Kia Stonic SUV – Kia’s take on the Hyundai Kona – will DEBUT in July

The Kia Stonic SUV – a new B-Segment SUV from Kia and sister car to the Hyundai Kona – will be revealed in July, ahead of a Frankfurt public debut .

The new Hyundai Kona has already been  revealed as a very impressive looking compact SUV as Hyundai tap in to the huge urban SUV market, and we were expecting the Kia Stonic – Kia’s take on the Kona – to arrive at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

Ahead of that debut, Kia gave us our first official look at the Stonic just last week in a couple of design sketches, but it seems we are going to see the Stonic somewhat earlier than we expected.

According to South Korea’s The Investor, Kia’s Vice Chairman, Lee Hyong-keun, has told reporters the Stonic’s debut will be just a month behind the Kona’s, which means the Stonic will debut next month (July 2017).

Sharing a platform with the Kona, the sketches show a car with a new design direction, although with some similarities to the new Rio and, say Kia, is “inspired by the form and function” of its other SUVs.

Kia are also promising an individual interior with seamless Smartphone integration and a focus on technology with a floating HMI.

Expected to be only offered in FWD – unlike the Kona – the Stonic is expected to offer a similar engine range to the new Rio, which includes a 1.0 T-GDI engine with 99 bhp or 118 bhp, 1.4 litre diesel with 76 bhp or 89bhp, 1.25 litre petrol with 83bhp and 1.4 litre petrol  with 98 bhp.