The idea of a KIA competing with the likes of the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Audi A4 was lunacy just a few years ago. But then KIA, and its parent company Hyundai, actually started to make some interesting cars. Both brands now have more than one rear-wheel drive offering that’s designed to inject some passion into the driving experience. Imagine that? A KIA with some real fun? That’s exactly what the new KIA Stinger GT is, fun, and it’s largely thanks to one man — Albert Biermann, formerly of BMW’s famous M Division.
Thanks to a recent interview from Biermann, we now know that he hasn’t been happy with the state of the German car industry’s design and performance for awhile. He claims that German companies are too afraid of hurting their bottom line that they aren’t taking any risks or doing anything interesting. Which is why when KIA came calling, he left BMW M. Since then, KIA has been making some seriously impressive driver’s cars. Admittedly, they aren’t perfect and they still have a long way to go before they can really compete with zee Germans, but considering that these are new waters for KIA, it’s a surprisingly impressive start.
In this new video from Motor Trend’s Ignition, we see a road and track review from racing driver Randy Pobst of the new KIA Stinger GT. He seems to actually enjoy driving it and is really quite complimentary.
From the outside, the Stinger is actually a pretty good looking car. It isn’t pretty, nor is it that aggressive or exciting, but it’s handsome enough to be a fun little sport sedan. The inside is rather nice, too, for a KIA. Again, it won’t beat out a 3 Series or especially a C-Class, but it works. But the Stinger doesn’t impress because of its design. The Stinger impresses with how it drives.
Under the hood is a 3.3 liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine, a commonly used engine in the Hyundai/KIA family. That twin-turbo V6 makes 365 hp and 376 lb-ft of torque, which is a bit more than the BMW 340i’s 3.0 liter I6. All of that power is sent through an eight-speed automatic gearbox to just the rear wheels. Claimed 0-60 mph is about 4.8 seconds, which is right around the same as the 340i. So it’s seriously quick, the Stinger.
How does it handle? According to Pobst, it’s not bad at all. It seems to handle pretty well, with good steering, decent chassis balance and great power. Its brakes are Brembos, too, so it stops as well as it goes. It needs work, though, as it could shed a few pounds and it has a bit too much understeer on corner entry. However, being based off of a much larger chassis and also being KIA’s first real attempt at a sport sedan, it’s a commendable effort.
Much of KIA’s newfound rear-drive success must be attributed to Biermann. His expertise from working at the M Division has really paid dividends for Hyundai/KIA. The new KIA Stinger GT might not be able to contend with the best from Germany just yet but it does show that KIA can be a serious player in the future. Also, how awesome is the Stinger name?
oh dang. This car has a lot going for it. No mention of the adaptive suspension in the video. I wonder how much stiffer that would be. I’d like to test drive this when they’re available.
yea… BMW is kinda falling behind in terms of standard features… Accord has active noise cancelling, Camry has 360 view camera, Stinger has what you mentioned, plus AWD and more HP than a 540i…
I feel like my 2015 535d is getting out featured by 2018 accord/camry/stinger…. maybe it’s time to save some money. (AWD good looking sedan is prob the only reason I went for BMW since Subaru failing Legacy)
BMW is dead.
Lol. Not yet, but they heavily wounded. Hopefully BMW can react positively to this onslaught.
Which onslaught?
The Jaguar onslaught?
The Cadillac onslaught?
The Infiniti onslaught?
The rebadged Toyota onslaught?
The Saab onslaught?
Volvo 4 cyl. onslaught?
The still on a wait list for an imaginary 500,000 onslaught?The Mercedes fwd. compact onslaught?
As they expand their biggest plant, build a new green plant for 3 Series production in Mexico & forecast a 50% increase in volume, either you don’t know the meaning of the word or you have it reversed.
2 million units + annually is dead?
People like you are why BMW is dead.
Nonsense. Again.
Really cool car.
Here in Australia we get a more focussed tune of the suspension, steering and a bi-modal exhaust. KIA says it is the most driver-centric version of the Stinger they make.
If the US Spec car is doing that well – I can’t wait to see how good the Australian version is.
A stunner to look at !! In my opinion, there isn’t just anything in BMW’s current stable that looks as knockout as this one ( 8 series might change this equation).
I think they are already better to drive than Acuras and infinitis of the world and that itself is a commendable start. Although to be honest, matching Germans in driving pleasure won’t be happening any time soon.
But if this is what Hyundai/Kia are churning from the start, then things would be getting very interesting 8-10 years down the line.
This comes with adaptive suspension, lsd and brembo brake as standard, very impressive. What they have stuffed up though, is v6. They should’ve gone for inline six, if they seriously wanted to compete with bmw. I can take their average 8 speed gearbox without much complaints because I’ll be buying knowing it’s kia, not zf. But the engine should’ve been inline six at least.
The car is awesome but the name suck big time. Stinger??? Biermann should have called the KIA Jäger GT for hunter in German. Because thats what this car was made to do, hunt the Germans.
Lol, no.
Hunt for buyers. Instead it will Sting them. Guess Duster is still trademarked.
Not a bad car. BMW needs to get more aggressive in their styling.. hope the new 8 is the future of their design language.
Anyone fancy a Datsun 200SX coupe Stinger?
well it is good looking car , but lets be realistic the price tag is really high for a KIA , instead with less i can invest in a dodge challenger with less money ! , Just an opinion
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