I had just parted with the latest million doubloons poshmobile that had so many electric/electronic facilities designed to fail, that I’m convinced it was responsible for reducing the current to my electric kettle. It even had power assistance to open the fuel filler flap. (What utter nonsense!). Naturally that failed and the cost to repair it was robbery plus VAT. Salvation arrived in the form of a bright red small SUV that restored my faith in motor cars. With a 98bhp 1.0 litre 3 cyl. turbo. petrol engine that can whizz you to near 115 mph yet still return near 50mpg, a 6 gear ‘stick shift’, a manual handbrake and a key to put in the right place – plus a seven year warranty to fix things that won’t go wrong anyway – it’s a car like the ones they don’t make anymore….but Kia do! The Stonic Pure is such a refreshing change that it’s a ‘classic’. Forget Ford’s Mountain Lion, Renault’s Captivate and VW’s Rock and Roll…the Stonic is a motorists motor car.
With a new sporty look and improved cabin design, this family friendly car delivers a package of pleasing attributes for customers looking for quality at a sensible price of £22,195..
City motoring is easy courtesy of practical proportions and safety features, while open road driving and motorway progress are reassuringly rewarding. Modern motorists are rightly fussy when it comes to demanding the very latest driver-assist technologies yet at the same time those motorists who insist on the pleasures of controlling their cars with all the skill at their command hate feeling circumscribed by smartness. They want to enjoy driving. At least that is until such time as drivers are made as redundant as hand loom weavers. In short it’s a compromise manufacturers have to make. To put it candidly, a compromise between making a motor idiot proof and supplying the proper motorist with all the attributes of the proper motor. This variant is specified to just the right level, with all the necessary comfort and safety features you’re ever likely to need.
At the wheel of the super Stonic I felt that Kia have struck a good balance between opposites – which seem , on the face of it, irreconcilable. The compact size offers the virtues of the small car but without the vices that attend too cramped a space.
While assessing the Stonic’s suitability for twenty-first century motoring it became clear very quickly that here is a Stonic for all seasons, all circumstances and all environments. Not only that, it radiates the kind of striking charisma that is the hallmark of a winner.
Offering stylish passage through city streets and composure on twisty roads and easy cruising on motorways, there’s safe and easy progress to brighten the day. (The test car was brilliant red). I doubt very much that Sonic owners will have reason to feel glum behind the wheel. It’s that kind of ‘pick-me-up and give me a twirl’ kind of car.
