A Kia with a sting in its tail
Kia has made some updates to its flagship Stinger GT. Nile Bijoux delves into the details.
Kia introduced the Stinger in 2017 as its first rear-wheel-drive vehicle, the first to be powered by a twin-turbo V6 and the first to hit 100kmh in less than five seconds. It’s a purists (and Stuff commenter’s) dream car and, for 2021, Kia has given it a handful of welcome upgrades. Problem is, without Holden and the Commodore, the Stinger has been left all alone in its niche. Or has it?
On the outside
External updates are minimal. LED headlights and DRLs are standard on the GT Sport, and they have cornering lights, a new design for the LED rear light signature that extends the full width of the car and turn signals that comprise a collection of 10 individual LED units each, arranged in a grid pattern.
The Sport and lesser GT Line get new 19-inch aluminium alloy wheels as well.
Otherwise, this is the same Stinger that’s been around for three-and-a-bit years. It looks larger in photos than it really is – it’s actually smaller than the new BMW 5 series, believe it or not. I like the look, though I wish the nostrils in the bonnet were functional.
On the inside
Most of the interior is the same as before, but Kia has tweaked a few elements. There’s a new 10.25-inch infotainment display with sat-nav, accented by a new gloss-black finish. A quality 15-speaker Harman Kardon audio system is standard, which also pipes in extra acceleration, shifting and suspension sounds.
There’s a new mood lighting system with 64 colours and the lower section of the steering wheel has a metallic finish to match the bezel of the 7-inch digital instrument cluster between the analogue dials.
Aside from these, it’s an identical swathing of leather and soft-touch plastics. You could call it a bit too safe, considering the only colours are black and silver, but the extra ambient lights help.
Electronics include active cruise control, lane-keep assist, blind-spot detection, forward collision avoidance that works at junctions, and a safe exit warning.
That new digital screen in the instrument cluster also shows a rear-view feed when the driver indicates either way, allowing vision into the blind spots.
Under the bonnet
Power is still generated by a tasty 3.3-litre twin turbo-charged V6, now up a whopping two kilowatts to 274kW. That extra grunt comes courtesy of a new bimodal exhaust system – well, newly standard. Kia offered it previously as a $3500 option.
It does improve the sound, but not a lot – twist the drive mode dial to Sport and stomp the gas and there’s a little more throat in the V6’s snarl. Nothing audible on the overrun though, and no brrraps on the shifts. It’s probably better outside the car but if you can’t really hear it inside, is it worthwhile?
The transmission is the same eight-speed automatic as before, and it remains one of the weaker parts of the Stinger’s package. It doesn’t do anything wrong, but it can be slow to shift and indecisive at times when left to its own devices. Which is a shame, because. . .
On the road
. . . to drive, the Stinger is as fantastic as ever. The steering is beautifully direct and the chassis absorbs most of the bouncier parts of the road.
I would argue the adaptive suspension gets too stiff for Kiwi roads, so fiddling with the Custom drive mode to set the engine to its sportiest with the suspension in comfort is a good bet. That does mean you have to deal with a bit more body roll and floatiness over crests but nicely supportive seats do a lot to negate those.
Sport mode also lets the rear slip under full gas, which is easy to control, aided by the limitedslip differential. While not making the cacophony of something like a Mercedes-AMG C 43, the much-cheaper Stinger will easily keep up.
In the city and in Comfort mode, the Stinger is easy and simple to drive. According to some, the suspension is still too harsh, but I thought it was fine. Maybe not up to the same level as the C 43, or an Audi A5, or a BMW 4 Series, but the Stinger costs about fifty grand less.
Verdict
The big thing with the Stinger is its price and market positioning. Once, it traded blows with the Holden Commodore but those days are over. So what else is there for $75k?
Well, on either side are the two Mustang siblings, and for a hair less than $100k you have the Toyota Supra. But those are two door sports coupes, not really in the same ballpark. I’ll tell you what is in the same ballpark though – and you internet commenters will love this – the Tesla Model 3.
We’ve already called the Model 3 Tesla’s best car on sale right now, and it is truly good. You’ve got to go right down to the base model with no options (white, standard wheels, no extra features) but, like the Stinger, it’s a rear-drive, four-door sedan with respectable power.
It’s not as powerful as the Stinger and not as fast (yep, the Stinger is faster to 100kmh), offering 211kW/450Nm to Kia’s 274kW/510Nm but it is electric and that counts for a lot today. Maybe Kia will follow suit?