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2018 Kia Stinger GT First Drive Review

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#1

The sunbaked sign at the Hyundai/Kia Proving Grounds clearly indicates the speed limit on the banked oval: 120 miles per hour. But after a few perfunctory triple-digit parade laps, the Kia representative in the passenger seat isn't having any of it. With a wink and nudge, he discreetly permits us a few extra, unrestricted goes around the big course. Never one to turn down track time, we push the 2018 Kia Stinger down the 6.4-mile oval until I see an indicated 164 mph on the straight - the fastest we've ever driven anything built in Korea, let alone many of the contenders in the Stinger's crosshairs. Game on, Kia.

The early days of Kia's attempt to conquer the American car market were dominated with an appliance-like sense of economy, one reflecting a scrappy catch-up mentality opposed to the disruptive, luxury challenging tactics du jour. Subsequent attempts to globalize the brand have taken on a definitively more inspired, international flair, and the new Stinger is the strongest harbinger of that direction to date. The movement originated when Hyundai/Kia plucked design boss Peter Schreyer from Audi, eventually moving him up in an unprecedented promotion to one of manufacturer's three group presidents. Not only did Schreyer inject a sleek, contemporary look to the lineup, his promotion proved the brand was dead serious about creating striking designs.


The Stinger's styling does not disappoint. Apart from the familiar Tiger Nose grille and the letdown of non-functional (ie, ornamental) "hood vents," the five-seater's proportions and surface treatments feel sharp and fresh, purposeful and clean. Measured from bow to stern, the Stinger is roughly mid-class among its competitive set, while offering the practicality of a sportback design that enables decent rear legroom and 23.3 cubic feet of cargo capacity. But its considerable 114.4-inch wheelbase is among the lengthiest in its class, edged out only by the Audi A7, Porsche Panamera, and BMW 6 Series Grand Coupe. That said, the upper end of Kia's self-ascribed competition might be a bit of a stretch (sorry, pun intended) considering the unlikelihood of Porsche die-hards cross-shopping the $85,000 Panamera against this new kid on the block.

The other side of Kia's modern story involves the snagging of performance whisperer Albert Biermann from BMW's M performance division. Biermann was tasked with, in his words, "Making the cars drive as good as they look," which led to the Stinger's driver-focused intentions. Sharing a similar chassis and suspension architecture to the Genesis G70 and G80 (and slotting in-between, size-wise), Stinger's handling was tightened toward sharper performance. Some 6,000 miles were spent fine-tuning the chassis and suspension at the N?rburgring, as well as nearly a million miles racked up around the world. But the chassis tuning also involved location-specific processes like shutting down portions of bumpy L.A. freeways in order to analyze surface textures and replicate them at the 2-million-square-foot vehicle dynamics track in Mojave, a costly but necessary step towards ensuring adaptability to real-world conditions.

Those parameters make Stinger's challenge doubly daunting. On one hand, the big sedan must impart a look designer Gregory Guillaume describes as an evocation of the elegant grand tourers like the Maserati Ghibli that whisked bon vivants from the South of France to Paris - on the other, the plus-size sedan must deliver a sports car experience, meeting or exceeding the performance capabilities of established standards like the Audi A5 and BMW 440i Grand coupe, Infiniti Q50, and Lexus GS F Sport. Kia says the target zone is also larger sportbacks like the aforementioned Audi A7 and Porsche Panamera - no small feat for the ambitious Korean carmaker.


We spent the day taking Stinger to the mat on L.A.'s concrete jungle, running it through the notoriously twisted asphalt of Angeles Crest Highway to the Mojave proving grounds for some closed-course work (including the high-speed oval with the weirdly low speed limit). Two powertrains are available - the Stinger 2.0T ($31,900) powered by a 2.0-liter twin-scroll four-cylinder producing 255 horsepower and 260 pound feet of torque, and the Stinger GT 3.3T ($39,000), driven by a twin-turbo 3.3-liter V6 producing 365 hp and 376 lb-ft. Both are mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox. We sampled a generously equipped GT 3.3T which, in all-wheel-drive form, tops out at around $51,000. While that ceiling is still cheaper than many of Kia's self-stated foes, it's notably higher than the four-banger's piddling low-$30s starting price.



  • Engine 3.3L Twin-Turbo V6
  • Power 365 HP / 376 LB-FT
  • Transmission 8-Speed Auto
  • 0-60 Time 4.7 Seconds
  • Top Speed 167 MPH
  • Drivetrain AWD; RWD
  • Engine Placement Front
  • Curb Weight 3,968 LBS
  • Seating 2+3
  • Cargo 23.3 CU-FT
  • Base Price $39,895


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