Stinger storms out of Kia’s comfort zone

What do you do when a car company steps out of that comfort zone in which it makes utilitarian, workaday cars and SUVs and steps into a whole new realm of endeavour like making a gorgeous — and fast — executive sports coupe? You cheer their endeavour — loudly. That’s what you do, writes Declan Colley.

Sat, 14 Apr, 2018 - 01:00

And this week I cheer Kia with all my heart for going out on a limb into territory the Korean manufacturer has never before attempted to occupy by making just such a gorgeous — and fast — rear wheel drive executive sports coupe.

It has made the Kia Stinger and while the name itself might be a tad naff, the car itself is an eye-opening thing of desire.

That they have exposed themselves to plenty of potential criticism by entering what is a small but very hierarchical segment, Kia has been very brave indeed. These are shark-infested waters, in motoring terms, but Kia has pulled off a trick here by making a car which is very nearly as good as anything European it competes against.

That they have done so with such a considerable degree of success, if not élan, is not only surprising, but is something to be wildly cheered and it clearly demonstrates to other car makers with lofty ambitions, that this sort of bravery can be rewarded, provided they come up with a package that truly delivers the goods.

Traditionally, however, this type of car generally comes from within Germany, although the Japanese have also come up with a few goods ones down the years. So for the Koreans to step up and produce a car which is very capable of competing with what is already out there, is a very big deal indeed.

But their success in making the Stinger as good as it is leads to many other questions, as we shall see towards the conclusion of this review. For now though, let us just bask in the design and engineering of this excellent car.

First up, it is a four door, with coupe styling, although this does not mean that the rear seats — as is so often the case with such machines — are not completely redundant.

Chief designer Peter Schreyer and his team have done a great job on both the exterior and interior look of the Stinger and not only have they achieved an understated but very sporty exterior, but they have also made something that is decidedly practical too.

And it also has a very serviceable boot that will easily pass the multiple golf bag test which, of course, is going to be a critical element for those paying the sixty-six grand asking price.

Inside, it has all the necessary gizmology and connectivity that a modern car should have these days, as well as all the safety trickery that manufacturers are tripping over themselves to provide us with. The driving position is low, but the seating is very supportive and all the switchgear is close to hand.

In fairness some of it is cheap looking and appears to have been transplanted directly from the Optima, which most certainly is not a sixty-six grand car, so there are one or two areas immediately apparent where Kia can up the ante, but in general the interior cuts the proverbial mustard, while not quite being up to, say, Audi’s standards.

It is on the mechanical front though that it really opens the eyes. Under the hood of the GT ‘S’ tester is a fantastic 3.3 litre twin turbo V6 petrol engine which produces a stonking 365 bhp, a blinding sub-five second 0-100 kph time and a German-stomping 167 mph top speed.

Being picky, you could say that the ‘doctored’ engine acoustics do not fully do justice to the V6 engine and the noise produced is a little puny by comparison with similar engines.

What’s not puny, however, is the performance which is truly impressive and while the eight-speed auto ’box is decent enough, it can be a little ponderous when you don’t want tardy reactions.

The brakes, thankfully, are a match for the performance and the exclusive Brembo system on the Stinger is fully justified. Also exclusive is adaptive suspension and this also gives the Stinger another valuable piece of driver-friendly armoury.

It is worth noting that Kia paid a King’s ransom to bring in former BMW chassis guru Albert Biermann to get this area of their designs sorted and under his controlling influence, the Stinger features stuff like two-mode adaptive dampers, terribly accurate steering and a marked reluctance towards understeer.

And it is worth noting while the handling is generally excellent, the ride does get a bit unsettled on the worst of our surfaces, although it never gets bone-rattlingly jarring.

Even so, with such cars, there is always a fear the rear wheel drive system could be overwhelmed by all that power, but that’s most certainly not the case here as the car handles like a proper GT should and never delivers any terrifyingly sphincter-tightening moments, unless you’re really dumb.

Bottom line is that Kia has produced a real quality machine here and one which is outrageously enjoyable to drive — shocking, even, for a company which has about as much sporting tradition as your average cardboard box.

They just have never done anything like this before and for them to get it so right — thanks obviously to the German engineering and design talent they have imported – first time of asking is a very impressive feat indeed.

The worrying thing, however, from Kia’s point of view is that while their car is very good, fantastic to drive and decently practical for a sports car, those characteristics are probably not enough to start getting people out of its German rivals on a wholesale basis.

Tempting punters out of their Audi A5s or their BMW 440i Gran Coupes might happen for Kia in an ideal world, but this, sadly is the real world and I cannot see that happening anytime soon — no matter how good the Stinger might be.

The trouble is that to achieve such lofty aims, the South Korean car needs to offer that little bit more than the Germans (and the Japs occasionally) can do. It doesn’t. It may largely match their performance parameters, but it simply does not have the cachet its rivals boast.

I have mentioned recently the unconscionable modern truth that is badge snobbery and if there is one single thing that will kill off a car — even one as good as this one — then that modern social phenomenon will do just that.

It may even be that the Stinger is priced to sell by comparison with its rivals, but that will not bring you any kudos in the golf club on a Sunday morning.

Sad, but terribly true.