Kia Stonic vs Suzuki Vitara

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.

The Vitara still looks great, offers impressive real-world fuel economy, possesses a sporty chassis bringing sharp steering and involving handling and roadholding characteristics, and is expertly packaged. No wonder it has remained a consistently strong seller for Suzuki.

But its lack of driver-assist safety equipment, lethargic low-rev performance and stiff, loud ride speak of a small SUV of another era. In too many key areas, it’s rapidly dating and falling behind most rivals nowadays, and can no longer rely on low pricing anymore now that the cheapest base auto is $27K plus ORC.

Still, if you don’t care about the lack of AEB… or a digital speedo, digital radio, rear cupholders or highway quietness, then there’s still a fair bit of fight left in the plucky little Vitara.

Suzuki’s been building them for over 33 years now and such experience shows.

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.

Remember that first Vitara of 1988? The chief designer of today’s LY series, Takehito Arai, told us back in 2015 that its squareness and smaller size were inspirational in shaping the current model.

To that end, he went for a muscular look, with off-roader detailing like the five-slot grille, strong shoulder line, clamshell bonnet, blistered rear mudguards and higher-than-class-average ground clearance (of 185mm), evoking other Suzuki 4x4s like the Jimny and Sierra.

Nearly six years on, the design has stood the test of time surprisingly well, with the Suzuki still looking handsome and contemporary – no doubt helped out by the big standard wheels that fill in those arches nicely, along with the vibrant colour options (like our rich beige test example) and two-tone paint application.

The 2019 facelift, by the way, ushered in changes to the toothy grille, bumper, tail-lights lenses (now LEDs), alloy wheels, interior trim and instrumentation (which went more colourful), along with higher-quality-feel interior trim and materials.

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...

There's still plenty to appreciate the instant you slide yourself on to those lofty cushions.

The Vitara is packaged to transport a smaller family (and include much of their clobber) with ease, from the moment the big doors open. An excellent driving position that inspires confidence, heaps of storage in the doors and centre console, good vision and a light and airy ambience are further drawcards.

And while the seats may seem a bit wide and flat to begin with, they're amply supportive over an extended time in them, with a softness to their shape and texture that makes them quite cosy. No lumbar support for the driver is disappointing, though.

Still, it’s easy to see why the Suzuki remains such a consistent seller after all these years without change.

In 2021, the dash has held up pretty well, mainly due to clear instrument dials and Suzuki’s ever-present 7.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system that is ridiculously easy to operate. Never mind the hard and cheap-looking lower-lying plastics, the cabin is beautifully screwed together as well. And it's likely to stay that way for a very long time.

But there are annoyances, beginning with the lack of digital speedometer, especially now that the cheapest Vitara is a near-$30K proposition; for the same reason we’d have hoped for a DAB+ digital radio, auto lights on, rear-seat cupholders and more than just one USB port (located under the climate control system).

Getting in and out of the rear seat is simple, aided by wide doors and lofty seating, again on flat but ultimately comfortable cushions and backrest, though they neither slide or recline as with some other small SUVs. There's heaps of headroom; the raised rear cushion promotes a natural posture which is good for longer journeys, and enough room for three smaller adults to squeeze in. Larger feet can be tucked underneath the front seats too.

However, besides there being no device-charging facilities, you’ll also notice the lack of reading lights, rear air vents (though the front outlets' outputs do reach back OK) and beverage storage. At least the doors have space for a one-litre bottle and the overhead grab handles include coat hooks. And, like the front, it's all light and airy, with good sight lines for bored back-seat riders to stare out from.

Beyond that, the boot is fairly big and square, with a bi-level floor that’s good for hiding smaller items, while there are hooks, a light and 120V outlet for rear-seat occupants to snake some hapless charger cord to.

Cargo capacity is rated at 375 litres – raising to 710L with the 60/40 rear backrests lowered. It’s nice to see a good old-fashioned luggage board instead of the flimsy mesh items some rivals foist upon us nowadays.

All in all, a big, spacious and inviting interior that’s big on practicality and ease, but also showing its age in a few places.

Call it a Covid tax, but the price of the base auto Vitara has jumped $2000 this year, to $26,990 before on-road costs. Top tip: you can save yourself $2000 if you elect to drive the sweeter manual version instead.

Either way, however, this is a problem for buyers, because it puts the ageing small SUV right up against newer competitors with substantially more driver-assist safety features, namely autonomous emergency braking (AEB)… that just aren’t available in the non-turbo Vitara. You'll need to spend well over $30K for the Turbo grades.

Most opponents have these and more, as standard or optional, like blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keep assistance and adaptive cruise control and automatic high-beam headlights. For some people, the missing safety kit is the deal breaker in the Suzuki. In its defence, an all-new model is coming and this is probably the final full year of the LY series.

If you can't wait and are prepared to see past the lack of AEB, what does the Hungarian-built base Vitara score? Seven airbags (including a driver’s knee item), stability control, anti-lock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist and traction control. Nothing revolutionary here. Pretty much like everything else has had these as standard over the past decade.

However, the ever-wily Suzuki does make up for the lack of driver-assist safety with items usually found on mid-grade versions of rival SUVs, like imbedded satellite navigation (as part of a colourful multimedia touchscreen system that also houses a reverse camera, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and Bluetooth connectivity), voice control, paddle shifters, keyless entry/start, climate control air-con with pollen filter, front fog lights, roof rails and 17-inch alloy wheels (shod with quality Continental tyres too, no less). Plus, there are even a pair of engine-output gauges showing maximum power and torque use – just like in a Rolls-Royce. Fancy/useless gimmickry.

