Kia Stinger GT Review

MY19

The Kia Stinger is touted as a GT road trip car for the ages. With a 7-year warranty, a reputation for reliability, and with the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon shutting shop, the Stinger sure has the market for itself. We have now owned this car for close to two years now, and we review our experience with the car. We look at it from the perspective of a comfortable family car with the ability to do school runs and road trips with equal ease.

Likes
- Aggressive design, every angle is a looker
- 365 BHP twin turbo, smooth and refined engine
- Adaptive suspension with Sports and Comfort modes
- Different drive modes with Smart mode which adapts to the way you drive
- Sport mode stiffens the ride and makes the steering more direct
- Steering is linear and points the car exactly where you want it to go
- 500 Nm of torque available from 1500-1800 rpm allows you to zoom off from the stop sign.
- Crisp 8 inch infotainment screen with navigation, and Android Auto / Apple CarPlay, Satellite Radio
- 7 inch colour display within traditional gauges
- HUD which gives you speed limit, navigation, and blind spot information right there in your eye line
- Safety features like Blind Spot monitoring, Rear Traffic alert, Adaptive cruise control, Lake Keep assist as standard
- Sunroof as standard
- Electrically adjustable seats with Lumbar support and Side bolsters
- 15 Speaker Harman Kardon system with 2 subwoofers under the front seats
- Launch Control
- Wireless charging

Dislikes
- Some of the plastics down below feel hard and scratchy
- Adaptive suspension settings are a bid on the firmer side even in Comfort mode. 19 inch wheels don't help either
- Gas Mileage is strictly below average
- Space saver spare wheel
- Boot space is smaller than the competition
- Wireless Charging, but Android Auto and CarPlay are still wired
- No way to figure out which gear the automatic transmission is on at any moment until you use the paddles to downshift / upshift

So why did we choose the KIA Stinger
The Stinger provides most of the safety and comfort features at a price point which is a couple of thousand dollars below the starting price of equivalent German cars. These safety features when optioned on the Germans would cause the price to jump up, and in some cases up-to $40,000 more than the Stinger.

The Stinger is a handsome car from whichever angle you look at. It has good street presence and turns heads wherever you go. The good looks carry on to the interiors as well, making it a well-rounded package. It has a plucky underdog feel to it and you immediately find yourself endeared to it. The Stinger becomes a part of your family.

Being designed by Peter Schreyer previously of Audi, with the handling and the ride being governed by Albert Biermann previously the head of BMW's M division, only gives more confidence that this car has been done right. There are several reviewers who have gone out and bought a Stinger as their daily driver, which doesn't happen that often. The multitude of awards the Stinger won in 2018 is nothing to sneer at.

This car also ticked all the following boxes which were our main criteria for our next car.
- All latest safety features
- LED headlamps
- Comfortable long distance cruiser
- Powerful engine with enough torque to tear the bark off a tree
- Good stock tires without having the need to change them soon
- A good stereo system with Subwoofers
- Good visibility up front with minimal blind spot due to the A pillars
- Cheap and effortless maintenance

Dimensions
The way this car looks gives it a lot of street presence. With a ground clearance of 130 mm and width which is bigger than a 5 series BMW, it is really a looker. The Stinger is set to compete with the likes of the BMW 4 series Gran Coupe, and the Audi A5, but its dimensions are closer to the A6 or the 5 series. Wheelbase is 2905 mm.

Exterior
The colour is peculiar. It looks a very dark shade of blue in the dark and under artificial light but looks a brilliant violet under direct sunlight. It has an aggressive front end, is unique and is not really anything we have seen in the recent past. It sports a modified version of the KIA tiger nose grill, with a wide air dam for the inter-cooler. Also notice the hexagonal pattern of the grill. The radar for the adaptive cruise control is neatly integrated with the same design, right at the notch of the 'tiger nose'.

Prominent front skirt helps funnel air into the air intakes. In our opinion the front three quarter view is the best angle to view the car from. You don't normally expect such edges and curves from a midsize Kia. Hood intakes are fake and just add a cosmetic appeal to the car.

Rear three quarter view shows the hood swooping towards the tail in a coupe like design. Notice the extended side rear reflector which does not fit in with the rest of the design language. Seems like an afterthought and we aren’t fans. Side profile further accentuates the fantastic coupe design. Also notice the blackened chrome running along the body of the car over the window line.

