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That the Kia Stinger looks as outrageously low and mean as it does is perhaps our highest praise for the new four-door sport hatch. Few and far between are cars that survive the bureaucracy-filled odyssey from show stand to showroom without suffering character-killing dilution. Yet the production Stinger's shape matches nearly line for line that of the Kia GT Concept, which made its debut at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show. Production realities excised the concept's rear-hinged rear doors, added B-pillars, and transformed its wing cameras into conventional door-mounted side mirrors. Otherwise, the similarities are as plain as day. The GT's grille-flanking intake scoops remain on the production car, as do the wraparound taillamps, which terminate in reflectors on the rear quarter-panels. The rear side windows, too, share their distinctive quarter-round shape with the GT Concept's. Even the Stinger's name, which shrouds the car in the same majesty as greats such as the Plymouth Fury and the Hillman Imp, hints that something is different about this Kia. Part of that something-a big part of it, actually-is shocking straight-line performance.
Highs
Holy crap(!) acceleration; mid-size-car space, compact-car money; solid feature count.
Lows
Rough-edged limit handling, lacks luxury-level finish, on the loud side.
Our test car, a preproduction rear-wheel-drive GT fitted with the brand's 365-hp twin-turbocharged 3.3-liter V-6, treated us to a 12.9-second quarter-mile at 111 mph. And it did so without any fanfare. Just wood the throttle and the car's 255/35ZR-19 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 rear rubber finds the purchase necessary to produce such numbers. The homegrown eight-speed automatic is at its best when left to shift itself, so that's what we did. Its gearchanges, like those of Porsche's PDK-equipped cars, are rapid enough to be invisible on the speed trace plotted by our VBOX test gear, which is to say they're pretty damned fast. The near-optimal grip/power balance yields a 4.4-second zero-to-60 time, which is as quick as or quicker than pretty much everything in the Stinger's wide purview. And though launch control wasn't functional on our early tester, it's unlikely to help a car that takes off like the Stinger does. Perhaps the most striking facet of the engine's power delivery is evident in the Stinger's 5.0-second 5-to-60-mph time-quicker than every machine in our last comparison test of mid-size premium sports sedans. Acceleration is strong with this one.
Braking, too, is better here than in those sedans from Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Jaguar, and Mercedes, requiring only 156 feet from 70 mph. Four-piston front and two-piston rear Brembo calipers are standard on the GT. Pedal response is predictable, but it's spread over more travel than we'd prefer. The short stopping distance is no doubt aided by a 4004-pound as-tested weight, which is about as light as the cars in this class come.
Kia, of course, has a broader plan for this hatchback, which includes more than just impressive acceleration and braking. It wants to match up to the established German mid-sizers. The base-trim Stinger (without the GT moniker) comes standard with a 255-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder coupled to an eight-speed auto, a popular modern powertrain configuration. Both engines are available with rear- or all-wheel drive. And the Stinger is competitively scaled. Its 114.4-inch wheelbase is only a few tenths of an inch shorter than the Audi A6 and S6's, and its overall length, at 190.2 inches, is about four inches shorter than the A6 and the BMW 5-series sedans'. But both its wheelbase and overall length are greater than those of the BMW 3-series, Cadillac ATS, and Mercedes C-class sedans. Indeed, its interior volume is competitive with that of most mid-size premium players-a fact that was plainly obvious when our largest staffer took the Pepsi Challenge with the Stinger and Audi A5 Sportback rear seats. He actually fit in the Kia.
But it's the handling latitude and capability of cars such as the BMW 4-series Gran Coupe-a car that Kia carefully benchmarked in its development-that the Stinger targets with the GT's five drive modes (Smart, Eco, Comfort, Sport, and Custom). Shared with the upcoming Genesis G70, the Stinger's platform uses struts up front and a multilink rear suspension. A clutch-type limited-slip differential is standard in top-trim GTs, and the car's dampers continuously adjust within two distinct calibrations that are tied to the drive modes. Custom mode allows drivers to tweak engine and transmission responses, steering effort, damping rates, and engine-sound enhancement, which is accomplished through the Stinger's audio-system speakers.
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