Kia Stonic S and Sport orders halted

Kia Australia has temporarily closed dealer order books for the majority of its Kia Stonic range, citing huge consumer demand for naturally-aspirated S and Sport variants of the popular lights SUV, with the situation complicated by a pending model year update.

According to a local spokesperson, the Rio-based high-rider will be treated to some sort of meaningful upgrade in the first half of 2024 and the temporary pausing of orders is intended to avoid the backlog extending into the updated model – which will likely bring a price rise with it.

This in itself suggests the update might be a bit more significant than an ordinary model year rollover and could bring some half-decent cosmetic and/or specification changes, in which case it could be seen as a second facelift for the Mazda CX-3 rival.

Chances are the updated Kia Stonic will bring an enhanced safety suite with more driver-assistance functions across the range, as seen in the European market.

No major changes are expected to be made to powertrains, which currently comprise a 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine (74kW/133Nm) and a 1.0-litre turbo-petrol triple (74kW/172Nm), the latter of which is reserved exclusively for the flagship GT-Line and can’t be had in any other Kia model now that the entire Rio range and the Picanto GT have been axed.

The free-breathing mill drives the front wheels via a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission, whereas the peppy turbo triple is hooked up to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.

A 48V mild-hybrid version of the GT-Line engine could also be an outside chance for Australia, but that wouldn’t interfere with supply, specification or pricing parity of the lesser models.

Kia has delivered 6584 Stonics so far this year (to November), accounting for a healthy 13.4 per cent share of the light SUV market segment – second only to the Mazda CX-3 (14,524, 29.6%).

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