SPOTTO!!! Imagine the kids at pick up and drop off in this car!!
Apart from being bright yellow and a hit with the kids, let’s find out how the 2021 Kia Stonic small SUV serves as a car for a family of four.
The first thing I can tell you is the boot of the Kia Stonic is epic for a car this small! It fitted our twin pram easily and held a whopping 10 shopping bags from empty. That's bigger than the Volkswagen T-Cross, Hyundai Venue and Mazda CX-3 that all hold eight shopping bags or the Toyota Yaris Cross, which holds nine.
Storage throughout the rest of the car is minimal, especially in the back. where there is just one small map pocket and door bins that are too small for a refillable water bottle.
In the front, it’s a bit more thorough where thankfully there are two cup holders, a good-sized glovebox, bigger door bins and a glasses case in the ceiling.
I don’t expect a small SUV like the Stonic to hold three child seats so if that’s what you need you’ll need to look a little bigger in the Kia range, like the Kia Sportage.
Two child seats fit really nicely in the back with a little room between them for your kids to tuck all sorts of toys and snack packets!! However, there wasn’t room for me to sit between them.
Legroom is quite good in this little SUV/ball of sunshine. We could just sit a 184cm passenger in front of a rear-facing child seat on the passenger side and a 184cm driver in front of a forward-facing child seat but there is very little knee room for the forward-facing child as you can see in the picture.
I could fit in the driver's seat with a rear-facing child seat behind me and I’m 162cm.
The Kia Stonic is a basic little SUV to drive, the engine is revvy and road noise is loud, especially on the highway.
I felt a bit perched like I was at a bus stop while driving and the lack of adaptive cruise control made highway driving tiring too.
The media system in the Kia Stonic has Kia's latest and easy to use system that has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Sounds of Nature is also in there, which is great for families especially with little ones and we found the calm ocean waves really worked to get our little one to sleep.
For school runs and around town the Kia Stonic is fine and being small it is easy to manoeuvre and park in schools and supermarket car parks. The small Stonic SUV will be great for people with limited space for parking and looking for a small family car.
So for a family of four that does most of their driving around town and suburbs, the Kia Stonic is quite a good little SUV for school runs and commuting.
So… How big is the boot of the 2021 Kia Stonic? How good is storage in the 2021 Kia Stonic?
I could fit ten shopping bags in the boot of the 2021 Kia Stonic, which is comparable to the Volkswagen T-Cross, Hyundai Venue and Mazda CX-3 that all hold eight shopping bags or the Toyota Yaris Cross, which holds nine.
The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as my kid’s lunch bag or their wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.
Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.
I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.
The twin side-by-side stroller fits in the boot with three shopping bags beside it.
The tandem stroller fits in the boot, with two shopping bags beside it.
The single stroller fits in the boot with four shopping bags beside it.
The compact stroller fits in the boot with eight shopping bags around it.
Or a medium-size dog fits in the boot of the new 2021 Kia Stonic easily and the boot is deep and the floor is nice and flat for them.
Storage in the cabin of the Kia Stonic is minimal in the back. With just small door bins that will hold a 600ml bottle…
…as well as a single map pocket on the back of the front passenger seat.
In the front, the storage is better. There are two cup-holders in the central console that are well-sized to hold a reusable and disposable coffee cup and a large refillable water bottle fits too.
There is a phone storage well and shelf, in front of them with a USB and 12v socket too…
…with a small central console box behind them as well.
The front door bins are more practical than the back ones, they will hold a large refillable water bottle and an iPad fits in them too.
The glove box is large and will hold my wallet and iPad, with the Stonic owner's manual.
BabyDrive Indepth - Noise
How noisy is the new 2021 Kia Stonic? How good is the media system in the 2021 Kia Stonic?
The engine of the 2021 Kia Stonic is revvy and quite loud and the road noise is loud for the passengers too.
The media system in the new Kia Stonic is clear and easy to navigate.
It has ‘Sounds of Nature' which we love for families in other Kia, Hyundai and Genesis models we have tested. This is a variety of white noise at your fingertips, from walking through crunchy snow to a warm crackling fire, it is great for getting little ones to sleep and my daughter loves the Calm Ocean Waves option.
There is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto…
…and the reversing camera image fills the whole screen and is a little pixellated.
There is a rear seat reminder when you get out of the car, that beeps at you to remind you to look in the back. Which I understand is there for safety so people don't forget to take their kids out of the car but I find it annoying especially if my child is asleep and then gets woken up by the beeping!
Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!
That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.
If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?
It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?
A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.
Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!
I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.
The indicators are not too loud in the Kia Stonic and the windows can be locked from the driver's door control panel.
You can lock and unlock the doors with a button underneath the media screen.
You can also turn off lane-keep assist on the right side of the steering wheel.
BabyDrive Indepth - Car Seats
How many child seats fit in the 2021 Kia Stonic?
There are three top tether anchorages in the back of the Kia Stonic, they are in the backrests of all the second-row seats and are all within clearly marked plastic guides and are easy to connect to, through the boot.
There are ISOFix points in both the outer second-row seats, not within plastic guides but nice and easy to connect to.
Two child seats fit well in the second row of the 2021 Kia Stonic.
I found there was not enough room for me to fit between them.
Legroom in the Stonic is quite tight. We could fit a forward-facing child seat behind a 184cm driver but the child really didn't have any legroom.
Or with a rear-facing child seat on the passenger side, a 184cm passenger could just squeeze in front.
Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!
Posting bub into their child seat in the second-row from inside and outside the car is nice and easy even in this small SUV.
I found there is room to feed bub in the second row if you only have one child seat installed.
BabyDrive Indepth - Drive & Comfort
How comfortable is the 2021 Kia Stonic? And How good is the 2021 Kia Stonic to drive?
The front seats of the 2021Â Kia Stonic are quite comfortable and they are manually adjusted. In this model, the seats have woven upholstery central panels with leather trim.
The headrests in the 2021 Kia Stonic are not adjustable, which meant I couldn't wear a ponytail while driving.
I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!
For a mum travelling in the back with bub, the seats are quite comfortable, there is a small step in the central footwell that you have to straddle if sitting in the central seat.
For the first year of my first daughters life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with her so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!
The steering wheel is fully adjustable in/out and up/down. The cruise controls are on the right of the steering wheel and are easy to use but it's not adaptive cruise control and not that accurate on undulating roads.
There are four air-conditioning vents across the front dashboard; one on either side of the media screen and one at either end of the dash. There are no rear air vents and we found we struggled to keep rear passengers cool.
The air-conditioning controls are on the dash underneath the media screen, they are simple and easy to use while driving.
There are handles above both rear doors which are well-positioned to hold a baby toy for rear-facing passengers.
The rear light is in the ceiling and reachable by the driver.
I have found our kids do not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it’s really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.
Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON’T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a five-minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it’s not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!
It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.
Being a small SUV, visibility in the Kia Stonic is pretty good. It is easy to drive around town and to manoeuvre and park in school and supermarket car parks.
One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and my daughter has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the Stonic was simple to park as the visibility and cameras was so good!
BabyDrive Indepth - Safety
How safe is the 2021 Kia Stonic?
The 2021 Kia Stonic has a five-star ANCAP safety rating based on the Kia Rio crash testing.
The Kia Stonic is fitted with six airbags as standard. Dual frontal, side chest and side head (curtain) airbags are standard.
Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when my daughters are asleep!
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