Kia Stinger GT: Audi A7 Contender or Pretender?

[Kia Stinger]

CARS.COM — One of the many reasons why the 365-horsepower, twin-turbocharged V-6 2018 Kia Stinger GT is so interesting is its lack of non-luxury competitors. The Chevrolet SS bit the dust, the Ford Taurus and Nissan Maxima can't keep up, and the Dodge Charger doesn't have the Stinger GT's refinement or the handling chops. To find competitors, we have to look upward. That means pitting it against a personal favorite, the 2018 Audi A7.

I know this comparison will raise eyebrows: "How can you compare a $40,000 Kia to a $70,000 Audi?" But I think the Stinger GT makes a good case for itself in a few areas; it's a closer comparison than it appears at first glance.

On paper, the two match up closely. Both have a distinctive and similar fastback profile, though the A7 has a longer rear overhang, which accounts for most of its 6 inches of additional length. However, the wheelbases of the two cars are within 0.3 inch of each other, and they have similar widths and backseat dimensions. Read more...

 

[Bobr]

Yea, I personally compare Stinger to Audi A7 myself here, not to A5... Thought to buy A7 (if I could find those money) until I found out about Stinger which offers near the same for near twice lower price! And you don't need to pay extra for every little thing like "Apple CarPlay" which costs $500 in Audi. WTF?! $500 for functionality which should be already built-in in XXI century, damn it! And I don't care that KIA doesn't sound luxury.

 

[Theil24]

I also think the Stinger looks WAY better than the A7. Especially the back portion of the car.

 

[Kia Stinger]

I do feel the Stinger compares nicely to the A7. The RS7 is another story as it performs and looks excellent. But the price - forget about it.

 

[Waynerm002]

Wait until Biermann tunes up the Stinger and put out a Stinger K-Sport (like what I did there, lol)! The luxury level is good enough for me in the Korean trim, don't get me started.. on what we got in the US, my wife would love to have that Korean 2.0T in the Deep Blue they have at the dealer on display. The power in the GT is wonderful, wished they had tuned it to hold the revs until you shifted when it's in manual mode however, I drove a GT and loved it, compared to the old 535 M-Sport I had, this is way better and we all know it trounces most others it competed with in performance. The stinger is a big hit for KIA.

 

[Kia Stinger]

Wait until Biermann tunes up the Stinger and put out a Stinger K-Sport (like what I did there, lol)! The luxury level is good enough for me in the Korean trim, don't get me started.. on what we got in the US, my wife would love to have that Korean 2.0T in the Deep Blue they have at the dealer on display. The power in the GT is wonderful, wished they had tuned it to hold the revs until you shifted when it's in manual mode however, I drove a GT and loved it, compared to the old 535 M-Sport I had, this is way better and we all know it trounces most others it competed with in performance. The stinger is a big hit for KIA.

K-Sport. Not bad! What year was your 535i M-Sport? I'm glad to hear you feel the Stinger GT is a big upgrade...

 

[westcoastGT]

I think Kia undersold the benchmarks on purpose , it really is more akin to the A7 , 6 coupe and Panamera , its only now that they are admitting it and even publishing , just looking at the wheel base stats suggests the same :

Stinger -114.4
BMW 6 - 112.4
Panamera - 116.1
A5 -111.2
BMW 440 GC - 110.6
Merc CL - 111.8

 

[Waynerm002]

I had the 2010 version, last of that body style. Loved that noise it made when the flap in the muffler opened.

 

[Kia Stinger]

I think Kia undersold the benchmarks on purpose , it really is more akin to the A7 , 6 coupe and Panamera , its only now that they are admitting it and even publishing , just looking at the wheel base stats suggests the same :

Stinger -114.4
BMW 6 - 112.4
Panamera - 116.1
A5 -111.2
BMW 440 GC - 110.6
Merc CL - 111.8

Kia certainly did aim high with the Stinger. It does line-up well with the Panamera and 6-Series...

I had the 2010 version, last of that body style. Loved that noise it made when the flap in the muffler opened.

What? Audi RS7?