The Stinger runs on a 19" staggered setup with 225/40 in front and 255/35 at the back. The wheels are draped with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires. (Used to come with Continental tires in 2018, but KIA changed them due to excessive wear). A disadvantage of the staggered setup is that a 4-way tire rotation is not possible, and that reduces the tire warranty by half. Close up of the disc brakes used on all 4 wheels. 4 piston Brembo brakes in front and 2 piston Brembos at the back. The central "wheel nut" is a fake plastic piece, which when pried open reveals 5 normal wheel nuts.

Maserati inspired taillights with a red bar running right across the rear help to create a busy rear which works. There is a slight notch type rear spoiler as well. This is one of the nicer rear ends on a car in a while. The quad exhaust tips are genuine with twin reflectors above them. Stinger emblem is positioned on the left with the GT logo on the right. This is the only position where the stinger name is mentioned. Every other place has a KIA logo. Notice the shark-fin antenna which takes up duties of communication for the navigation system, and the satellite radio. The rear tailgate is a hatchback. Though the rear windscreen looks large, it's small from the inside and hinders visibility. The rear also has a faux diffuser with the same hexagonal grill design carried over.

The rear hatchback opens wide to reveal a 406-litre boot. Smaller than the competition but large nevertheless. Once the parcel shelf is removed, the vertical stacking ability comes to the fore vs a normal sedan. Can easily gobble up luggage for 4 adults going on a weekend trip (ala GT car). Under the boot mat is a space saver spare tire. Odd that the main tires are Michelins, but the spare is a Kumho. The space saver is a 135 R18 which is rated for 80 kmph maximum. The tools are encased in a foam casing which is the norm nowadays.

The smart tailgate opens after 4 seconds of detecting the key next to the boot. Automatic hinges help in opening the hatchback and uses a button which you can push to close it back down. There is no separate button to lock the car along with closing the boot. However, If the smart tailgate opens with the rest of the car being locked, when the boot is closed, the rest of the car remains locked.

Also present is a larger than average sunroof. KIA states that having a panoramic sunroof would have compromised structural integrity of the car during cornering, and this sunroof is the largest they could have possibly fitted.

Panel gaps are uniform throughout and resembles the fit and finish of high quality Hyundai and KIA models which are currently present in the market. The styling is on par with the German counterparts and could easily stand heel and toe with any of the luxury brands out there. There had been complaints about paint quality in 2018. The Sunset Yellow painted KIA Stinger was infamous for being recalled for a repaint throughout the world. Only around 70-80 were sold in Australia and then this colour was discontinued. The Deep Chroma blue seems to be the best colour in terms of paint quality with least number of issues reported, and here's hoping that 2019 KIA Stingers have these issues corrected.

Our usage is around 40 km per week as we travel by public transport most of the days. On weekends, the Stinger is mostly driven on the highway. Mileage around the city is paltry at 7 kmpl which goes up to 12.5 kmpl on highways.

Interiors, Comfort and Equipment

The first thing you notice as you step into the Stinger is that everything you see, and touch feels premium. Soft touch plastics and aluminium generously adorn the cabin. Even plastic switches are premium to touch, but they never reach the heights of an Audi or a Mercedes. You will have to look lower down at the plastics of the door pockets to get hard scratchy plastics. The infotainment system is displayed via a popup screen mounted on the eye line like the counterpart German cars. The centre air vents are clearly lifted from a Mercedes' cabin. A swivel wheel controls the airflow on each vent and has a satisfying click when it shuts off the airflow altogether. The same design of the centre air vents carries over to the rear vents as well. Under the rear vents there is a 12V socket and a USB charging port. The USB port at the back is only a charging port which cannot communicate data to the infotainment system for Apple CarPlay / Android Auto.

Upholstery comes in the form of Nappa leather which adorns the seats. Leather is also used on the centre armrests, the steering wheel, and the doors. The red leather which this Stinger comes in gives a good contrast between the black and aluminium present on the door panels. The seats are comfortable with multi way electrical adjustments. The driver's seat comes with additional under thigh support and side bolsters support. The side bolsters can be tightened to hold you tighter when cornering when driving 'spiritedly'. Unfortunately, the bolsters seem to be made of leatherette and are prone to wear and tear. KIA however provides a free replacement of the seats once during the 7-year warranty period. The driver's seat gets two memory positions which can be saved. The memory records the position of the seats, the steering column, the under-thigh support, side bolsters, Heads up Display position and ORVM positions. The seats also move out of the way when the car is switched off and the driver door is opened. The seats move all the way to the back, the steering column rises for easy exit. The reverse happens when you get into the car and close the door returning the seats to the last memory position.

