2018 Kia Stinger GT: Rear-Wheel Drive, Korean Style!

MotorTrend

On this episode of Ignition presented by Tire Rack

Transcript

00:00 (engine revving)

00:02 If I was in the market for a sports sedan,

00:27 there's only one way I would get it.

00:29 Real wheel drive and lots of power.

00:32 So I could do this.

00:33 (engine revving)

00:36 (laughing)

00:40 This thing rocks for a Kia.

00:44 (upbeat music)

00:47 (upbeat music)

00:49 the world's fastest car.

00:52 (upbeat music)

00:54 (upbeat music)

00:57 What a great name, Stinger.

01:20 It speaks to what this car is all about.

01:23 And this is the highest performance Kia, the Stinger GT.

01:27 (engine revving)

01:29 In a world of SUVs and hybrids,

01:31 it might seem odd that Kia is building

01:33 a rear drive sports sedan.

01:35 And it is.

01:36 Chevy could barely sell the SS

01:38 and they have a long history of making cars like that.

01:41 (engine revving)

01:43 So why a rear wheel drive sports sedan?

01:45 Why a Stinger?

01:47 Well, if you look back at 2011,

01:50 at the Frankfurt Auto Show, Kia showed the GT concept.

01:54 It was a big hit.

01:55 People loved it.

01:56 And at the same time,

01:58 Kia was racing a factory sponsored effort

02:01 in Pirelli World Challenge

02:02 with the front wheel drive Kia Optima Turbo.

02:05 So somebody up there has been thinking

02:07 high performance for a while.

02:09 (engine revving)

02:10 Then in 2014, Kia introduced the Stinger concept

02:15 and the response was fantastic.

02:18 Kia said, "Hey, we got something here."

02:21 All they needed was a platform.

02:23 (engine revving)

02:24 Most of the bits were modified from the K900 chassis,

02:28 also shared with the Genesis brand.

02:30 And this helped spread the cost around.

02:32 While the Genesis brand focuses on luxury,

02:35 the Stinger is something way more fun.

02:39 How fun?

02:40 Can you say BMW?

02:42 (engine revving)

02:43 Okay, well, maybe not, but there's a direct connection.

02:48 Turns out in 2014,

02:50 Kia sniped the head of BMW's M division, Albert Biermann.

02:54 And he jumped right in to make sure

02:56 the Stinger would be a driver's car.

02:58 I mean, Kia.

02:59 Remember when I said I wanted a rear drive sedan?

03:03 Well, this could be it.

03:04 Normal models come with a two liter turbo four

03:07 and all wheel drive is optional.

03:09 But this is the model for me.

03:12 A 3.3 liter twin turbo V6,

03:15 pushing 365 Kia horsepower to the rear wheels only.

03:20 Rear wheel drive is ideal for a driver's car.

03:25 I mean, a driver's Kia.

03:26 And they worked very hard to get the Stinger

03:28 as close as possible to a 50/50 weight distribution.

03:33 It's a little heavy though, due to platform sharing.

03:36 I'd like to see it a couple hundred pounds lighter

03:38 like a three series.

03:39 (engine revving)

03:41 And how about these brakes?

03:43 Brembo's.

03:45 (engine revving)

03:48 And look at this thing.

03:52 The Stinger's body really emphasizes the performance

03:56 of the engine and the chassis underneath.

03:59 Some serious thoughts been given to the way this car looks.

04:02 It stands out.

04:03 The grill is a Kia grill.

04:05 It's got that familiar face.

04:07 Down low though, it's all intercooler for those twin turbos.

04:11 The hood seems to float between the fenders,

04:14 which wrap around the top.

04:15 And these vents are cool.

04:16 They look like a Camaro 1LE, but non-functional.

04:21 It's all for show.

04:23 But on the sides, those side vents are for real.

04:26 They vent air out of the wheel well for cooling

04:29 and for less lift.

