Kia Stinger (2018-2023) review | The brilliant sports saloon you may not have heard of

What is the Kia Stinger?

Kia set out to challenge perceptions with the Stinger. Throughout Europe at least, the Korean marque had a reputation for building worthy hatchbacks and family cars that were as cost-effective as they were reliable. Perhaps their strongest selling point was the industry-leading seven-year warranty. All very sensible, but not particularly desirable.

That was never likely to change with a single model in the space of a few short years. All of a sudden, the Kia logo appeared on a car with elegant proportions, eye-catching styling and, in the case of its most potent model, the better part of 400bhp. This was an entirely different sort of Kia that appealed not only to the head, but also to the heart. It also took Kia into new territory – going toe-to-toe with established premium rivals like the BMW 3 Series and Audi A5 Sportback

Its design was led by Peter Schreyer – the enormously respected German designer who penned the original Audi TT. A long bonnet, the very short front overhang, a swooping roofline and the distance between the front axle line and the base of the windscreen are clear giveaways. According to Kia, these cab-backward, rear-wheel drive proportions are vital when tackling the evergreen BMW 3 Series head-on for the first time.

How practical is it?

The Stinger’s cabin is better-appointed than most of us would expect of a Kia, with bundles of standard equipment and acres of interior space, including a 406-litre boot which extends to 1,114 litres with the rear seats folded flat.

While the Stinger’s German rivals keep their noses ahead of in terms of material quality and a sense of opulence, there’s never been so little in it.

Where the Stinger distinguishes itself from the very well-established German opposition is that, rather than taking on the form of a four-door saloon, it’s actually a five-door hatchback (although Kia refers to it as a ‘fastback’) like the Porsche Panamera. Also like the Panamera, the Kia is billed as a kind of family-sized grand tourer, with luxury, performance, and agility in one package, but not such a focus on handling that all other considerations have been thrown out the window.

What’s it like to drive?

The Stinger rides comfortably, is effortlessly refined on the motorway, and has spacious rear seats with plenty of legroom. When you find yourself navigating a stretch of winding B-road, it will pull its laces tight and sprint along with strong grip and good body control. Don’t expect communicative steering or the sharpest handling responses because it’s quite a heavy car, but it's nonetheless very impressive.

Sitting at the top of the range, the Stinger GT S is powered by a fabulous 361bhp 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine. It has an eight-speed automatic gearbox and is comfortably the fastest Kia yet. It’ll reach 62mph from standstill in just 5.1 seconds before running on to a top speed of 168mph.

But if you can’t stretch to a GT S, then 2.0-litre turbo is well worth considering. It lacks the outright grunt of the V6, not to mention the terrific soundtrack, but it can still hit 62mph in 6.4 seconds. The 242bhp petrol engine is smooth and offers a broad spread of power that makes it really flexible, and its lighter weight over the front end helps the Stinger’s handling balance even further.

Finally, there’s the 2.2-litre diesel engine. With only 197bhp it’s considerably down on power on the other options here, and its coarse soundtrack and peaky power delivery mean it isn’t as enjoyable to drive as either of the petrol engines. Mind you, it’ll still hit 62mph in 7.3 seconds, so it’s no slouch; if you need a diesel for lots of long-distance motorway schleps, it might be worth considering.

More than anything, the Stinger revealed the scale of Kia’s ambitions. For a long time, its cars were cheap, but they fell short of the standard set by Europe’s car makers. Kia really closed that gap, and its cars became genuine contenders in their various categories, but buttoned-down pragmatism only takes you so far, and it was inevitable that Kia would one day want to inject some real desirability into the mix. The Stinger played that role very commendably indeed.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

Kia was very generous with the Stinger’s standard equipment to lure buyers away from their Audis and BMWs. There were no basic entry-level models, and the range kicked off with the GT-Line, which was chock-full of kit. Leather upholstery, with electric adjustment and heating in the front; a heated steering wheel; front and rear parking sensors; adaptive cruise control; a reversing camera; a limited-slip differential; a nine-speaker sound system – all of these came as standard even on the cheapest Stingers.

If you’re prepared to splash out for a GT-Line S instead, you also get LED headlights, ventilated front seats, heated outer rear seats, a powered boot lid, a Harman Kardon sound system with 15 speakers, a 360-degree parking camera system, and a sun roof.

Go for the full-fat GT S model, and in addition to that glorious 3.3-litre V6 engine, you’ll also get a spangly set of Brembo brakes, Nappa leather upholstery, adaptive suspension, variable-ratio steering, and adjustable side bolsters on the driver’s seat.

You’ll need to find a car whose original owner ticked a lot of options boxes to get the same level of equipment in an A5 Sportback or a 3 Series.

Early Stingers came with an eight-inch touchscreen, whose graphics looked a little downmarket compared to the swankier user interfaces on true premium rivals’ offerings. However, a corollary of this was that the system was quick to respond, as it didn’t have to deal with finicky animations or high-quality imagery, and combined with an intuitive menu layout, that meant it was satisfyingly easy to use. Later cars had a very similar system, but the screen was upgraded to one that measured 10.25 inches.

Kia Stinger running costs

The Stinger is good value to buy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a cheap car to run. Fuel costs vary significantly depending on the model. Kia says the twin-turbo V6 GT S will return 28mpg in mixed driving, although a real-world mpg figure of 24 is more realistic. Expect that to fall even further if you drive it hard. Meanwhile, the four-cylinder petrol should return around 32mpg in real-world driving, while the four-cylinder diesel has the best fuel economy of the bunch at 38mpg.

Because the Stinger was introduced after the tax regime changed in 2017, 2.0-litre turbo and 2.2-litre diesel models will be taxed at the same standard flat rate. GT Ss were priced at more than £40,000, which means they’ll incur the luxury car tax premium until they’re six years old, at which point they’ll revert to costing the same as the rest of the range.

Petrol-powered Stingers will also require servicing very frequently – every 6,000 miles or six months, to be precise – and while the interim services are relatively small, it’s still an extra cost (not to mention an extra thing to remember) that you won’t get with one of this car’s rivals. Diesel Stingers stick to a 12-month, 10,000-mile service schedule, which is more conventional.

Insurance groups range from 32 for the diesel model to 42 out of 50 for the GT S. As well as fixed-price service plans, which spread the costs and protect against inflation, Kia offers customers the option of splitting service or repair work into three interest-free payments.

Kia Stinger reliability

Kia has earned itself an enviable reputation for reliability, and it often outperforms the likes of BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz in owner satisfaction surveys.

What’s more, all Kias get a seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty when new, and while only the very latest Stingers will benefit from the balance of this today, it’s something no other car of this type can offer.

Will it be reliable, though? Well, it seems likely; Stingers have an excellent reputation for durability, and we’ve neither heard of nor found evidence of any common problems that affect any of the powertrains it’s fitted with. Even if your Stinger does go wrong, repair costs are likely to be lower than those of the equivalent BMW or Audi.