Audio is supplied via a 15 speaker Harman Kardon sound system. The system contains 1 tweeter, 1 mid-range speaker, 1 woofer in each of the doors. Also contains a centre speaker on the dashboard behind the centre screen and two subwoofers under the front seats. The system also contains a few nifty tweaks. It provides a surround system where the occupants can imagine being on the stage where each instrument sounds from a separate speaker giving the impression of being surrounded by music. The system also has an audience mode where the surround is more centred in front of the occupants. Clari-fi is a patented technology which fixes the loss in lower quality music files like mp3s. The sound quality is mostly good. It is more bass friendly considering it contains 2 subwoofers. Turn the bass down, and the sound clarity is very good. While it doesn't come close to the Bowers and Wilkins audio which performs duties in the XC60, it's right up there for normal music listeners.

The centre console allows you to switch the drive mode with the following settings

1. Eco - Upshifts as soon as possible with the suspension settings on comfort mode.
2. Comfort - A more spirited drive than Eco with the suspension settings on comfort mode
3. Sport - For very spirited drive where the steering becomes tauter, the suspension stiffens up and the engine upshifts only above 4000 rpm.
4. Smart - Monitors driving activity and decides the mode based on the driving input.
5. Custom - Allows the user to choose comfort / sport settings individually.

The shifter is drive by wire with a separate Park button. The car goes into Park automatically when the car is switched off. However, the Parking brake has to be manually enabled. The parking brake is disengaged automatically when the shifter is moved to Drive.

Safety Features
The Stinger features a plethora of Modern safety features a few of which I have detailed below.

Traction control system and Limited Slip Differential
The car produces 365 BHP, all of which are sent to the back wheels. With 500 Nm of torque, it's highly likely that the wheels will spin off the line under hard acceleration. The Traction control system limits that enables a smooth release off the line with minimum wheel spin.

The Limited Slip Differential helps in keeping the car pointed forward when driving spiritedly on the curves and ensures that the car doesn't end up in a ditch somewhere. With that said the Stinger is still tail happy and is willing to fish tail out on slightly gravel tracks where the LSD immediately brings it in control again and off the car goes to conquer the next curve. With incredible torque at low RPMs, this car is incredibly fun to drive. The tail happy nature also puts a big grin on your face, knowing that the LSD is there to save the day.

Auto dimming ORVMs
The ORVMs and the IRVM are both auto dimming and ensure that high beams are not too much of a distraction. The mirrors use a electrochromic system where the light falling on the mirrors is measured and then a dim layer forms on the mirror.

Autonomous Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Safety System
The Stinger features autonomous emergency braking which brakes the car automatically if it detects an obstacle in the immediate vicinity. It also detects pedestrians and will brake automatically. If a collision with a pedestrian is inevitable, the car features Active Hood Lift system which raises the hood slightly to cushion the impact for the pedestrian.

Lane Keep Assist
The Lane keep assist can actively steer the car to keep it in the middle of the lane. This assist activates at speeds above 60 kmph, and activation of the system does not depend on whether the cruise control is activated.
There are varying degrees of the Lane Keep assist which are configurable. At its minimum, the car only lets out an audible warning to the user if the car detects that it is moving out of lane. In the mid configuration, the car gives gentle steering inputs to try to keep the car in the centre of the lane, and with the maximum configuration the steering inputs are more frequent.
In the maximum configuration the car feels like it is bouncing off one lane to the other in an effort to keep it in the centre of the lane.

Emergency Stop Signal
The car constantly flashes its brake lights and hazard lights if a sudden brake is applied which activates the anti-lock brake system. The emergency stop signals signal to the driver behind that the car had to apply emergency braking to avoid an obstacle, and it continues until the brake force is released and the car accelerates.

Blind Spot Detection and Rear Cross traffic alert
The Blind spot detection warns the user of another vehicle in the driver's blind spot in it's close proximity. a small light lights up in orange on the ORVM where the blind spot obstacle is detected. A similar warning comes up on the HUD as well. An audible warning is chimed if the turn signal is turned on to change lanes when an obstacle is detected in the blind spot.