04:30 And they look like they came off a GT3 race car.

04:33 The side view is long and low.

04:36 There's a character line that runs from this front fender

04:39 all the way to the back.

04:41 This car is big enough in the back seat

04:42 for a tall guy like me to sit in there in comfort.

04:46 Out back, the tail lights remind me of an FD RX-7.

04:50 And the body is wide and meaty.

04:52 There's four big tailpipes sticking out the back.

04:55 The car is long and sleek,

04:57 partially because guess what?

04:59 It's a hatchback.

05:01 What's wrong with you, America?

05:02 What's wrong with something functional and practical

05:05 and beautiful with that lovely fastback roofline?

05:09 Get with it.

05:11 This is a gorgeous car.

05:12 Kia is a brand that was always known for sensible,

05:15 inexpensive, affordable economy cars.

05:18 The Stinger is a car that you buy

05:20 because of the way it feels,

05:21 because of the way it makes you feel when you're driving it.

05:24 (upbeat music)

05:27 Yeah.

05:32 (tires screeching)

05:59 Kia is so serious about the Stinger's performance

06:02 that they debuted this car at the Nurburgring.

06:05 They launched the car at the track.

06:07 So you know what that means.

06:09 I should take it to the track.

06:11 Now it's time to get this Sting off the street

06:24 and onto the track where I can drive it flat out.

06:27 (car engine roaring)

06:30 (car engine roaring)

06:33 (car engine roaring)

06:36 (car engine roaring)

06:39 (car engine roaring)

06:42 (car engine roaring)

06:45 (car engine roaring)

06:48 (car engine roaring)

06:53 (car engine roaring)

07:01 (car engine roaring)

07:13 (car engine roaring)

07:17 (car engine roaring)

07:20 (car engine roaring)

07:43 (car engine roaring)

07:46 (car engine roaring)

07:55 The Kia Stinger's got a strong engine, strong brakes,

08:12 soft suspension.

08:14 It's not a track car, but it's a nice sporty sedan.

08:17 The Kia has great steering response as I enter the corner.

08:23 Then it goes into a strong understeer,

08:25 but gets balanced nicely under power at the exit.

08:28 I'm impressed with the twin turbo V6 in this Kia.

08:34 I'm impressed I'm even talking about

08:35 a twin turbo V6 in a Kia.

08:37 It's got a lot of torque.

08:39 It doesn't rev real high,

08:41 but on the track, very little lag

08:43 and enough power to spin the tires,

08:46 even in third gear at low revs.

08:48 The brakes have held up really well on track

08:51 and that's a good thing

08:52 'cause the Kia is not all that light, right?

08:54 And it's really quite powerful.

08:56 No fade, a good firm pedal that never got softer.

09:00 It was consistent and confidence inspiring.

09:03 Even in sport mode,

09:06 the eight speed automatic is not smart enough

09:08 or calibrated for track work.

09:11 So I go into the manual mode

09:13 and it's not a full manual, it'll upshift.

09:16 But what I get is good, quick downshifts

09:18 with a nice rev match.

09:19 See this button?

09:23 That's for stability control.

09:24 If I push it and hold it down, it turns it off.

09:28 Not in between, not a sport mode, it's off.

09:32 (upbeat music)

09:35 (tires screeching)

09:38 When's the last time you drove a Kia

09:46 where you even wanted to turn the stability control off?

09:49 When's the last time a Kia had enough power

09:52 that it even made it worthwhile?

09:53 So while the Stinger might be more of a comfy GT

09:58 than a killer track car,

10:00 it's still a much more focused performance offering

10:03 than we ever expected to see from Kia.

10:07 So if someone asks you, "That's a Kia?"

10:10 You just smile and confidently say, "Yes."

10:14 Watch this.

10:20 Right over there, right over there, right over there.

10:23 Come on.

10:24 All or nothing.

10:26 (laughing)

10:28 (dramatic music)

10:31 you

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