Kia Stonic vs Hyundai Tucson

What's the difference?

Once over the little thrill of driving a car we weren't supposed to get (okay, it wasn't that thrilling), a few things became clear. You can now buy a compact SUV with a good long warranty, a bit of Kia flair and a roomy cabin, at least for its size.

It drives really well even if the transmission was a bit reluctant to do what I wanted. It's easy to park and will live very happily in the city while carrying reasonable numbers of people and their things. It may not be as bang up to date as some of its competitors, and the GT-Line's value is borderline, but it delivers plenty in its small package to a rapacious SUV market.

As Toyota has found with the RAV4, these types of ‘self-charging hybrids’ are popular with customers because they offer more performance, lower fuel economy and require no change in behaviour - no plugging in or managing battery range.

There’s a very good reason for Hyundai to add the Tucson Hybrid to the local line-up, because it will expand the appeal of what is already a popular SUV. Many buyers have turned off diesel in the wake of the Volkswagen emission scandal, so hybrids such as these have greater appeal.

Especially if Hyundai can keep the price difference between the hybrid and diesel to a similar level to what we’ve already seen with the Santa Fe. In these current times of high petrol prices and cost-of-living pressures, anything that can make driving better financially we welcome.

The Stonic clearly looks like it is related to the Rio, but also bears a strong resemblance to the Seltos. Underneath is the very familiar small hatch Rio but Kia says every panel is different. 

The panels might be, but have a look at the rear door and the way the glass meets the C-pillar and you can tell it's a Rio. 

Which is fine, of course, because I think the Stonic looks really good in GT-Line form, with the bigger wheels, some well-judged cladding and some nice sculpting on the body. 

If you plump for the two-tone paint job (which I think looks great), you will go without the sunroof. Also the sun-safe option, but I know some are fans of a hole in the roof.

The cabin is by-the-numbers Kia, which is to say it's well laid-out and looks good, but won't be troubling a beret-sporting art critic for superlatives. 

Unlike the exterior, it's straight out of the Rio, which does have its downsides, which we'll discuss further.

What’s interesting about the design is that there isn’t anything unique about it, at least not overtly different from the rest of the Tucson range. As electrification becomes the norm rather than the exception, car makers have realised car buyers don’t need or want their electrified cars to be styled dramatically differently. 

As Toyota's decision to drop the Prius in Australia and instead relying on the Corolla to cater to buyers looking for a hybrid model demonstrates, buyers have evolved with their tastes. 

Instead both outside and in, the Tucson Hybrid is a regular-looking SUV that will appeal to anyone looking for a fuel-efficient model. 

For a car this size, it's reasonably roomy. I can sit behind my driving position in the rear seat and while violin playing is off the agenda, it's not claustrophobic.

Front seat passengers have plenty of storage to play with, including a split storage box underneath the console for phone and wallet-chucking. 

You also get two cupholders, even with the space-robbing conventional handbrake (I like a standard handbrake, though, so I didn't mind too much).

Each front door has a pocket for a decent-sized bottle, but not so rears. And your back seat passengers won't have an armrest or cupholders, either.

Boot space is an impressive 352 litres (VDA) with the seats up and 1155 litres with the seats down, although you don't get a flat floor with the seats folded and you do have a drop to the boot floor over the loading lip. Nothing terrifying, but the more you know...

Despite the addition of the hybrid powertrain elements the Tucson remains a practical family car. While it’s not the biggest SUV in its segment it offers adequate room for a family of four or five.

The front seats are comfortable and there’s good small item storage, as you’ll find in the existing Tucson range, with cup holders, a wireless smartphone charging pad, lidded console box and deep door pockets. The rear bench is good too, with enough room for my 180cm frame to fit in relative comfort, as well as cup holders in the fold-down armrest and a bottle holder in the door.

Crucially, the boot capacity is the same in both the petrol and hybrid Tucson in US specification, which means it should translate to the same 539-litres offered here. The boot floor is flat, which will make loading and unloading easier, but it’s worth noting that the US-spec model we drove had no space for a spare tyre and instead relied on a puncture repair kit.

While Hyundai may have confirmed the impending arrival of the Tucson Hybrid, the details are still under wraps. That’s likely because the hybrid will coincide with an as yet unseen mid-life refresh of the Tucson that was first revealed back in 2020.

Because of that there’s no public confirmation of pricing and specification for this new addition, but we can extrapolate what to expect based on the rest of the Hyundai line-up. Based on the recently added Kona and Santa Fe Hybrids, it’s a safe bet there’s likely to be two variants of the Tucson Hybrid. Expect an entry-level model - likely just called Tucson Hybrid - and a more luxurious variant - probably carrying the Tucson Hybrid Premium name, or possibly the Highlander badge.

Precisely what specification they will include and how much they will cost remains to be seen, but again we can probably take an educated guess based on what we’ve seen with the Kona and Santa Fe. The Kona Hybrid carries a $4000 price premium over its petrol-powered equivalent, while the Santa Fe Hybrid costs $3000 more.

So if the 2024 Tucson prices stay flat (which is possible but not guaranteed) expect the Tucson Hybrid to start around $46,900 and the Tucson Hybrid Premium/Highlander at $53,900.

The GT-Line is the only one of the three in the range to score Kia's rorty 1.0-litre, three-cylinder turbo, good for 74kW and 172Nm to haul its 1200kg weight. 

A seven-speed dual-clutch transmission drives the front wheels and you'll hit 100km/h in about 10 seconds.

