TURBO CHARGER
Kia’s sports sedan fills the void left by our V8-powered home-town heroes
MJOSHUA DOWLING eet the car that wants to fill the void left by the homegrown Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore.
The Kia Stinger is designed to appeal to revheads who prefer rear-wheel-drive performance sedans.
Instead of a V8, however, the Stinger has a choice of a turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder or twin-turbo 3.3-litre V6. With 272kW of power and 510Nm of torque the V6 has less grunt than that of a Holden Commodore V8 (304kW/570Nm) but weighs almost as much (1780kg versus 1800kg).
However, the Kia has an eight-speed auto versus the Holden’s six-speed, which is designed to make up for its power shortfall.
The Stinger’s arrival may seem deliberately timed to coincide with the exit of the Falcon and Commodore, but it was pure coincidence.
When the Stinger was an idea on a sketchpad five years ago, Ford and Holden were yet to announce their factory shutdowns.
With the main competition out of the way, Kia looks set to have a rails run.
But the sedan market is shrinking and Ford’s experience with the Falcon XR6 Turbo shows buyers prefer the sound of V8s over a turbo sixcylinder, regardless of how good it is.
Kia says of the first 100 orders about a third of buyers are trading in an Audi or Mercedes, another third are Ford, Holden or Toyota owners and the remainder own a Kia.
The turbo four-cylinder range stretches from $45,990 to $55,990 plus on-road costs while the turbo V6 costs from $48,990 to $59,990 plus on-roads.
All Stingers come with seven airbags, a rear camera and sensors, paddle shifters on the steering wheel, a digital speed display, Apple Car Play/Android Auto, digital radio and satnav. All V6s come with high-performance Brembo brakes.
The mid-grade models gain radar cruise control, automatic emergency braking and lane-keeping assistance, while the top of the range adds rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot warning, a heads-up display, sunroof, 15speaker premium audio and 19-inch wheels. ON THE ROAD The Stinger body looks stretched, with its sleek roofline, but its footprint is slightly smaller than the Commodore’s.
There’s still ample room inside, although it’s better suited to four adults than five.
The cabin has upmarket looking materials — there are hints of Mercedes and Jaguar in the design — but loses some of its lustre with plastic buttons and switches.
The driving position is comfortable yet sporty. The seats on the top model pin you in place with large side bolsters, which can be adjusted outwards.
The steering is well weighted and the ride comfort over bumps above average but some cars on the launch felt more taut than others. One example was put down to low tyre pressure.
Despite Kia tuning the steering and suspension on our roads the Stinger is still not as composed as a Commodore on bumpy surfaces.
The best balanced car on a winding road is the four-cylinder. The flagship GT with adjustable dampers does comfort well, but sport mode is not as sporty or as composed as we’d like. The Continental tyres can squirm during rapid take-offs.
The V6 also feels nose heavy, particularly in tight turns, where the car wants to push wide.
The Brembo brakes on the V6 have a precise feel worthy of a sports sedan. The fourcylinder’s standard brakes are fine for commuting, but optional Brembos would be a welcome addition. The eight-speed auto can hunt for gears on long gentle uphill stretches but the paddle shifters can override any indecision.
The four-cylinder and V6 are smooth operators and relatively quiet for a sports sedan, but more character wouldn’t go astray. An optional locally developed exhaust, made by the same company that supplies HSV, is on the way for the V6 and being considered for the four.
We stopped the clock in the 0-100km/h dash at 5.1 secs after several runs — the exact same time we did in a Holden Commodore SS.
It’s an impressive result given, once upon a time, no one expected Kia to get into the performance sedan market.
Power to surprise indeed.