If you’re blissfully unaware of the safety spec shortages or just don’t care, such little luxury extras speak volumes on a glitzy showroom floor.

But then you might clock the lack of digital speedometer and digital radio as reminders that this Vitara is from an earlier era.

Adding premium paint costs $500 while two-tone paint costs $450 more.

The value advantage the Vitara has enjoyed until this year has worn perilously thin.

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.

In some markets, the Vitara is offered with Suzuki’s punchy little 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine, as well as the Turbo’s 1.4-litre four-pot turbo option as seen here, but the bulk of Australian sales are powered by a 1586cc 1.6-litre twin-cam 16-valve four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine, known as the M16A.

A peaky unit, it produces maximum power of 86kW at 6000rpm and 156Nm of torque at 4400rpm. Despite modest outputs, a pleasingly low kerb weight of just 1120kg ensures that the Vitara has a favourable power-to-weight ratio, of 76.8kW/tonne.

Drive is transmitted to the front wheels via a six-speed torque converter automatic transmission, complete with a big pair of paddle shifters for some manual manipulation. Or you can just buy the superior six-speed manual and enjoy a substantially more involving drive.

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.

That flyweight mass also pays dividends with fuel economy.

Tuned to run on either 91 RON standard unleaded petrol or a 94 RON E10 ethanol-petrol combo, the Vitara returned an efficient 7.6 litres per 100km over our 521km drive in both inner-city traffic and on a highway jaunt.

While that’s still some way off the official combined average of 6.2L/100km (urban: 7.9 and extra urban: 5.2), it still shows Suzuki’s expertise at such economy engines. We regularly visited the Vitara tachometer’s red line – it’s in the nature of this engine to be revved hard and fast – and never really attempted any economy driving out of it.

The published average figure, by the way, translates to a carbon-dioxide emissions rating of 142 grams per kilometre.

Fitted with a 47-litre tank, nearly 760km between refills is possible.

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.

For its role shifting a small and light SUV around town, the 86kW/156Nm 1.6-litre twin-cam 16-valve four-cylinder petrol engine provides sufficient if unexciting performance, and a big part of that is the fast-acting and responsive six-speed torque-converter automatic gearbox.

While the Vitara will never be victorious in the traffic lights grand prix, there’s a substantial amount of flexibility within the engine’s rev range, with maximum power coming in at just 200rpm shy of the 6200rpm red line. So, you need to really prod that pedal down if extra muscle is required, and with that there’s quite a lot of mechanical noise coming through, but it isn’t coarse.

Using the big and well-placed paddle shifters helps to draw out a few extra morsels of oomph, but the fact is, compared to the CX-3’s 2.0-litre or HR-V’s 1.8-litre engines, the Suzuki’s has to work hard – and for longer – to cover the same ground at anywhere near approaching the same time. The aforementioned rivals' effortless, torquey response just isn't available to be enjoyed. For that, you'll need the terrifically muscular Turbo.

That’s a pity really, because the Vitara’s chassis is one of the more involving and fun ones in the small SUV class.

Thanks to a light helm, tight turning circle, rear camera, large exterior mirrors and an appreciable amount of all-round vision afforded by the large glass areas, nipping in and out of small traffic gaps or slotting into tight parking spots just isn't an issue in the Suzuki. It feels bred for the urban jungle.

Equally, the Vitara's fast and eager steering provides quick and crisp handling out on the open road as well, with the front end feeling light and agile yet nicely balanced as well. Even through ragged turns, the Suzuki remains on track. Over gravel surfaces it can be driven with reassurance that the traction and stability controls are always there to reel any slides in. It’s very easy and rewarding to punt the Vitara along at speed and with lots of confidence.

But the ride is a little firm in some places, there’s far too much road and tyre noise intrusion and – after a while – the engine’s constant revvy nature becomes a little tiresome.

Note that the fact that Suzuki did not bother engineering this powertrain to take AEB is reason to believe that there probably isn’t much life left for the M16A engine beyond this generation of Vitara.

Sadly, an insufficient amount.

Carried out in 2015, the Vitara scored a five-star ANCAP crash-test rating. That wouldn’t be the case today if the base grade was tested underneath 2021’s more stringent regime.

As lamented earlier, the base Vitara has no AEB. For that, along with lane departure warning, ‘Weave Control’ lane keep assist, traffic sign recognition, blind-spot monitor, rear cross-traffic alert, auto high beam and adaptive cruise control, you’ll need to step up to the $32,490 Turbo or its AWD alternative for another $4K. Parking sensors also aren't fitted.

Safety features that are included are seven airbags (dual front, side, curtain and a driver’s knee item), stability control, anti-lock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist, traction control, a hill holder and reverse camera.

Two rear-seat ISOFIX points as well as three top tethers for straps are included for younger passengers.

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.

Suzuki has switched to an industry-average five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty and roadside assistance.

Service intervals are every 12 months or 15,000km, while published basic capped-price servicing is available. Prices start at $239 (years one and five) and reach as high as $429 (year three). Total cost is $1565, averaging out to $313 annually at the time of publishing.

Vehicles under five-years old but with higher mileages up to 90,000km can expect to be charged up to $559, according to Suzuki’s website.