Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
New Kia to Sting German rivals
MEET Stinger, Kia’s dramatic new high-performance GT saloon. This is Kia showing us that it knows how to make grown-up and exciting cars, not just good value family vehicles with a long warranty.
Hyundai, which is part of the same group as Kia, has just done the same thing, but instead of building a 165mph GT, they created the i30n hot hatch.
And the Stinger and the i30n were both overseen by Albert Biermann who used to work for BMW. Al is a big talent.
Several different Stingers will be available – including one powered by a diesel engine – but if we want to find out if Kia can build a sexy car we’d better try the hot one.
Called the GT S, the top model is powered by a twinturbo 3.3-litre V6 engine which produces 365bhp. That might not be much for a Merc AMG or a BMW M Series, but it’s in a different league for Kia.
It’s enough power to propel the 1.8 tonne Stinger to 168mph and from 0-60mph in 4.7sec.
The styling speaks for itself. You be the judge when you see one on Kia Stinger GT S Four-door saloon
Price: £40,495
Engine: 3.3-litre V6, 365bhp 0-60mph: 4.7sec Fuel consumption: 28.5mpg
the road because it looks even better in the metal than it does in photographs – and that’s saying something. I saw one on the motorway the other day, being driven by another journalist, and from a distance I thought I was looking at the back of a Maserati. Whatever, its styling works for me.
The inside is suitably straightforward as you’d expect from a Kia, and I mean that in a positive