SLICK AND STYLISH

THE recent motor industry news that younger drivers are now preferring to opt for an automatic car test rather than the previously traditional manual test comes as no surprise bearing in mind how much more sophisticated and subsequently easier to use they have become in recent years.

- BY DAVID WARD

Many years ago test driving a new Ford Sierra press car with what was then the old three-speed Borg Warner automatic gearbox was simply hard work because changing gears was slow, cumbersome, quite noisy too and not a particular nice all-round motoring experience!

Now just realising how far gearbox technology has moved on apace driving the latest Kia Stonic with its seven-speed automatic gearbox confirms what a joy it is because it has slick, quick up and down gearchange that's it's in a different world to yesteryear when an automatic gearbox was practically unheard in a smaller sized car.

This Stonic, which in effect is a rollover from the previous Kia Rio hatchback and first arrived here in 2017, is described as an urban crossover or in other words a small SUV which is exactly right and all models are powered by a 1.0-litre three-cylinder 98bhp turbocharged direct injection petrol engine with now the addition of a mild hybrid in some and all are predictably front-wheel-drive.

This month Kia have revealed an all new Stonic which is coming to the UK shortly and it looks even smarter than the current stylish version but crucially in my view will retain the current two versions of their one-litre turbocharged petrol engine.