BMW and Audi Have A New Challenger And You Won’t Believe Where It Comes From

[regnitStinger]

Coming up with a title for this article was an exercise in self control not to make a Korean missile joke. ANYWAY Kia has a new road weapon out called the Stinger. It’s a 4-door coupe so it “competes” with the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe and the new Audi A5 4 door Sportback. This is interesting because when most people think of Kia they think cheap and cheerful. Oh and the Optima was good looking for a couple years when it first came out. However, Kia has been dumping huge sums of money into their R&D department and coming up with some pretty impressive results. Let’s take a look at their newest concoction.

The Stinger comes in five trims. First of all that’s too many trims. However, once we understand the potential of this vehicle we can start to understand why they have so many options. The base engine is a 255 hp turbocharged four-banger or you can opt for the range topping engine that puts out 365 hp from a twin-turbo V6. The top-of-the-line Stinger GT2 will run you about $49,500 while the base model you can get in for as little as $31,900. The base model isn’t completely stark either. The Stinger comes standard with a 7.7 inch infotainment display, leather heated steering wheel, and some mean quad exhaust – not to mention 255 ponies spinning the 18 inch standard alloys in the rear.

Compared to a comparable BMW or Audi, the Stinger is an incredible value as you can imagine. Kia can’t just show up with a pretty body and some standard features and expect to dethrone BMW or Audi, though. And it doesn’t. The Stinger actually handles like a dream. The suspension tuning and damping is sublime and it feels nimble in the corners. The power comes on low in the rev range and pulls strong up to red line. Even the little four cylinder doesn’t sound too bad. The Audi is in a class of its own, especially with the current iteration, but this Kia has the BMW 3/4 Series by the throat – and we’re just talking about the base model! It’s no secret or breaking news that BMW has been getting away from its “Ultimate Driving Machine” days, but this Kia really reminds me of when BMW meant that slogan. It drives so beautifully, it sounds good, it’s pretty on the outside, and isn’t a cheap plastic box on the inside. It’s just a good car. Continue reading...

 

[Kia Stinger]

...so it's a great car but nobody will buy it?

 

[Jayce]

Unfortunately they've still got to overcome the Kia name. My wife thought I was crazy for buying a Kia when I bought my Optima. She was like, I can't believe you bought a Kia. That was in 2015. Now her perception of Kia has changed. I don't think it'll sell that great starting out, but as the word gets around, I can see sales getting better. That may take a couple of years though.

 

[jburns]

...so it's a great car but nobody will buy it?

That is certainly a possibility. There's quite a long list of cars that suffered that fate over the years.

 

[westcoastGT]

I'm old enough to remember when Audi's were considered glorified VW's and were terrible quality , I think Kia are on a solid platform . They have pursued quality and value and layered over world class design and now engineering . I think this is a brilliant strategy for success . They are taking a long term view and will be rewarded . Owning 9 BMW's over the last few years I have come to know that BMW means "Buy More Warranty ! "
Go Kia !!

 

[regnitStinger]

Owning 9 BMW's over the last few years I have come to know that BMW means "Buy More Warranty ! "
Go Kia !!

One of my buddies bought a 4 series last year. He planned on keeping the car a long time so he made sure he maxed out all “extended warranty” BMW had to offer.

 

[westcoastGT]

I hope he has better luck with BMW than I did ! Reliability is the achilles heel !

 

[regnitStinger]

As we know Toyota and Lexus keep dominating few of third party surveys for reliability. I’m glad to see Kia’s commitment in this regard and the results have confirmed that in the past couple years. I’ve always wondered, while German/British/Italian luxury car manufacturers undoubtedly can make great cars but why don’t they make them more reliable. I’m sure if they want to they can even raise their prices a bit more to capture the costs. And their target buyers will be happy to pay for them. A lot of people will have more confidence with their decisions since they can have the reliability to match with the badges. And they won’t think twice about their future buys. Imagine that really happens one day Lexus will have to find new strategies but at this rate I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

 

[admonite]

I'm thinking more people will buy it than the Chevy SS...and very likely more than the Pontiac G8. Kia has addressed two of the major issues with that line of cars. The SS had no entry-level at all. You could only get it in top trim which was $43,000 in 2014 and quickly ballooned to $47,000 a year or two later. The SS, like it's predecessor (Pontiac G8) was also RWD only. That doesn't play well with half of the United States. Not Everyone can, or is willing to, have a winter car. The Stinger has an AWD option to resolve this issue. The entry level pricing, when adjusted for inflation, is a better deal than the entry level G8 was, the only drawback being a turbo 4 instead of a NA v6.

