Kia Stonic experiential drive: An environment totally alien

ROAD TRIP

Kia Stonic experiential drive: An environment totally alien

When the pandemic blew up in the first quarter of last year, one of the many things that I missed was going for media drive events. Good thing, Kia Philippines organized an experiential drive for the Kia Stonic compact crossover before the recent balloon of Covid-19 cases. Unlike the usual drive events, and for the safety of everyone, the drive only had three participants per batch instead of the usual 30 pax at least per event. For this event, Kia lent out one unit for each participant. The test unit was given days before the event itself. Totally different from what I was used to.

THE WHEELS This would be my first time to try the latest Kia compact crossover. The Stonic would also be my first Kia to try out since the Sportage. Yes, it was that long since I have driven a Kia. Seeing the Stonic in actual for the first time, I must say that I was impressed. Its exterior design absolutely has a character. It seemed that it has fun and excitement written all over it. Thinking

about the other color options aside from the Clear White unit that I had, the model is vibrant. Just have a look on the Stonic’s Flash Yellow flagship color.

The 185mm ground clearance was a favorite feature of it as it greatly highlights the crossover stance of the Stonic along with the roof rails. Stepping inside the Stonic, I was a bit surprise with its ergonomics and design. The steering wheel got audio controls while its infotainment system has Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. For its price, the interior is actually impressive. This is a sub1-million-peso car, by the way.

THE EXPERIENCE The event day came and it started with an Antigen Covid-19 test at our meeting place at the Bonifacio Global City. After a quick breakfast and a bit of catch up with colleagues in the motoring beat whom I got to be with after almost a year, we were on the road to Tagaytay.

We took the long route via Cavite to perfectly experience the Stonic in a long drive situation. From BGC, the group made our way to CAVITEX. This gave me the highway driving feel of the Stonic. It is quite far from the SUV feel on a highway but it is definitely comfortable nonetheless. This is when I also missed having a companion in this kind of trips. We usually chat about random stuff during the highway part of the drive.

The group then went through the towns of Cavite and soon after we were driving on the mountain roads. This is when I got to test how nimble the Stonic was. It handles well like a hatchback. The steering response was instant probably because of its wheelbase length. Tackling the twisties was absolutely easy. The Electronic Stability Control also added confidence during the spirited drive.

Steep inclined corners were not a problem for it too. The 1.4-liter Kappa Dual-CVVT engine might seem underwhelming but it actually gets the job done. I tried hauling up passengers on a different day with it and it was fine. It gets up to speed as needed.

As a father of a yuppie, I could see this as a perfect ride for them. It is bigger than a sedan yet handles like a hatchback with better storage space. It got all the necessities one needs in a vehicle for daily commutes with a little bit more to offer. It offers great value as well. The top variant retails for less than a million. Its price alone is worthy to be considered.

The build quality is evident and the value it offers surprised me. For PHP 925,000 you can have a decently ride that can handle your busy daily schedule and have fun on the weekends.

It might take some time to get used to having these kinds of events, but seeing more cars like the Stonic (which are kind of new for Titos like me) excites me! Hoping that the market will have more like this.