Kia Stinger Video Review

In Car Reviews, Kia by Bob Flavin

There’s a sting in the tail of the new Kia

Bob Flavin from the first European media drives of the All New Kia Stinger high performance saloon.

It’s not often that the South Korean company comes out with something that I can get excited about but the All New Kia Stinger really is a decent piece of kit. You know the company is serious about their new baby when in the press conference they talk about the BMW 4 series as a competitor car.

The Kia Stinger is meant to hark back to the Grand Tourers of the 60’s with the long bonnet and air scoops planted all over the car which gives it a look that’s reminiscent of Aston Martin. From some angles the look is a bit fussy as there’s a lot going on, even some of the shut-lines seem a bit big. Overall I like the looks just be careful of the colour choice.

Under the bonnet, there’s a choice of a 197bhp 2.2-litre diesel (62mph in 7.3sec), a 244bhp 2.0-litre petrol (5.8sec) or a 365bhp petrol (4.7sec). The 3.3 V6 will be here before Christmas and that’s what makes the Singer really sting, the noise and grumble, albeit kind of fake, makes the whole experience feel worthwhile.

The interior is a four-seat tourer with a large transmission tunnel down the middle that makes the car feel wide and comfortable. There’s a luxury feeling to most of the materials; you’ll have to search around to find the places where Kia have tried to save money, overall the interior is right up there with anything from the luxury end of the market.

We got a good spin on the Circuito Mallorca which is a fast flowing track with good tight corners and an open long straight. The 4wd system handled the corners very well; it even allowed me a little drift as you might see in the video above. The smaller engines come with RWD which will make even the most enthusiastic driver happy on the drive home.

The Kia Stinger is the welcome surprise from the South Korean brand if this is the direction Kia is heading in there won’t be much opposition. The price in the UK of £40,495 is a good deal more affordable than the 4 series but I can’t see many Beemer buyers veering off to the Kia showroom still, Kia will be causing trouble come this January.

About the author

Bob Flavin

Bob has been a car nut since being a very young child, as a teenager he could tell what car was coming down the road from the shape of the headlights at night. After an extended stay in the motor trade he was asked to write a review of a new car for a newspaper, he liked it so much he started to review cars for various web sites and has a very successful Youtube channel.

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