The Kia Stinger Thread

10 things to know about Kia's SA-bound Stinger

Even before the Stinger had been confirmed for SA release (it will be here in August 2018) Kia’s first grand tourer was attracting attention from South African petrolheads, as much for its distinctive styling as for its performance credentials.

That’s particularly true in the case of the 3.3-litre biturbo V6 GT version we’ll be getting in South Africa, rated for 272kW at 6000rpm and 510Nm from 1300-4500rpm; Kia quotes 0-100 in 4.9 seconds and 270km/h flat out, making it officially the fastest-accelerating car in Kia’s history. And this is not a sports car; it’s a luxury five-seater that weighs 1740kg ready to go.

Now let's delve under the skin and into the minds of the designers of this exciting newcomer:

One: It’s rear-wheel drive.

This is not a Sonata with attitude; it’s based on the Kia GT Concept from the 2011 Frankfurt motor show (which shows you how much work Kia has put into it - it’s been six years in development) and it was built from the ground up with an in-line powertrain, presumably on a Genesis G80 platform.

That’s not as important as it used to be, but serious drivers, drivers who spend a lot of money on their cars, still prefer it.

Two: it has high-tech running gear.

It comes with a paddle shift transmission, adaptive suspension with five drive modes, a limited-slip differential, Brembo brakes and variable-assistance steering as standard.

Three: It has credentials

The development team under engineering head Albert Biermann drove the test mules the equivalent of 27 times round the world, in every conceivable climate, on four continents. And every version of the developing design did at least 480 laps (that 10 000 km!) on the tortuous Nurburgring Nordschleife.

Four: It’s an entirely European design.

The Stinger was designed in the Kia design studio at Frankfurt in Germany, under the guidance of chief design officer Peter Schreyer and European head of design Gregory Guillaume.

Guillaume in particular has said that he was influenced by the elegant luxury tourers that wafted the rich and famous from Paris down to the Riviera for the summer when he was growing up in France in the 1970s.

Five: It’s a classic shape.

The Stinger combines the classic ‘Gran Turismo’ proportions - long bonnet, short front and long rear overhangs, cabin set well back over the rear wheels - with a fashionable sweeping roofline that meets the waistline just ahead of the lip spoiler.

This is a profile that has come to epitomise luxury Grand Touring, from the prewar Hudson Terraplane, to the Bentley Continental of the 1950s, the Jaguar E-Type 2+2 of the 1960s, the Lamborghini Espada of the 1970s and the Alfa Romeo GTV of the 1980s.

Six: Defining the design.

The front treatment shows a wider, more classically proportioned (but still recognisable) ‘tiger nose’ grille between slim headlight clusters with fashionably complex multi-LED architecture, while the rear is kicked up, tucked in and chopped off, with four tailpipes and more than a hint of a Kamm tail (think Aston Martin DB6, Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona) in the lip spoiler.

Seven: It’s actually a five-door hatchback.

Ever since certain German carmakers started referring to sedans with swoopy rooflines as coupés, which is wrong, because a coupé is specifically a two-door car (‘coupé’ means ‘cut off’ in French and originally referred to a shortened version of a standard open tourer with only two doors and two seats) the distinction between sedan and hatch, two-box and three-box, has become blurred.

The way we see it, if it has a window in the boot-lid, it’s a hatchback; if the rear window is fixed and the boot opens separately, it’s a sedan (four doors) or a coupé (two doors). By that definition, the Stinger is a luxury five-door hatchback.

Eight: it has lots of bells and whistles.

If grand touring is all about luxury, comfort and convenience features the Stinger qualifies, with full leather trim, eight-way adjustable heated and ventilated sports seats, dual-zone automatic aircon, virtual instrumentation, head up display, a 20cm colour infotainment touchscreen, front and rear USB ports and wireless cellphone charging.

Driver aids include autonomous emergency braking, lane keep assist, high beam assist, driver attention warning, speed limit information, blind spot detection with rear cross traffic alert and vehicle stability management with dynamic torque vectoring.

Nine: But the sound track is fake.

That spine-tingling V6 growl is coming to you from the car’s 15 speaker harman/kardon sound system, not the engine compartment - and can be ‘tuned‘ via the drive mode selector switch. Not cool, even when BMW does it.

Ten: It has a mountain to climb

The Stinger will be competing against the Audi A3/S3, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class; most of the Teutonic Triumvirate’s previous challengers from the Far East, however, have fallen short in those elusive criteria, classy design and perceived quality.

Kia hopes to overcome that with a car created in Europe by Europeans, for a sophisticated and discerning target market. Time, and the buying public, will tell if they got it right.

https://www.iol.co.za/motoring/late...-to-know-about-kias-sa-bound-stinger-14538082
 
The Stinger will be competing against the Audi A3/S3, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class; most of the Teutonic Triumvirate’s previous challengers from the Far East, however, have fallen short in those elusive criteria, classy design and perceived quality.
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Why would it compete with the A3?
 
FiestaST said:
The Stinger will be competing against the Audi A3/S3, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class; most of the Teutonic Triumvirate’s previous challengers from the Far East, however, have fallen short in those elusive criteria, classy design and perceived quality.
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That makes ****all sense.

