Kia: Stinger News
#84
I like it; front is a little weird looking, reminds me a little of the vehicross, but overall I like that Kia took the leap!.
I've seen the prices listed at anywhere from 40k-52k, and that level, I'm not so sure how big of a hit Kia has on their hands. Acura tries to compete in the entry level lux field banking on value minded shoppers while Kia is already in the mainstream, and economy segments, and is trying to compete at the lowest price point there. I completely understand why Hyundai split of the Genesis line, so find it odd that Kia is going it alone. My prediction; this car is going to be like all the RWD, and/or manual cars that everyone raves about, but then no one ever actually buys.
Hopefully I am wrong, and it does extremely well, the more competition in the segment the merrier.
I've seen the prices listed at anywhere from 40k-52k, and that level, I'm not so sure how big of a hit Kia has on their hands. Acura tries to compete in the entry level lux field banking on value minded shoppers while Kia is already in the mainstream, and economy segments, and is trying to compete at the lowest price point there. I completely understand why Hyundai split of the Genesis line, so find it odd that Kia is going it alone. My prediction; this car is going to be like all the RWD, and/or manual cars that everyone raves about, but then no one ever actually buys.
Hopefully I am wrong, and it does extremely well, the more competition in the segment the merrier.
#85
Very nice... I see hints of Jag, Audi and the Panamera in the design.. And for some reason, the first car that came to mind when I saw the pic of the Stinger above was the new Alfa Giulia ..
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#89
I like it; front is a little weird looking, reminds me a little of the vehicross, but overall I like that Kia took the leap!.
I've seen the prices listed at anywhere from 40k-52k, and that level, I'm not so sure how big of a hit Kia has on their hands. Acura tries to compete in the entry level lux field banking on value minded shoppers while Kia is already in the mainstream, and economy segments, and is trying to compete at the lowest price point there. I completely understand why Hyundai split of the Genesis line, so find it odd that Kia is going it alone. My prediction; this car is going to be like all the RWD, and/or manual cars that everyone raves about, but then no one ever actually buys.
Hopefully I am wrong, and it does extremely well, the more competition in the segment the merrier.
I've seen the prices listed at anywhere from 40k-52k, and that level, I'm not so sure how big of a hit Kia has on their hands. Acura tries to compete in the entry level lux field banking on value minded shoppers while Kia is already in the mainstream, and economy segments, and is trying to compete at the lowest price point there. I completely understand why Hyundai split of the Genesis line, so find it odd that Kia is going it alone. My prediction; this car is going to be like all the RWD, and/or manual cars that everyone raves about, but then no one ever actually buys.
Hopefully I am wrong, and it does extremely well, the more competition in the segment the merrier.
#90
No problem with an Honda TLX. I know the value after 36 mo aas guaranteed and it is NOT 2/3 less like the current $45K Kia (see kia.ca for reference)
Koreans were able to reproduce a Mercedes E-Class 2003 look in 2009 (now forgotten in the oblivion) now they are doing it again reproducing an Audi A7 2010 look .... in 2018. It may have a nice face but the koreans didn't prove themselves in the entry-luxo market, while Honda sure did. Honda is a sure value at $35K+, certainly not anything from Hyundai or Kia.
PS: With this kind of reply from a "senior moderator", no wonder that AZ has become an Acura bashing-fest.
Koreans were able to reproduce a Mercedes E-Class 2003 look in 2009 (now forgotten in the oblivion) now they are doing it again reproducing an Audi A7 2010 look .... in 2018. It may have a nice face but the koreans didn't prove themselves in the entry-luxo market, while Honda sure did. Honda is a sure value at $35K+, certainly not anything from Hyundai or Kia.
PS: With this kind of reply from a "senior moderator", no wonder that AZ has become an Acura bashing-fest.
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#94
No problem with an Honda TLX. I know the value after 36 mo aas guaranteed and it is NOT 2/3 less like the current $45K Kia (see kia.ca for reference)
Koreans were able to reproduce a Mercedes E-Class 2003 look in 2009 (now forgotten in the oblivion) now they are doing it again reproducing an Audi A7 2010 look .... in 2018. It may have a nice face but the koreans didn't prove themselves in the entry-luxo market, while Honda sure did. Honda is a sure value at $35K+, certainly not anything from Hyundai or Kia.
PS: With this kind of reply from a "senior moderator", no wonder that AZ has become an Acura bashing-fest.
Koreans were able to reproduce a Mercedes E-Class 2003 look in 2009 (now forgotten in the oblivion) now they are doing it again reproducing an Audi A7 2010 look .... in 2018. It may have a nice face but the koreans didn't prove themselves in the entry-luxo market, while Honda sure did. Honda is a sure value at $35K+, certainly not anything from Hyundai or Kia.
