Kia Stinger (2018-2022) Review

It won’t be for everybody, that’s a certainty. The Kia Stinger may a genuine rival for cars like the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe and Audi A5 Sportback of the same period, but some will not like the Kia Stinger’s lack of a premium badge. If you can see past that, then the Kia Stinger is likely to be right up your street.

Key rivals to the Kia Stinger in the premium class include the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe and the Audi A5 Sportback. The Volkswagen Arteon is also a potential rival.

If you ignore that four-door coupe tag and instead look at it as a large saloon/hatchback then there’s a whole world of other models to pick from, such as the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Alfa Romeo Giulia to the Volvo S60 and Peugeot 508.

All Kia Stinger models come with leather upholstery throughout, with the Kia Stinger GT S flagship gaining softer Nappa leather. It’s a partially successful attempt at making the Kia Stinger feel posh, because while there are some nice touches like satin chromed door handles, stainless steel kick plates and standard aluminium finishes on the pedals, it doesn’t take too long to find cheaper, less upmarket feeling materials in the cabin. 

Nobody from the interior design and materials departments in Audi or BMW was losing any sleep over the Stinger, even if some in the ride and handling department were more worried. 

Everything works though, and while the switches lack the sort of precision weighing and feel of the best of its upmarket competition, the Kia’s certain to be reliable, the company’s commitment to that underlined by the provision of a seven-year/100,000 mile warranty, which is still the benchmark in the industry.

An 8.0-inch touchscreen in the centre top of the dashboard takes care of the Stinger’s infotainment. It looks a little bit small compared to its premium rivals, but operates easily enough, with simple sub menus working in its favour. 

In the GT Line models it powers a nine-speaker audio system with a subwoofer under the front seat, though pick the GT Line S and GT S and that HIFI is upgraded to a 15-speaker Harman Kardon premium system, which sounds excellent. Either stereo comes with standard DAB with MP3 connectivity with USB, aux-in and Bluetooth. There’s standard sat nav as well as Kia connected services including local search, traffic details and weather updates.

All come with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard, which is something that was often a cost extra on rivals. Likewise, the Stinger comes with a customisable head-up display on every model. 

All feature a reversing camera, with GT Line S and GT S benefitting from a full 360-degree around view monitor. Indeed, there are few omissions from the standard specification, with only the lack of a full digital instrument panel – or even the option of one – being an obvious miss.

Towards the end of its time in Kia's new car line-up, the Stinger was offered with the option of a larger 10.25-inch infotainment display.

How grand the touring you’ll be doing in the Kia Stinger depends entirely on where you’re sitting in the cabin. Up front, there’s plenty of space, and with those electrically adjusted seats, plenty of comfort. 

In the rear it’s less impressive, with the coupe-like exterior lines meaning headroom is limited even for those of average height, so if you’re on the taller side you’ll feel pretty cramped. There’s decent legroom back there, though. The middle rear seat, as with all its rivals, is better thought of as an emergency option, not least because there’s a sizeable transmission tunnel eating into where you should put your feet. 

The outer two rear seats come with ISOFIX child seat mounts and if none of the rear seats are occupied there’s the possibility to drop the seatbacks in a 60/40 split to increase the boot space from 406-litres to 1114-litres, which isn’t quite as big as Audi or BMW rivals. The boot is accessed by a good-sized hatchback, which is electrically powered from GT Line S models and above. 

Overall the Kia Stinger footprint is very similar to the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe at 4830mm long, 1870mm wide (including mirrors) and 1400mm tall. 

In terms of smaller storage space, there’s a good-sized glovebox up front, a pair of sizeable cup holders and usefully shaped door bins, while the rear middle seat armrest has a pair of cupholders and there are map net pockets in the back of the front seats, too. 

We’re unapologetic focussing in on the 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 engine with the Stinger as it’s the powerplant that shows the bold Kia in its best light. 

It’s a smooth, muscular performer, with peak power of 365PS arriving at 6200rpm, but its 510Nm of torque – available from just 1300rpm through to 4500rpm – that delivers its excellent low-rev flexibility and mid-range shove. It’ll get from 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds and top out at 168mph.

Like all Kia Stingers, it is only offered with an eight-speed automatic transmission, which can be manually overridden with steering wheel mounted paddle-shifters. It’s a smooth enough transmission, though it’s best to use those paddle shifters if you’re in a hurry, as it can be a bit reluctant to upshift, holding onto revs unnecessarily, to the detriment of refinement. 

The 2.2-litre turbodiesel is a poor relation in comparison to the V6, which is hardly surprising, though it will provide decent if raucous pace if you want it to, with its 197PS backed by a useful 440Nm of torque. 

The 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol delivers 242PS and 353Nm, allowing it a 0-62mph time of 6.0 seconds – 1.6 seconds quicker than the turbodiesel.

The V6 is, if anything, a little bit too muted and could do with a little added character from its exhaust given its driver-focussed goals. That’s in contrast to the turbodiesel, which is a bit noisy and sends some vibrations through the Stinger’s cabin, so it lacks the sophistication of its premium rivals’ diesels.

The 2.0-litre petrol is a decent compromise, being smooth and powerful, but lacking the drama of its V6 relation. 

The Kia Stinger is very safe, having achieved a full five-star rating in the Euro NCAP crash tests when it was tested in 2017. 

All Kia Stingers come with ABS brakes, stability control, forward collision avoidance, lane keep assist, auto dipping headlights, traffic sign recognition which puts road sign info on the infotainment display and an Active Bonnet that pops up to protect pedestrians in a collision. 

Should all of that not be enough to avoid an accident, then there’s twin front airbags, a pair of side front airbags, a driver’s knee airbag, twin curtain airbags, ISOFIX child seat mounts in the rear two outer seats, and doors that unlock after an accident. Blind Spot Detection with Rear Cross Traffic Alert isn’t fitted to GT Line models, but is standard on the rest of the range.

Kia has a good reputation for reliability and its seven-year/100,000 mile warranty is proof of the company's confidence in its products. In the latest HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index, Kia placed 8th, scoring 90.13% for overall satisfaction. 

The Kia Stinger diesel attracts the lowest insurance groups, with the GT Line attracting a 32 rating, and the GT Line S seeing that rise to insurance group 34. 

That’s the same group as the 2.0-litre petrol in GT Line trim, it increasing to 36 for the GT Line S. The V6, which is only offered in GT S specification, attracts a group 42 insurance rating. 

All came with Kia’s excellent and transferable seven-year/100,000-mile warranty when new, so many used examples will still have the balance of this left to run.

All but the Kia Stinger GT S slip beneath the £40,000 VED barrier, so you'll just have the standard £195 cost for a year's road tax. With that pricier GT S model, you'll have to pay the additional £425 charged on cars with a £40,000-plus price tag when new. However, this only applies for five years from when the car was first taxed, so earlier cars will not have to pay it - just the default £195 levy.

Kia Stinger GT Line models come with 18-inch alloy wheels on the outside, while inside they get leather upholstery, an eight-way powered memory driver’s seat, eight-inch touchscreen sat-nav with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a head-up display, front and rear parking sensors, a rear parking camera and heated front seats. 

To that long list, the Kia Stinger GT Line S adds heated outer rear seats, a sunroof, wireless phone charging, a 360-degree camera, 15-speaker Harman Kardon stereo, LED headlights with dynamic cornering function and a powered tailgate. 

GT S trim is only available with the V6 engine. In addition to GT Line S trim, it has 19-inch alloy wheels, adjustable suspension, soft Nappa leather upholstery, two-way adjustable driver’s side bolster support and powerful Brembo brakes.