Kia Stinger

Driving the stinger raises the eyebrows of people on the streets, as the focal of attention comes from that aggressive front grills(with some resemblance) of a German car, the air vents from the front and side bumper, along with that long car body.

It wasn't hard to see that the aesthetics have won the hearts of the driver, the performance of the turbo engine was Kia bigger success to create this monster sedan with a boasting 244bhp and 353bhp for its two variants.

Features wise was decent with the ventilated seats, which is also leathered, and ton of legroom for a sedan. Feeling unsatisfied with all that was described, the modifications you can do to the Stinger is what makes it more fun and even opened up new perspectives of what a Kia car can do.

Purchased a Stinger 3.3 back in 2018. Over the past 3 years, haven't had any issues with the car. It was reliable, powerful, comfortable and a head-turner.

No regrets choosing it over one of the German brands - it can definitely hold it's own against them, with features such as ventilated seats, HUD and a great HK sound system

Though this Stinger has been out for a while and saw some on the roads too but out of curiosity, go take a glimpse and test drive too.

First looks, ASTONISHING with the great curves in a Korean GT class performance car with FULL LED front and rear lights.

Inside, a well finished and furnished interior which can comfortably sits 5 with driver for a great ride. The 8 inches screen is intuitive and responsive which noticeably comes with a "Sound" Effect option.

The drive....Moving off is easy where the 8 speed electronically controlled gear shift is ease of use. There are 4 modes to choose from, SMART, NORMAL, SPORTS and SPORTS PLUS.

Smart mode smartly thinks for you while you drive and adjust to your feel in acceleration and handling whereas Comfort is the usual "Save" Petrol mode for normal use. Sports mode greatly changes this car to sting you off with power to overtake and great smooth cruising. Sports Plus not able to try during test drive.

Even in Comfort, this car stings you off with great acceleration needs where you can imagine if you use Sports. And this car is so quiet inside which the insulation was so well done up, way off a typical Asian car make.

Overall, its definately a good performance sedan to get in comparison to those highly priced and prestige ones if do not want to hurt your wallet with 5 years unlimited mileage warranty from agent.

The car is magnificent. Wife is from Singapore so I was curious. Not to bum you guys out but the car which cost you 202k I just bought in Boston Ma for 39k USD. It is a 3.3L with all the bells and whistles

What can i say that has not been written in these reviews?Nothing actually.What has been said is exactly what i felt when i test drove this beauty of a machine.

thumbs down to other European make.This is the the car to own.

Shame on me for not buying it!!

After 10 years of Audi S5 ownership, here comes the time to go hunting for a good substantial car to replace my 10 yr old S5. Went car hunting at Toyota, Kia, Mazda,Nissan and Audi with a group of car enthusiasts who drive a S5 as well. This car feels very much like my S5 but still lacks in some areas like mods. In the end, some of the enthusiasts from the group settled for the Kia Stinger 3.3 while some of us went for the Mazda 6, the flagship sedan of Mazda, Mazda CX9, the flagship SUV and vehicle of the Mazda fleet, Toyota Vellfire, Premium First Class Drive on the roads as well as the flagship S series SQ5. I was one of them of who settled for the SQ5. I am writing this review in a Owner of a S5 and an enthusiastic and happy new owner of an SQ5's perspective. This review may not be really objective in a sense.

This car has disrupted the automotive industry with its bold attempt to challenge the Germans but nonetheless they have done a fantastic job coming very close with its stunning performance, looks, thoughtfulness and value.

Driving this stinger invokes a blood surging emotion. The overall feel of the car and the connections exceeds one's expectations and its price. This car allows the driver to drive like a sports car and yet able to perform its daily task admirably.

For the same price, rivals will not be able to provide the same level of performance, reliability, and equipment level. This gap could be as far as 100K+ in Singapore.

This car is truly a YOLO kind of car. You have a lifetime to own a few cars and why not get a grand tourer that enables you to feel connected and truly go the speed you want at the speed of thought?

Government's rules on cars kept changing and it might not be so distant away when new rules will make ownership of performance cars fast more painful than now. COE upswing is also trending to start to 2019.

The stinger has both great looks and awesome performance. Had a test ride driven by Kia sales representative, James Law. Had fun on it thanks to his clear explanation of the car's unique features and his excellent handling of the vehicle. Overall one of the best performance car I have seated.

Exciting sheet metal design, with elements & cues here and there to remind you the Stinger isn't a regular Korean econobox but at the same time doesn't come across as vulgar or overly aggressive.