PS: With this kind of reply from a "senior moderator", no wonder that AZ has become an Acura bashing-fest.
FWIW, It doesnt matter if im a Senior Moderator or not, My job here isnt to love every single product Acura makes. I am entitled to my own opinions. I dont have to like every car they make (or at this point any car) I still like the brand, i just want them to pull their heads out of their asses and actually design something like they used to, lead, not follow years behind, design something like they keep preaching about doing in every press release/conference. When they can be a brand that excites, stirs emotions, does what they say they are going to do, gives me/us a product worth looking at in comparison to the companies they are trying to compete with and not their little brother company Honda ill look at them seriously. Until then just like you are free to Defend them, I am free to Criticize them as you do Kia/Hyundai.
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#95
Sure. For one, this is not an Honda. It is an Acura, remember the site... the name? It starts and ends with an A? The body sheet is all different from an Accord, and there is no Honda TLX even in Russia (where the Acura TLX also exists). Acura has made a terrific job dissociating the TLX from the Accord, justifying the premium with the styling alone. Didn't I say that it was not an Honda?
#97
Sure. For one, this is not an Honda. It is an Acura, remember the site... the name? It starts and ends with an A? The body sheet is all different from an Accord, and there is no Honda TLX even in Russia (where the Acura TLX also exists). Acura has made a terrific job dissociating the TLX from the Accord, justifying the premium with the styling alone. Didn't I say that it was not an Honda?
#98
Sure. For one, this is not an Honda. It is an Acura, remember the site... the name? It starts and ends with an A? The body sheet is all different from an Accord, and there is no Honda TLX even in Russia (where the Acura TLX also exists). Acura has made a terrific job dissociating the TLX from the Accord, justifying the premium with the styling alone. Didn't I say that it was not an Honda?
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#100
Hyundai totally gets it! Great design, better reliability, luxury features. The biggest issue they have to fix now is poor resale value.
#101
https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/stinger/first-drive
You’re telling us Kia has decided to make a fast and slinky rear-drive saloon?
Yes, the Kia Stinger is exactly that. Well apart from the saloon bit: it’s a hatch. Think of it as a BMW 4-Series Gran Coupe, but a little longer and lower. Kia seems to have had the idea before BMW, with the Kia GT show car in 2011.
Not exactly Kia’s core territory though?
No, but don’t underestimate this Korean giant’s reach. As part of the Hyundai Motor group, they have access to modern rear-drive platforms from the new Genesis brand. They already build the twin-turbo V6 (a 3.3-litre with 370bhp), their own eight-speed auto, etcetera. All in a body made of their own steel, carried to Europe in ships they constructed.
How’s it look outside a motor show?
Pretty good. The long, low proportions help. The cabin’s set well back, and from the rear you notice a voluptuous swell over the rear wheels. Kia’s head of design at its European studio authored the Stinger. He’s Gregory Guillaume, a Frenchman who’s worked for strong European design houses before Kia.
Guillaume pushed for the long wheelbase, so he could lower the seats and roof yet leave legroom intact. He didn’t want a deploying rear spoiler, because it would have added cut-lines. So the team went for careful underfloor aero instead.
Even so, there are a lot of cuts at the back. But it’s a striking and graceful machine overall, and not too aggressive. That matches its driving character, as we’ll see.
And underneath?
Just as Kia had built its first chassis-test mule for the Stinger (under a Genesis GT body) the parent corporation took on Albert Biermann to be its boss of dynamics. He used to have the same job at BMW M. Biermann has taken an extremely close interest in the Stinger’s development.
Though the engine is fundamentally an existing job, the chassis is largely new. The front suspension is entirely bespoke, the rear heavily modified. Adaptive dampers are standard on the V6.
Of course, very few people in Europe will buy a V6 petrol Kia – after all, very few actually buy six-cylinder petrol BMWs. The big(ger) sellers in Britain will be a 2.0 turbo petrol of 255bhp, and a 200bhp 2.2 diesel.
In some places there’s an AWD option, but the front diff is installed where the RHD steering column would be, so we don’t get it here.
So can Kia build a decent sporty rear-driver?
Yes. But this judgment comes with a big proviso: we were confined to track testing it. At the Nürburgring. Still, its blind tightening corners, bumps and dips and crests do make a good job of imitating an interesting hilly road.
The Stinger’s great talent is how natural it feels. You sit low, and address the wheel and pedals straight-ahead. That’s good for the articulation of your arms and legs. Then its reactions are reassuring and predictable. That’s most welcome on a track that often springs a new surprise just as you are picking your way through the last one.
