Kia has entered the market for small Juke-style compact Crossover SUVs with this model, the Stonic. It showcases the brand’s fresh, more charismatic styling approach and offers buyers a highly personalisable choice in this growing segment.

This is one of the most strikingly Kia models we’ve seen to date. The brand knows that individuality is important to many customers in the B-SUV segment and the Stonic’s ‘Targa’-style roof enables buyers to choose a two-tone paint finish. The idea has been to distance this Crossover from the Rio hatchback on which it’s based. Hence also the sharp creases and kinks near the door sills and the way that the window line kinks upwards too. Rugged-looking black plastic cladding runs in a ring around the bottom edge of the car and around the wheel arches, plus there are brushed metal skidplates front and rear.

Inside, it’s all much more Rio-like. The fascia is basically the same as is the switchgear, though Kia has tried to disguise this with a range of customisable colour schemes. Space inside is slightly better than you’d expect from a car of this class, with decent leg and headroom, plus class-leading shoulder room. In the back, a two-step floor allows owners to expand or shrink the 352-litre boot to suit their needs.

As expected, the Stonic shares the engine line-up used in Kia’s Rio supermini. That means a range of lightweight, downsized, turbocharged petrol and diesel powerplants, each paired with a manual transmission. Buyers have the choice of the brand’s lightweight 120PS 1.0-litre T-GDI turbo petrol unit, as well as the older-tech but cheaper 1.25 or 1.4-litre naturally-aspirated MPI petrol engines. An efficient 1.6-litre CRDi diesel engine completes the range, offering the lowest emissions in the line-up.

Kia may be a late entrant in the B-SUV segment but it’s produced an impressively complete contender here. Change the perception you might have of this brand as being somewhat dull and characterless. Products like the Stinger are changing that and this Stonic model is further evidence that Kia is mastering the art of producing desirable, yet affordable cars.

Which is just as well because buyers in the small Crossover class want charisma and individuality, attributes delivered in surprising measure here. If you’re buying in this class, this contender is another that really ought to be on our list.

CAR: Kia Stonic
PRICES: £15,000-£24,000 [est]
CO2 EMISSIONS: 100-120g/km [est]
PERFORMANCE: [1.25] Max Speed 100mph / 0-62mph 13.5s [est]
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [1.25] (combined) 50mpg [est]
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: ESP, twin front, side and curtain airbags, ABS with EBA and EBD