Popular Kia SUV now $3000 more expensive: 2025 Kia Stonic drops manual transmission and adds turbo power to fight off rivals such as the Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid, Nissan Juke and Mazda CX-3

Kia has given its Stonic range a reshuffle for 2025.

The South Korean brand has deleted the manual variants of its base Stonic S and mid-range Stonic Sport variants, and as previously reported by CarsGuide, the Stonic is ditching the naturally-aspirated 1.4-litre petrol engine in favour of turbo power.

From August, the 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine that was previously reserved for the top-spec GT-line will become universal across the Stonic range. 

This is a step up in performance from the previous 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that powered the Stonic’s lower-spec models, which was capable of producing 74kW/133nM compared to the turbo engine’s 74kW/172Nm. 

Progress comes at a price, though.

Prices start at $25,460 (before on-road costs) for the Stonic S automatic, which is $1670 more than the old version. It is also roughly $3000 more than the now deleted S with a manual transmission, making the price of entry into the Stonic range substantially higher.

Kia Stonic Sport (Image: Dean McCartney)

The mid-range Stonic Sport has jumped $1800 to $28,590 (before on-road costs). The GT-Line received the smallest price increase of the three, up $990 from to $31,780 (before on-road costs). 

It is believed the price increase will also be reflected through some additional features across the Stonic range.

Safety tech is likely to get a boost with the addition blind spot collision assist and the base S grade is rumoured to receive 15-inch alloy wheels, as well as reversible mirrors, while the Sport trim will receive automatic climate control (single-zone), rain sensing windscreen wipers and an automatic defogger, along with solar/UV laminated glass and privacy glass.

Kia Stonic Sport (Image: Dean McCartney)

To differentiate it from the rest of the range, the GT-line is understood to gain heated front seats and new design LED rear combination lights. 

The Stonic has struggled on the sales chart this year, with sales falling 30.8 per cent this year to date.

It still holds a reasonable share of the small SUV market though, at 8.7 per cent, which is slightly more than the Toyota Yaris Cross.

2025 Kia Stonic pricing 

Prices listed are before on-road costs