Turn the wheel and the body moves exactly as you’d subconsciously expect. Big saloons with ‘sporty’ bent sometimes give you initial sog followed by a sudden twitch. Instead the Stinger is progressive. The roll, of which there isn’t too much, also develops in proportion. Which makes it a reassuring car to drive briskly. It will react to trimming the line by throttle. Traction out of bends is stout, helped by limited-slip differential, and the stability control does its work subtly.
It’s not razor-sharp (nor’s a 4-Series unless it’s an M4, and they don’t do an M4 in the GC body) but it’s game and dignified. Doesn’t feel out of its depth even under this provocation.
I also had a lap in the 4WD version. It’s supposed to be rear-biased, but feels more mute and unreactive in corners, and the 2WD one would out-accelerate it noticeably in the lower gears because of weight and rotational inertia. Mind you, the weather was warm and dry. In the wet 4WD would help, but it’s not a choice we’ll have here.
And the engine?
At 1,730kg, the Stinger isn’t a light car, because the body is almost all steel and it’s longer than direct competitors. Even so it doesn’t hang about: the 370bhp V6 does 0-62mph in 5.1 seconds, says Kia. The engine lags a bit until you’ve got some revs up, then it hits its stride with a nice harmonious warble. The transmission shifts slickly, but the paddles won’t entirely over-ride it.
The suspension seems to avoid too much bang’n’crash on notorious bits of the ‘Ring such as the Karussell, but really it’d be premature to give a verdict on ride comfort.
What about the cabin?
Kia has gone for lots of hardware switches – climate, stereo, seat heaters etc all have their own buttons, whereas rivals do some or all of that on screens. I prefer the Kia approach. You can do common things by sense of touch alone.
A head-up display is augmented by a configurable TFT between the real dials. Some 15 speakers of Harman Kardon audio goodness are on the options list. We see no glaring omissions in the connectivity or active safety line-up, but on the other hand it’s not going to try to drive itself.
The seats are plushly padded, but managed to hold me in place as we squiggled between the Armco through the Eifel forest.
When, and how much?
It comes to the UK in late autumn. No exact word on prices, but the hints are that it’ll cost slightly less than an equivalently powered BMW 4-Series, despite being a bit bigger.
Kia has to carry a badge discount compared with the Germans, surely…
Exactly. Sure, the Sportage and Soul sold well on their styling, but at this higher level people want a brand. Kia’s main hope is the Stinger causes people to take the rest of its range more seriously.
Yes, the Kia Stinger is exactly that. Well apart from the saloon bit: it’s a hatch. Think of it as a BMW 4-Series Gran Coupe, but a little longer and lower. Kia seems to have had the idea before BMW, with the Kia GT show car in 2011.
Not exactly Kia’s core territory though?
No, but don’t underestimate this Korean giant’s reach. As part of the Hyundai Motor group, they have access to modern rear-drive platforms from the new Genesis brand. They already build the twin-turbo V6 (a 3.3-litre with 370bhp), their own eight-speed auto, etcetera. All in a body made of their own steel, carried to Europe in ships they constructed.
How’s it look outside a motor show?
Pretty good. The long, low proportions help. The cabin’s set well back, and from the rear you notice a voluptuous swell over the rear wheels. Kia’s head of design at its European studio authored the Stinger. He’s Gregory Guillaume, a Frenchman who’s worked for strong European design houses before Kia.
Guillaume pushed for the long wheelbase, so he could lower the seats and roof yet leave legroom intact. He didn’t want a deploying rear spoiler, because it would have added cut-lines. So the team went for careful underfloor aero instead.
Even so, there are a lot of cuts at the back. But it’s a striking and graceful machine overall, and not too aggressive. That matches its driving character, as we’ll see.
And underneath?
Just as Kia had built its first chassis-test mule for the Stinger (under a Genesis GT body) the parent corporation took on Albert Biermann to be its boss of dynamics. He used to have the same job at BMW M. Biermann has taken an extremely close interest in the Stinger’s development.
Though the engine is fundamentally an existing job, the chassis is largely new. The front suspension is entirely bespoke, the rear heavily modified. Adaptive dampers are standard on the V6.
Of course, very few people in Europe will buy a V6 petrol Kia – after all, very few actually buy six-cylinder petrol BMWs. The big(ger) sellers in Britain will be a 2.0 turbo petrol of 255bhp, and a 200bhp 2.2 diesel.
In some places there’s an AWD option, but the front diff is installed where the RHD steering column would be, so we don’t get it here.
So can Kia build a decent sporty rear-driver?
Yes. But this judgment comes with a big proviso: we were confined to track testing it. At the Nürburgring. Still, its blind tightening corners, bumps and dips and crests do make a good job of imitating an interesting hilly road.
