- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
3.3TT, 6 cyl.
- Engine Power
272kW, 510Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) 10.2L/100KM
- Manufacturer
RWD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
7 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
5/5 star (2017)
2018 Kia Stinger GT review
I’d like to start by saying I'm a 20-year-old Kiwi and an ex-Holden revhead, so converting me from a brand that I absolutely loved and had huge amount of passion for was going to take a special sort of car.
- Build quality and features you only get in high-end Euro cars
- Performance that will scare you if you aren’t careful
- Fuel economy is a tiny bit high
- Remote start would have been awesome
In early 2017 when the Stinger was revealed, I instantly thought 'wow, this car is amazing' and thought to myself this can’t be true – a Kia sedan with 365hp, surely not? For the rest of the year I was eager to jump in one and see for myself. Sure enough, it was all correct and I was blown away. After around 4–5 months later, I went and purchased a Snow White Pearl GT Sport with black Nappa. #bestdayever
The cabin space is very well laid out and roomy. I'm 6ft 1in and fit in comfortably, with plenty of extra room to spare. The same goes for the boot space, and being able to fold down the back seats is a godsend (coming from a Commodore sedan that wasn’t able to do that).
The technology and features are everything you would expect a new $100K+ car to have, if not more, and the driver's mode dial is always eyeing you up telling you sports mode is only a turn away. However, two things I miss that my VF Commodore had that the Stinger doesn’t are remote start and auto park, but that's no big deal.
The exterior is just as good as the interior. You get stunning LED matrix headlights that automatically dip with oncoming cars at night, and the way Kia has laid out the DRLs lets everyone know the Stinger means business. The Brembo brakes make sure you stop on a dime and give the car an awesome sporty look.
As for those 19-inch wheels wrapped in Continental ContiSportContact tyres, I'm pretty sure everyone will agree they are the best-looking stock wheel and tyre combo Kia has ever put on a car.
Something I was never quite sure on are the rear side reflectors, but they give the car a very unique look and make it a bit different to every other sports sedan on the market to date. Big ups to Kia for doing something different.
Fuel economy is not its strongest point, averaging 12L/100km city driving and around 8–9L/100km on the open road on 98-octane. However, turn the dial to sports mode, put your boot down and you’ll end up in the 14–16L/100km zone pretty quickly. But you don’t own a car like this if you want decent fuel economy right?
The only issue I've had is the driver's right bolster wearing, but that was fixed by the dealer and has been fine ever since.
Overall, it is one awesome car that leaves me speechless every time I jump out, and I would 100 per cent recommend it to anyone wanting a fun, sporty sports sedan with looks like no other.