The BMW 3 series and Merc C class compete against the A4, not the A3, so what the **** garbage is this so called journalism? Morons.
 
pinball wizard said:
That makes ****all sense.

The BMW 3 series and Merc C class compete against the A4, not the A3, so what the **** garbage is this so called journalism? Morons.
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Agreed. Dumb is dumb. Every car bloke by now should know direct rival(s) for the Stinger GT is the 340i/440i GC; S4/S5 Sportback; AMG C43 in its various guises. In Australia the new Opel Insignia-based Holden Commodore is another rival.
 
So when they said they’re releasing pricing info later in April, I suppose they meant the 30th. Or sometime in May. Maybe.
 
I think it is a given that they would want to spec it higher than the Germans for it to be a good value proposition, but do you do that and then sell it cheaper than the Germans? And is there any reason why it should be cheaper if the quality is right there amongst the best?
 
thechamp said:
I think it is a given that they would want to spec it higher than the Germans for it to be a good value proposition, but do you do that and then sell it cheaper than the Germans? And is there any reason why it should be cheaper if the quality is right there amongst the best?
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Unfortunately they pretty much HAVE to price it below the Germans even if it is higher specced.

The Brand does not sit in the same space in the general consumers space so they have to play the price game to get market share in the segment.
 
Can you fully switch traction control off in the Kia Stinger? - CarAdvice

[video=youtube;_KmB8kk_Wqw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KmB8kk_Wqw[/video]
 
Newsfeed said:
Kia has announced that its Stinger GT will come to South Africa, and will be available for R859,995.

The car aims to take on the high-powered four-door sedans from the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz, and packs impressive performance on paper.

Kia’s most powerful and fastest-accelerating production car ever made, the Stinger GT features a 3.3-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engine.

https://mybroadband.co.za/news/motoring/258481-kia-stinger-gt-r860000-for-kias-fastest-ever-car.html
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Ouch! Not that i would afford it even if it was R500k, i was hoping it came in a little lower than that to stand a chance. Let's wait and see.
 
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What! Kia should really switch to less stronger stuff to smoke, Switch to Diesel maybe
 
thechamp said:
But it is RWD, that is all Saffers have been asking for from the Asians...
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At that price, if I wanted RWD I'd get a Mustang, which has been doing that since the 60s.

If this was priced in the 600k's it would have been a definite contender. Not only would it have pulled the German sedan crowd, but also those who would have considered a Golof R, S3 etc...
 
What will be interesting is how long will Kia last before they discontinue it, i hope they give it a fair fighting chance, not this one year thing we always see. Does anyone know if Infiniti is still in the country?
 
Here’s how much the new Kia Stinger GT will cost in SA…

Kia Motors South Africa has announced pricing for the new Stinger GT, which is set to arrive on local shores in August 2018 in “limited numbers”. The local arm of the Korean automaker says that the SA-spec Stinger will boast a “comprehensive standard specification” list.

So, how much for the flagship Stinger GT (the only derivative to be offered locally)? Kia Motors SA has confirmed a price of R859 995, which the brand describes as “competitive”.

This figure includes a five-year unlimited kilometre warranty and a five-year/90 000 km maintenance plan. Interestingly, the Stinger GT will not be available through the Kia dealership network, but instead offered solely through a dedicated Stinger website.

The Kia Stinger GT draws its urge from a twin-turbo 3,3-litre V6 petrol engine delivering 272 kW and 510 N.m to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission (with paddle-shifters). Kia says the Stinger is its “most powerful and fastest-accelerating” production car ever, with a claimed zero to 100km/h time of 4,9 seconds and a top speed of 270 km/h. Dynamic stability damping control comes standard, along with five driving modes.

Other standard features on SA-spec models will include 19-inch alloy wheels (with 225/40 R19 rubber up front and 255/35 R19 at the rear), vented Brembo brakes, Nappa leather upholstery (with a choice of black or red), electrically adjustable front seats (with heating and ventilating functions), electrically adjustable steering column, an eight-inch colour touchscreen (with Apple CarPlay, and ready for Android Auto), satellite navigation, dual automatic air-conditioning and wireless smartphone charging.

A 15-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, colour head-up display, parking sensors (front and rear), an “around view” monitor, blind-spot detection, a powered tailgate, automatic headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, seven airbags and a tilt-and-slide sunroof (with power sunshade) are also part of the package.

Kia says customers in SA will have a choice of nine metallic colours: Hi Chroma Red, Snow White Pearl, Silky Silver, Aurora Black Pearl, Ceramic Silver, Sunset Yellow, Deep Chroma Blue, Micro Blue and Panthera Metal.

http://www.carmag.co.za/news/heres-much-new-kia-stinger-gt-will-cost-sa/
 
thechamp said:
What will be interesting is how long will Kia last before they discontinue it, i hope they give it a fair fighting chance, not this one year thing we always see. Does anyone know if Infiniti is still in the country?
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They won't discontinue it. I believe it's a relatively good seller in the US & Australia. Not so much in the Euro countries but give it time.

They also won't pull it in SA as Kia SA knows it's a halo car & only a small amount are being brought into SA.

As stated in another thread last I heard for a while one can't purchase new Infiniti cars in SA. It is a special import at best.
 
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