The Stinger’s great talent is how natural it feels. You sit low, and address the wheel and pedals straight-ahead. That’s good for the articulation of your arms and legs. Then its reactions are reassuring and predictable. That’s most welcome on a track that often springs a new surprise just as you are picking your way through the last one.
Turn the wheel and the body moves exactly as you’d subconsciously expect. Big saloons with ‘sporty’ bent sometimes give you initial sog followed by a sudden twitch. Instead the Stinger is progressive. The roll, of which there isn’t too much, also develops in proportion. Which makes it a reassuring car to drive briskly. It will react to trimming the line by throttle. Traction out of bends is stout, helped by limited-slip differential, and the stability control does its work subtly.
It’s not razor-sharp (nor’s a 4-Series unless it’s an M4, and they don’t do an M4 in the GC body) but it’s game and dignified. Doesn’t feel out of its depth even under this provocation.
I also had a lap in the 4WD version. It’s supposed to be rear-biased, but feels more mute and unreactive in corners, and the 2WD one would out-accelerate it noticeably in the lower gears because of weight and rotational inertia. Mind you, the weather was warm and dry. In the wet 4WD would help, but it’s not a choice we’ll have here.
And the engine?
At 1,730kg, the Stinger isn’t a light car, because the body is almost all steel and it’s longer than direct competitors. Even so it doesn’t hang about: the 370bhp V6 does 0-62mph in 5.1 seconds, says Kia. The engine lags a bit until you’ve got some revs up, then it hits its stride with a nice harmonious warble. The transmission shifts slickly, but the paddles won’t entirely over-ride it.
The suspension seems to avoid too much bang’n’crash on notorious bits of the ‘Ring such as the Karussell, but really it’d be premature to give a verdict on ride comfort.
What about the cabin?
Kia has gone for lots of hardware switches – climate, stereo, seat heaters etc all have their own buttons, whereas rivals do some or all of that on screens. I prefer the Kia approach. You can do common things by sense of touch alone.
A head-up display is augmented by a configurable TFT between the real dials. Some 15 speakers of Harman Kardon audio goodness are on the options list. We see no glaring omissions in the connectivity or active safety line-up, but on the other hand it’s not going to try to drive itself.
The seats are plushly padded, but managed to hold me in place as we squiggled between the Armco through the Eifel forest.
When, and how much?
It comes to the UK in late autumn. No exact word on prices, but the hints are that it’ll cost slightly less than an equivalently powered BMW 4-Series, despite being a bit bigger.
Kia has to carry a badge discount compared with the Germans, surely…
Exactly. Sure, the Sportage and Soul sold well on their styling, but at this higher level people want a brand. Kia’s main hope is the Stinger causes people to take the rest of its range more seriously.
#103
What is with companies putting the Park button in an unnatural location?
I tried to put my car in park this morning after a week driving something else and I almost drove through my kitchen.
I tried to put my car in park this morning after a week driving something else and I almost drove through my kitchen.
#107
I love that Kia is going to make this thing but that interior just doesn't make me want one... It still looks cheap and uninspiring compared to the competition. If it was going to come in substantially cheaper than the BMW then I could live with it but at close to the same price...it won't fly.
#111
I've been meaning to drive by west side acura to check out their inventory, when the 3G facelift MDX came out they had a couple really early on.
#112
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#116
I want to see the Kia Stinger interior after 10,000 miles. That's always my issue with the entry level models. Hondas hold up. Chevys often don't.
#117
i've got about 75k on my 2012 kia sportage. interior has held up well! better than my TL. my TL's interior will get scratched up just by looking at it.
since the Kia is an economy car, the interior is well suited for daily driving duties. the only thing that i'll have to fix is something in the door panel. it used to sound solid. I think something fell or the sound barrier tore inside, cuz now it sounds tinny when i close the door. but that's simple to investigate and fix
since the Kia is an economy car, the interior is well suited for daily driving duties. the only thing that i'll have to fix is something in the door panel. it used to sound solid. I think something fell or the sound barrier tore inside, cuz now it sounds tinny when i close the door. but that's simple to investigate and fix
#118
i've got about 75k on my 2012 kia sportage. interior has held up well! better than my TL. my TL's interior will get scratched up just by looking at it.
since the Kia is an economy car, the interior is well suited for daily driving duties. the only thing that i'll have to fix is something in the door panel. it used to sound solid. I think something fell or the sound barrier tore inside, cuz now it sounds tinny when i close the door. but that's simple to investigate and fix
since the Kia is an economy car, the interior is well suited for daily driving duties. the only thing that i'll have to fix is something in the door panel. it used to sound solid. I think something fell or the sound barrier tore inside, cuz now it sounds tinny when i close the door. but that's simple to investigate and fix
#120