Dissecting the design of the Kia Stonic (and the brains behind it)

The Stonic may be the smallest vehicle in Kia’s current lineup, but the Korean automaker knows that a lot of pressure rests on the short pillars of this subcompact crossover as it finds itself in one of the most competitive segments in the industry.

Because of that, they knew they needed something that had immediate presence, a look that would be inimitably Kia but can stand wheel to wheel versus more established nameplates.

With such a daunting task, Kia went all the way to the top and turned to Peter Schreyer, the company’s first non-Korean president and also their chief design officer. He is the man responsible for erasing the neutral image of the brand and establishing the “tiger nose” in 2007 with the introduction of the Kee concept vehicle.

Schreyer, who made his name with the Audi TT, has received numerous awards throughout his career including being one of only three automotive designers to be bestowed an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Art in London. The other two being Sergio Pininfarina of Ferrari fame and Giorgetto Giugiaro who came up with the look of the DMC DeLorean designer.

When asked how he came with the look of the Stonic from a blank canvas, Schreyer went down to the basics and said that he started by determining who the vehicle was meant for. The answer? The youth.

But just because he had the target market in his sights, didn’t mean he was going to base the entire look of the Stonic on that. He always kept the idea that not everyone who will buy the vehicle will be young.

As a crossover, which meant that the Stonic is getting SUV qualities, Schreyer made sure it had short overhangs and was compact to not only look agile and capable, but to actually be able to perform the part.

And if you feel that there’s something bold about its look, like a quality you can’t quite put your finger on but feels brash in a way that was meant to challenge the segment, as per Schreyer that was also ingrained in the Stonic’s DNA.

It sports a muscular bonnet with the “tiger nose” grille, a swooping roofline, and flared wheel arches, and if you look hard enough, it shows some shades of the Audi Q2 which was designed by Marc Lichte (Audi’s current chief of Design who worked with Peter Schreyer in Volkswagen in the mid 90s.

The original sketch of Schreyer intimated larger wheels (it looked like 19s), than the current 16s that are on units sold by Kia Philippines and if there was one thing he wanted to change, he wanted bigger wheels. I’m actually all for it as long as it fits the wheel well.

After some three years from draft to finished product, the Kia Stonic did not disappoint as it picked up the prestigious Red Dot Award in 2018 for best design in the crossover category, just one year after it was officially launched in International Motor Show Germany in 2017.

Photos from Kia Philippines