Stinger’ s a humdinger
WITH its festive red livery and a name that sounds like one of Santa’s speedier reindeer, what better present to give yourself this Christmas than the sporty and bold new Stinger grand tourer from Kia.
Having put one through its paces on UK roads this week, I can tell you this is a proper belter. Think of it as a coupe-like muscle car from South Korea — a rival to america’s Ford Mustang.
But it’s also gunning for BMW’s 440i Gran Coupe and audi’s S5 Sportback. Though they are all around the same price bracket, Kia believes its fully loaded packages — less to spend on extras — will tempt buyers.
Kia, whose UK HQ is in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, expects to sell about 1,500 in the UK in the first year with deliveries starting in the New Year. I drove the top- of-the-range Stinger GTS model with a 3.3 litre turbo V6 petrol engine linked to a new eightspeed automatic gearbox (with manual paddles) that takes you smoothly, but with gusto, from 0 to 60mph in just 4.7 seconds.
Top speed, should you be on a German autobahn, is a mighty 168 mph. and for an all-in, onthe-road price of £41,140, it’s packed tighter than Santa’s sleigh with masses of kit as standard. upholstery, This front-heated includes leather seats and a heated steering wheel.
My favourite — which should be standard on every car — is a fighter- pilot style head- up display so you can see satnav and traffic information reflected through the windscreen without taking your eyes off the road.
There are five variants, with prices from £31,995 for a 2-litre turbo GT Line with a 244 bhp engine seconds 149 mph. I felt that With like and does I its a was 0-60mph top long, cruising speed low in bonnet the 5.8 of mean also has streets four full-sized in a U.S. cop doors film. and It ample passenger room. Styling was overseen by global design boss Peter Schreyer — who created the original audi TT — and, to cap it all, it has Kia’s class-leading seven year or 100,000-mile warranty.