without feeling overly sluggish.

Where it does start to fall apart a little bit, which is when you're at speed, say on a freeway for example, and you pull out to overtake and really plant your foot, and find there's really not a lot there. It can mean overtaking takes a lot longer than you might think. 

If you're on a really challenging road and you're kind of on the gas, on the brakes, on the gas and on the brakes, it can feel a little bit wheezy and uncertain, too, which is no doubt a byproduct of that relatively tiny powertrain.

We're definitely not talking rocket ship acceleration, and nor is it all that quiet in the cabin when you really start to wring its neck, which you will do occasionally.

But I think I've really stepped away from what this vehicle is supposed to be and what it's supposed to do. If you are easy with the accelerator, it can be a really calm, quiet cabin experience. And if you do find yourself on a twisting road, it actually sits and grips better than you might be thinking as well.

But there is no doubt the Stonic shines brightest in the city.

There’s no immediate plan to crash test the new Stonic, meaning its five-star rating has now expired.

All models get things like lane keeping assist with lane follow assist, and blind spot collision avoidance and front and rear parking sensors. The S also gets auto emergency braking (AEB) with car, pedestrian and cyclist avoidance, but the Sport and GT-Line both add junction turning to the system.

The Seltos is covered by Kia’s seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. 

Servicing differs between the two engines.

A Seltos with a 1.6-litre engine needs to be serviced every 12 months or 10,000km and over seven years the average service cost comes to $497 per year.

A Seltos with the 2.0-litre engine needs to be serviced every 12 months or 15,000km and over seven years the average service costs comes to $434 per year.

Capped price servicing is good, but the prices can get higher than $600 for some visits.

The Stonic is covered by Kia’s seven-year unlimited-kilometre warranty, with capped-price servicing covering the warranty term.

Servicing is required every 12 months or 10,000kms, and all seven services will set you back $3780 combined.