Interior is simple nice layout with good materials at important touch points. Feature wise is very well equipped in my opinion. Niceties such as large centre dash touchscreen display with Apple Car Play, Heads Up Display (HUD), sunroof, driver electric+memory seats, ventilated seats for both, electric tail gate, reverse camera with dynamic trajectory, are all very welcomed. Space wise is very commendable, slightly bigger than my B9 Audi A4 in terms of shoulder width & legroom, though that is expected given its long wheel base. Boot space is pretty generous & accessible since it's a sportback or liftback style. If you need more space, the car comes with knockdown rear seats that lay almost completely flat for loading of larger items.

2.0T is punchy and more than sufficient for normal city/highway driving. Torque comes in very early. There is some turbo lag but once it spools up, the power comes on all at once - very enjoyable. The paddle shifters are a bit slow in shifting gears though. Predictable & composed handling. Feels as though I'm driving a German car. Suspension wise, it's a bit stiffer than what you would expect, not saying that it's harsh or uncomfortable but you would feel the road undulations abit more than usual.

Overall I like the Stinger a lot, to the point I booked it immediately after the test drive. The 2.0T is not really a "Lesser" Variant since it still has a lot of the cosmetic elements and gizmos that the bigger 3.3 v6 turbo brother has - Main differences are the engine, lack of limited slip differential, brembo BBK and Harmon Kardon speakers plus smaller 18" Rims on the 2.0T.

I am not a brand whore so buying the Stinger was an easy decision to make.

Test drove the 2.0 version on a wet sunday afternoon. Despite the wet condition,

it is very stable and a delight to drive. Power is more than sufficient for our roads.

Steering is very sharp and accurate. Suspension is a little hard IMHO, thus the comfort level could be better. Very quiet cabin, which I like and the transmission is very smooth. Overall it's a very nice to drive car and I really enjoyed the ride.

Built quality is as good as a continental make, although the interior is still not on par with the BMW or Merz yet, but is much better than most Japs.

At almost 170K, it's a little high unfortunately. I think it would have attracted a lot more buyers if the price is around 150K

Heard that this Kia has striking looks and is developed on the Nurburgring, hence went to have a look for myself.

Test drive the 2.0T GT stinger recently without appointment.

Exterior:

Sexy look with the curves and the yellow color makes it extremely appealing to me. Great looking car...

Interior:

A low car for me but the driver seat, telescopic steering wheel, gear knob is shiok

The interior appeals a lot to me.

But the vibration and the engine noise is not appealing to me.

“Driveability”:

Very nimble, very sharp steering, tested on small roads

2.0T is so ready to accelerate( pounce on a prey).

Heads up display is nicr.. Speedo is nice and vibrant.

Pricing:

Its too high. 2.0T is $170k plus.

$130k to $140k is more appealing to me.

The test drive started as passenger with a Kia "Pilot" At the wheel scaring me silly drifting through traffic on Alexendra road. What the... Kia is making rockets and their staff are rocketers!

After the spirited drive cooled down a bit, as a passenger, the first thing to note is how comfortable this car is. The interrior is a bit too black and lack fancy but everything feels of very high quality.

Taking over the wheel the car does feel heavy but in a good way. The steering is pretty light and she behaves quietly if the right pedal is used gently. The sport mode is probably what I would use most of the time because the level of comfort is very high and the car is extremly responsive. I did not try the sport+ mode though. With the wet road, the car was already skiding when pushing the pedal to the metal so I did not dare removing the stability control. It is a car that demands respect. May be a change to better tyres would make a lot of difference here.

The car is also very quiet. So much so that they have implemended a compulsory engine soundtrack through the car audio in sport mode. With a car that quiet I was expecting some great sound system. Unfortunatly the Harman Kardon is not up to the task with a very muddy bass tunning that ruins any sound track I tried. The one thing I would do if I get this car is to send it for a real high end audio upgrade that will also get rid of the engine noise sound track.

Overall, this car is the perfect choice for someone driving often to Malaysia and beyond. It is comfortable, quiet, bloody fast and the badge will not attract too much attention from the wrong people. It is kind of an AMG in disguise.

I would not even consider the 2l version. The price difference does not justify it. The specs on the V6 are much better and fully justify the extra cost. If you want to save money you should consider a Cerato in the first place or spend S$160k on an entry level Mercedes for those seeking badge status.

I am really impressed Kia is offering this car. I am very tempted to buy one but seldom drive north for my job.