DOES THE FIRST AND ONLY KIA IN FOZA BELONG HERE
KOREA’S ANSWER TO THE GERMANS TESTED IN THE UK
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RoadTest
Speed - 7.3 Handling - 6.0 Acceleration - 6.2 Launch - 7.8 Braking - 5.9 Cost - 46,000 cr
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he Kia Stinger is an odd one; it is a Kia, not a brand renowned for sportiness. Hell 10 years ago the main customer base were the elderly and mini-cabbers. That makes the Stinger such a change in direction for the brand and a welcome addition. Gone are the images of rotting Kia Rios, cheap plastics and haemorrhoid levels of desirability, in comes a svelte four door, liftback coupé designed to take on the best German competition. For a start the car comes equipped with a 3.0 litre V6 with twin turbochargers, pumping out 336 bhp to the rear wheels, a good start for a performance
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orientated vehicle. It also makes use of more aggressive styling, a tiger-mouth grill dominates the front grill whilst the cars overall styling is very Germanic and rather stylish. Not a surprise considering that Gregory Guillaume and Peter Schreyer were instrumental in the creation of the Stinger, two incredibly distinguished European designers. That name too is interesting; Stinger conjures up images of scorpions and missile launchers. It’s a name that is very aggressive and fun if a little childish (then again its a better name than Pride or Retona!) Aside from all of this another attraction of the Stinger is the cost, it undercuts the majority of other vehicles in its division. Costing only 44,000 cr the
Stinger is one of the cheapest ways to own a A class vehicle. The Stinger has been heralded a valiant first effort for Kia, a very impressive first crack at something so alien to the brand. However, it has been criticised for its rather flat, lifeless steering, an integral part of a good sports coupé. The question remains whether the steering issue translates itself into Forza Motorsport 7 and if its possible to actually enjoy driving a Kia? The first thing to be said about the car is that it doesn’t sound like a typical Kia, its V6 is throaty and rhythmic, with a little slice of turbocharged wail thrown in for good measure too. At lower speeds the Stinger has a deep growl to it not to dissimilar to a
real sports car. As the revs build and the turbochargers begin to spool up there is a feeling of a distinct boost in power and whine at roughly 6000 rpm. The car definitely feels more capable at these higher revs, suffering from a touch of oldschool turbo-lag at lower rpm, but remains competent and sporty throughout the range. Initial acceleration in the Stinger is spirited but its only when the twin-turbochargers kick in that performance really becomes inviting. The engine is a real highlight for the Stinger; its powerful, melodic and a great starting point for a brilliant sports coupé. The gear-shift too is rather brilliant paired with the V6 engine, the 8 speed box shifts with ease
Kia Stinger GT A valiant and interesting first attempt from Kia to infiltrate the sports world. Brilliant design and engine let down by two dimensional handling characteristics and brakes
and a crispness. It keeps the Stinger at high revs maximising the boost of the turbos. On down-shift too the Stinger retains this efficiency and feels remarkably sharp making the gearbox is a triumph for the Stinger. With the speed and gearbox of the Stinger being a successful attribute, it is only natural to check to see if the braking system is able to cope with the 365 bhp. Unfortunately the brakes on the Stinger require getting used to in order to get the most out of the driving experience. Initially, the brakes feel rather spongy and restricted, especially after a long straight, the Stinger feels rather limp entering into a corner, the brakes feeling like they have much more to give. After a while the brakes begin to feel more settled and predictable but never feel the sharpest or particularly rewarding to use. The Stinger would be a much better car to drive with uprated brakes, instead of the underwhelming unit it unfortunately has to rely
upon. The possibility of coming in to a corner too hot is always a real threat because of this, with the brakes feeling rather uninvolved and somewhat difficult to gauge. The weaker than expected brakes are also exasperated by the overly-keen steering. The Stinger has insanely fast and direct steering but with little feel that can be exploited to attain the levels of grip available. Under hard braking this becomes problematic as even the slightest movement of the wheel becomes hyperbolic and veers the cars rear end away from the fronts sending it into an unwanted slide. These two factors; the steering and brakes really do take away from the Stinger as a performance car. The way in which it handles is integral to the driving experience, it doesn’t matter how good an engine is, the car will not excel without a sorted set of brakes and engaging steering. As spoken about before the steering of the Stinger is incredibly sharp and astute but
doesn’t engage the driver. The Stinger’s steering is so quick that it borders on jittery at times and often requires repeated adjustments throughout a corner because of its darting characteristics. The chassis itself is clearly very sorted, the car has very little body roll and keeps itself very settled . The car is also able to slide with remarkable ease, flicking the car on entry into a corner is easy with the light steering and the fantastic chassis control and LSD keeps the slide very easy to gauge.
The overall rating of the car was a very difficult dilemma; 3 stars seems too harsh for such a good first attempt at a sports coupé; its superb engine and styling are enviable qualities in even the best competition but the car is in no way perfect. Not perfect enough for 4 stars really as the driving characteristics leave much to be desired in a division of some seriously good competition. It therefore has a very reluctant 4 star rating for the sole reason that the car is an admirable first attempt by Kia, and will hopefully get better with each attempt. R.G
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TRACK NOTES As seen on the road, the Stinger’s acceleration is swift on take off with minimal wheelspin. It gains and maintains this speed very well around the track. Along the first part of the track, the rear end grip settles the car through the high-speed chicane, the only concern being the overeagerness of the front end. This can easily be countered by taking a levelled approach to corrections. The next point of interest is on the straight, and the elevation change that pushes the suspension to its limits. The Stinger took this in its stride, not feeling unsettled or requiring lift off on any of the laps. The cars weak brakes can be felt throughout the corners of the track, the car feels to always enter with too much speed reducing the fluidity of cornering. The twitchy steering too rears itself throughout the corners. In lower speed corners it is an annoyance, at higher speeds it actively feels like its working against you. Overall the Stinger remains very similar on a track as it does on the road. It is acceptable through the corners but needs substantial forward planning to get the most out of it on a track
LAP TIME The KIA Stinger’s best time over this course is a respectable 1:21:2 All cars tests will have three laps on the Holyrood circuit to set their best time. Each car will run with a manual gearbox, ABS and no aids to ensure a fair test.*
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*I am in no way the fastest driver so please be kind