This is the heart of the matter, with the Tucson Hybrid combining a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with a small electric motor. The petrol engine makes the same power as the ‘SmartStream G1.6’ in the current Tucson, 132kW/265Nm. But the addition of the 44kW electric motor takes the total powertrain output to 168kW/349Nm.

The powertrain is paired to a six-speed automatic transmission as standard as well as Hyundai’s HTRAC all-wheel drive system.

Kia's government-mandated fuel economy testing yielded an official combined-cycle figure of 5.4L/100km. 

As I have found over the years with this engine, that's a fairly optimistic number, my week with the Stonic delivering 8.4L/100km in an almost even mix of highway and suburban running.

The Stonic has that rarest of things in a Korean car - stop-start, which helps rein in fuel usage around town. Happily, you'll be filling the 45 litre tank with standard unleaded.

Hyundai USA rates the Tucson Hybrid fuel economy at between 6.1L/100km and 6.3L/100km depending on the variant. It must be noted that US fuel economy figures do alter to Australian numbers, but as a guide those figures are competitive without being class-leading.

The X-Trail e-Power returns the same 6.1L/100km, but the RAV4 Hybrid uses just 4.8L/100km so there’s room for Hyundai to close the gap.

But at 6.1L/100km the hybrid would be the most fuel-efficient member of the Tucson range in Australia, with the diesel managing 6.3L/100km and the 1.6 turbo petrol using 7.2L/100km. So there’s reason to think adding this hybrid option would expand the appeal of the Tucson.

The US-spec models have a 51-litre fuel tank which means a theoretical driving range of up to 835km on a single tank.

I must admit to being slightly puzzled by the Stonic. I've already driven the Rio GT-Line and there is one thing that is the same between the two cars and that's the seven-speed dual clutch's awkward behaviour in traffic. 

The car I had was not at all keen to respond to the movement of my right foot on the accelerator, with my wife and I developing an in-joke about having to make a verbal suggestion about which gear to choose. 

It also rolled back more than I'd like on slopes when starting from a standstill.

The other things I didn't like were the front seats. Straight out of the Rio, they are wide but not very supportive on longer trips, such as the one we took up into the Blue Mountains (a roughly 250km round trip from our home in Sydney). 

Complaints about the seats are certainly mine, but I checked in with colleague Richard Berry, who didn't have the same hesitant transmission struggle, so it could just have been a drama with the car I drove. 

The rest of the Stonic experience is really good. The 1.0-litre turbo is definitely the one to go for if you can stretch to it. The numbers don't seem big, but it's got decent punch in the gears and cheerfully climbed the Blue Mountains quietly and without hunting up and down the gears. 

Around the city it also means it's easy to thread through the traffic, with good response from low revs when the transmission is playing well.

The steering is really nice, too, with just the right weight and speed to make city-wrangling easy. The extra ride height and softer suspension also make for a very comfortable ride around town without taking away from the body control. In fact, it's quite a bit of fun.

The extra power and torque makes for a notable improvement in performance over what’s currently offered in Australia. The Tucson Hybrid feels quite punchy off the mark whenever you engage both the engine and motor. While it’s not exactly a ‘N Performance’ model, it does feel sprightly for a mid-size SUV.

Plus there’s the added bonus that the electric motor can do all of the work some of the time.

So if you do a lot of urban driving and can be careful with your right foot you may be able to get close to, or even beat, the claimed fuel economy.

It’s difficult to make a definitive comment on the handling, because the version we drove had the US suspension tune, which felt softer than what we’ve experienced here to deal with America’s very average road conditions. Even so, our test drive did demonstrate that the addition of the hybrid system, and the added weight it brings, doesn’t have a negative impact on the way the Tucson drives. It still feels like a well-balanced and responsive SUV and we’d certainly expect that to be the case of Australian-bound models.

Again, this is an area where we don’t know any specific details, but it’s almost certain that the Tucson Hybrid will follow the same safety features as the rest of the range.

There’s all the usual acronyms you expect these days, such as AEB (autonomous emergency braking), ESC (electronic stability control), BSM (blind spot monitoring) and RCTA (rear cross-traffic alert).

The biggest difference between the current range and the hybrid is likely to be the loss of the full-size spare wheel. Given the unique Australian conditions, if Hyundai can find a way to fit even a spacesaver spare it would be more appealing and safer than the puncture repair kit.

The addition of an all-new engine variant typically requires a new crash testing program under the ANCAP safety ratings, but the rest of the Tucson range is five stars and there's no reason to think the hybrid would be dramatically worse.

Kia offers a seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which is only shaded by Mitsubishi's caveat-filled, 10-year/200,000km warranty. 

The Stonic demands a return to the dealer ever 12 months or 10,000km, which is kind of irritating as the non-turbo models are 12 months/15,000km. 

As ever, Kia offers a capped-price servicing regime but the numbers aren't yet available on the website (yet).

Lucky for you, we've got them. Prices bounce around a bit and are as low as $283 and as high as $704 with the first seven years/seven services costing $3299, averaging out at $471 per visit. 

Over the five years, it's $260 more than the 1.4-litre but you're servicing more often if you drive more than 10,000km per year.

It’s safe to assume that Hyundai Australia will offer its standard five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty for the Tucson Hybrid. 

Servicing costs are unclear but it’s probable that the more complex hybrid powertrain would mean a higher price. But Hyundai Australia will likely offer a servicing plan, so you’ll know up front what you’re in for.