Rear cross traffic alert is useful when the car is being reversed from a vertical or 45 degree parking and it is reversed on to the street. The system uses a sonar which can detect cars coming on either direction to an extent where the driver is not able to see the car.

Advanced Smart Cruise Control
Sales speak for adaptive cruise control is where the car can maintain the set cruise speed, and reduce the speed based on the vehicle in front. The speed reduction can be to a standstill in case of a stop sign, and flicking the RES button of the cruise control resumes the adaptive cruise. The distance to be maintained between the car and the vehicle in front is configurable and can be changed in real time. As usual you use the SET button to set the cruise control speed and reduce the cruise speed. RES is used to resume the cruise control and increase the cruise control speed. It works well most of the time, with the acceleration and deceleration linear without any jerks. However, when the cruise control is on when the car goes around a curve, and suddenly a vehicle in the next lane enters the frame of the radar, the car detects that there's an obstacle very close to it and it suddenly brakes. It is disconcerting at best, and very dangerous for the vehicle behind.

Front and Rear Parking sensors
This top of the model Stinger gets front and rear parking sensors with the graphic integrated into the infotainment system. The rear, front and the rear cross traffic alert all get their own unique sounds so that you do not mistake the warning sound.

Airbags
All Stingers across the range get 8 Airbags including a Driver Knee Airbag

Engine and Drivetrain

The KIA Stinger GT houses a 3.3 litre V6 twin turbo engine producing 365 BHP and 510 Nm of torque. The engine is rated to run using regular unleaded petrol. However, to get maximum output from the engine a minimum of 95 RON petrol is required. The engine is smooth and refined even at high RPMs and hardly produces a hum inside the cabin. The flip side of this is that there is no grunt from the V6 engine, and the exhaust note is disappointing. KIA offers a bimodal exhaust as an accessory, but even this exhaust doesn't hold a candle next to an AMG exhaust. Aftermarket exhausts are an option but whether this voids the warranty or not, is not exactly understood currently.

All variants of the Stinger use the same torque converter automatic transmission. However, this Stinger GT uses a shift by wire lever which is not physically connected to the transmission. This means that there is no true manual, like in case of a Tiptronic. Even manual paddle shifted gear changes are controlled by the software. True manual is achieved only for a few minutes after which the software overrides manual input and puts back the gear shift to Drive. If the transmission is left to do its thing and is in fully automatic mode, the upshifts and downshifts are effortless and are not noticeable. Dare I say DSG-ish. That being said, we are still to discover how to see the current gear on the MID. Right now, it just says 'D'. Coupled with the fantastic transmission and the immense torque at low RPMs the Stinger is a missile off the line. For normal day to day scenarios, launch control is not required. Mileage is something which is spoken in a hush hush voice around this car. When you start the car and you are navigating at low speeds around the parking lot to exit, the average fuel consumption says 2-3 kmpl! Extra urban driving yields a mileage of 7-8 kmpl and highway mileage is around 12-13 kmpl.

Other quirks and features
* System reverts to Comfort mode every time the car is started even though it was left in another mode earlier

* Auto climate control changes from recirculation mode automatically

* Setting cruise control occasionally says 'Cruise control conditions not met' even if speed is high enough and there are no vehicles in front

* Though the battery is in the boot, leads are provided in the bonnet in case a jump start is required

* The boot is bare bones with no bag hooks and no 12 V socket.

* Every time the infotainment system is switched on and the car is not started after a while, there is a scary warning that the battery is discharging!

* When a dash-cam is connected, and the dash-cam operates even when the car is parked, the next time the car is started there is a warning stating that an external device is discharging the battery.

* South Korean car, but fan belts are made in Germany

* Build date is prominently displayed under the hood.

* GT branding is on the front seat head rests. GT Branded carpet mats and boot mats are also available as an accessory.

* Though the Stinger in Australia features a KIA badge, they get an E badge in Korea. Translates to "Engineered for Excellence".

* Like all performance sedans the Stinger also features a kick-down mechanism where you push the accelerator pedal down beyond the 100% limit which makes the car drop another gear. Useful for super quick acceleration.

* The wipers have to be set to service mode before they can be moved away from the windscreen.

* There are no hooks in the boot to hold up the mat while you pick up the spare wheel.

* HUD is polarized. Wearing sunglasses of opposite polarity makes the HUD invisible.