 

[Kia Stinger]

The Pontiac G8 GT was a pretty good looking car and a solid performer. It sold fairly well. The Chevy SS looked too much like a Malibu - especially before the mid-cycle refresh. I wasn't crazy about it at first - but it grew on me with the changes. Both cars were pretty impressive and I ended up liking the Chevy SS quite a bit. But, as mentioned, there was no AWD option and that's a problem for a lot of people. And when all is said and done - the car did look kind of bland...

Kia has AWD and is very nice both inside and out. It's a head turner and will get noticed. I'm confident that the Stinger will sell quite a lot over the next few years. I predict a slow start, however. Nobody knows about it. Marketing is very important. Once it starts rolling around on the street and people remember to "Google it" when they get home from work - interest will be there. But it'll likely be slow in the beginning. Especially considering the fact that nobody expects this kind of a car from Kia. That, and everybody will probably remove the Kia badge...

 

[Mike_10]

...so it's a great car but nobody will buy it?

I never saw the Chevy SS as a euro sport sedan challenger. It's less refined compared to the stinger. I won't care about the the performance specs if it looks like a rental car.

 

[Kia Stinger]

I never saw the Chevy SS as a euro sport sedan challenger. It's less refined compared to the stinger. I won't care about the the performance specs if it looks like a rental car.

Me neither. I've seen it compared to the BMW 5-Series before but it really wasn't in the same league when it came to refinement. I'm pretty sure the Stinger is going to be at least a notch or two up compared to the Chevy SS...

 

[Taimaishoo]

I never really liked the looks of the SS. Now, if the SS looked like a current model Malibu or Impala, it might have turned more heads and attracted more attention, including mine. The exterior of the SS just looks.... dated. The only reason why there are a few of them in my area is because, "Who cares? It has a Corvette engine in it!" I'm sorry, bigger does not always mean better. Straight from chevrolet.com, "Its 6.2L V8 delivers 415 horsepower and 415 lb.-ft. of torque, taking you from 0 to 60 in just 4.7 seconds.†" A 6.2L V8 that only delivers 415hp and 415 lb.-ft and 0-60 in 4.7 seconds? A 6.2L ... that's a monster of an engine. The Stinger GT has been timed at 4.6-4.7 seconds, too, and at nearly half of the displacement size! It just seemed to me that a time when the look of sedans were evolving, the SS design seemed to be taking a step backwards and that is what killing the SS in my opinion.

 

[admonite]

Absolutely, the Stinger looks better and will definitely be more luxurious. I failed to reiterate that, but it is a certainty. RWD 4 door sporty cars in the Stingers price range are very rare (almost extinct). When it comes to performance though, The Chevy SS Sedan (Holden Commodore SS in Australia) is the comparison I want. Motor Trend even went as far as to call the SS Sedan "The New Benchmark Sport Sedan". The luxury of the Stinger is a definite bonus. I know Kia can do luxury.... The 2017 and newer Cadenza would certainly be on my list if there were no more RWD 4 door Sporty cars from which to choose.

 

[Kia Stinger]

"Its 6.2L V8 delivers 415 horsepower and 415 lb.-ft. of torque, taking you from 0 to 60 in just 4.7 seconds.†" A 6.2L V8 that only delivers 415hp and 415 lb.-ft and 0-60 in 4.7 seconds? A 6.2L ... that's a monster of an engine.

I agree 100%. That's a huge engine to be pushing out only 415hp in 2016. The same sized engine in the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, naturally aspirated, was pushing out 518hp 6 or 7 years earlier. Over 100 more. It's not like Chevy couldn't make this happen either.

 

[davebo]

It's just a matter of detuning an existing engine they already had in production to try to meet mileage goals. That same engine made more power in the Corvette and can make far more with very simple modifications, but how many people want a super heavy four door that only gets 11mpg? The stinger might make more hp/liter but that's because it's got two turbos and all the associated intercooler and tubing. Frankly I'd much rather the Stinger have had the added reliability of a V8 that could take advantage of cylinder deactivation on the highway, but of course Kia/Hyundai don't have the decades of experience developing V8's that GM has and I'd probably just end up regretting that.

