With fantastic performance and handsome good looks, this is one of the most desirable new sports sedans on the market today.
And yeah, it just happens to be a Kia.
Today we're taking a look at the 2018 Kia Stinger GT.
A car that our staff was so impressed with, we named it our 2018 Road Show Shift award winning car of the year.
And we're spending more time with it today because, well, it's awesome.
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Now the Kia Stinger is a handsome sports sedan.
It is probably one of the most original designs to come out of Kia's design studio since the original Soul.
this is a completely different vehicle.
It's a sports sedan and it's got an agressive front end that's just the right level of agressive.
Not too goffy looking like some of the competition.
In the sillouette the profile of this vehicle the proportions are just right.
I really like the way this car looks inside and out.
But a lot of you are probably here for the performance.
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Under the hood, this GT2 model, all GT models in fact, are gonna be powered by a 3.3L twin-turbo charge V-6 engine.
That's gonna make around 376 pound feet of torque or around 365 horsepower.
That's one pony for every day of the year.
Now that's gonna go through a single option eight-speed automatic transmission.
That's your only choice with any Stinger, but you do get to pick between rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.
This all wheel drive model that we're in right now would be really nice in an area that gets weather, things like snow or stuff like that.
But here in California where it's pretty dry, I think I'd be happier with a rear wheel drive version.
It's a little bit lighter, it's a little bit more dynamic in the corners, and I think I'd have a lot more fun with it.
Our editor John Wong seems to think the same thing.
He drove both cars on the N��rburgring.
It's pretty awesome.
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Now this GT2 model's top of the line.
And so we've also got a couple of other performance upgrades including massive Brembo brakes all around that do a fantastic job of bringing this car to a stop corner after corner without any sort fade.
They get a little hot but they never really stop working.
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We've also got an adaptive suspension, that's going to allow you to adjust the characteristics of the way this car handles between about four different drive modes.
We've got a sport mode right here.
We've also got a comfort mode, an eco mode, an Then a smart driving mode.
There's also a fit custom mode that let's you choose and mix and match the way the transmission works with the suspension, with the engine.
You can kind of create your own profile there.
But I think I'm just gonna leave it in sport, that's what I've been doing for most of this time.
Now if you're more.
Fuel economy oriented, you could actually get a couple more MPG out of a non GT Stinger.
That's gonna be powered by a two litre twin duel turbo charge engine that makes a lot less power but gets a few more miles between fill-ups.
Then again, if you're here for economy, maybe you'd be a bit more interested in something like a KIA Optima SX.
It's gonna save you a lot of money in the long-run.
Now around those power trains and performance upgrades, we're looking at a car that's just packed with technology.
In the dashboard, we've got a really nice Uvo Three entertainment system that we talk about in a separate video.
It's a really good system, it's got all the features that we really like and it's a pretty good value.
This top of the line level also features all of the driver aid technologies available to Kia, including things like adapter cruise control that works all the way down into stop and go traffic, as well, as lane keeping steering to keep you from drifting out of your lane on a highway.
It's pretty smart, in a fairly modern tech car.
Now, the Stinger has to compete on a lot of different levels.
Depending on where you are in the scale, if you're looking at a non-GT stinger with a 2 liter, you're talking about a car that competes with things like the Mazda 6 or the Ford Fusion Sport.
Things like that, but this GT model with its turbo charged six cylinder engine, great performance.
Actually kind of runs with cars like BMW's Four Series Grand Coupe or the Audi S5 Sport Back.
It brings a lot of power and performance as well as a lot of technology to the table, but I think it does it at a pretty good price that makes it very competitive.
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With the smaller two liter, the twenty eighteen Kia Stinger starts at around thirty-two thousand dollars, but if you want the better V6 performance and all of the bells and whistles, well then you want the GT2 like we got.
As test it, we're looking at around fifty-two thousand dollars.
Now that's a lot of money for a Kia, but consider this is a quantum leap in performance and quality from the brand.
Plus this thing could technically run along side an Audi S5 Sportback.
It can't beat it but it'll definitely run along side it for around $15,000 less.
That makes this a bit of a steal.
And it's a good thing that we like it so much because we put a ring on it.
We're keeping this one as our long term tester over the next couple of months.
Which means that we'll be able to put that improved quality to the test.
And we'll be able to have a lot of fun with that turbo charged performance.
In fact, I think I'm gonna get back on the road now.
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