 

[Kia Stinger]

It's just a matter of detuning an existing engine they already had in production to try to meet mileage goals. That same engine made more power in the Corvette and can make far more with very simple modifications, but how many people want a super heavy four door that only gets 11mpg? The stinger might make more hp/liter but that's because it's got two turbos and all the associated intercooler and tubing. Frankly I'd much rather the Stinger have had the added reliability of a V8 that could take advantage of cylinder deactivation on the highway, but of course Kia/Hyundai don't have the decades of experience developing V8's that GM has and I'd probably just end up regretting that.

That and V8s are just about dead. A brand like Kia isn't going to spend much time, at this point, moving forward with V8s. A brand like Cadillac is expected to with its Escalade. Same goes for other brands. But Kia doesn't REALLY have a need for a V8 - so it's highly unlikely we'll ever see one from them outside of the current K900. I doubt the second generation K900 will have a V8. The Lincoln Navigator doesn't have a V8. However, if they do bring the next K900 with a V8 option, it's just a "why not" since they already have one.

As for the Chevy SS - that's a great point. It's detuned for fuel efficiency and most people would not want a big, heavy sedan getting such low gas mileage. However, as an option for those who did - it would have made a really nice halo sedan for Chevy (ala Hellcat)...

 

[davebo]

Oh sure, they could have swapped in the supercharged v8 that last generation's Corvette ZR-1 had, but then you have to go through the hassle and expense of having it crash tested and all that. Someone had said the only reason they made the SS in the first place was some contractual obligation to the Holden factory in Australia, so it's no wonder it was just a half-assed model they ran for a couple of years. My only point was that hp/liter isn't really an impressive statistic. What matters more is weight and weight distribution, and Corvette's are a perfect 50/50. I even saw someone drop an LS1 into a Mazda RX7 and mounted it far enough back that they had closer to 50/50 than stock, but of course it's paired to the T56 transmission which will add weight to the rear to even things out. I know I was pretty disappointed with the Stinger's weight but I guess when Hyundai owns a steel mill you can't expect them to not make use of it. If they had gone with a lighter frame I probably just couldn't afford it.

Edit: okay technically the C7 is 49.4/50.6

 

[Kia Stinger]

Oh sure, they could have swapped in the supercharged v8 that last generation's Corvette ZR-1 had, but then you have to go through the hassle and expense of having it crash tested and all that. Someone had said the only reason they made the SS in the first place was some contractual obligation to the Holden factory in Australia, so it's no wonder it was just a half-assed model they ran for a couple of years. My only point was that hp/liter isn't really an impressive statistic. What matters more is weight and weight distribution, and Corvette's are a perfect 50/50. I even saw someone drop an LS1 into a Mazda RX7 and mounted it far enough back that they had closer to 50/50 than stock, but of course it's paired to the T56 transmission which will add weight to the rear to even things out. I know I was pretty disappointed with the Stinger's weight but I guess when Hyundai owns a steel mill you can't expect them to not make use of it. If they had gone with a lighter frame I probably just couldn't afford it.

I think production of the Chevy SS had something to do with the Pontiac G8/G8 GT being cut and GM needed to fulfill that contract with something...

 

[Taimaishoo]

You know, I kinda cringed when I submitted the comments about the SS. I'm pleasantly surprised that this has been a calm discussion with everyone bringing something good and interesting into the chat. You don't see civility much anymore on the web.

I figured the engine was de-tuned but why even bother throw something that big in unless you're going to use it? Now, should it have as much power as the Corvette? No. Also, legit question, is cylinder deactivation saving that much gas? You are burning fuel in the used cylinders while still keeping the other turning? Or does it just decrease the amount of fuel injected in the other cylinders? Yes, I could Google it but so far this thread has been very civil and I am enjoying reading all the opinions, articles, etc.

Oh, and to show I may not like the SS but I don't hate it... that V8 grumble and roar! And last year, someone brought it to the local autocross (experienced driver, mind you) and literally tore up the track and smoked everything there, in any class, including the guy that brought his corporate sponsored Corvette in a trailer. Poor guy, just couldn't keep the back end planted enough on such a small track. That thing was just too big for our parking lot. LOL