Kia Stinger GT-S | Spotted
Kia's 370hp rear-drive fastback is forever destined to be a forgotten gem. Please, tell your parents
A mate of a mate is trying to get his old man to buy a Stinger GT-S. He is pitching Kia’s hot rod for lots of good and valid reasons that we know about: it’s very practical, it looks good, it goes fast and it is fairly sensational value for money. But the secret reason he wants his now-retired dad to buy it is that in the fullness of time he will likely get his mitts on it. And that says a lot about a) the now-defunct Stinger and b) Kia in general.
Twenty years ago, it is unlikely that someone’s adult child would be hatching a multi-year plan to acquire a used Kia. Lest we forget, the firm launched in Europe in 1991 with the Pride. Which, as a rebadged Ford Festiva (or a Mazda 121, depending on where you lived) had precious little to be proud about. It then stoked the embers with the first-generation Sportage, a car that used the Mazda Bongo as a jumping-off point, and the Mentor - its first go at designing a model from scratch.
If you can’t recall what the Mentor looks like, that’s because it sold like a sandwich that lists e-coli as an ingredient. In 1995, Kia sold fewer cars in the UK than it had in 1993. By 1998, in the wake of the Asian financial crisis, it looked like it might have to throw in the towel when the entire range didn't account for more than 3,000 cars sold. But then Hyundai galloped to the rescue in Korea and with new models like the Picanto, started to turn the ship around. In 2006 Kia opened its first factory in Europe and hired Peter Schreyer as design boss. The rest, they say, is history.
But even against the backdrop of big sales and a bigger heap of stylish, tiger-nosed cars, the Stinger seemed like a departure. And that’s because it was. The Stinger wasn’t a mainstream hatchback or family crossover, it was a tank on Audi’s lawn. Here was five-door, rear-drive fastback engineered by Albert Biermann to make good use of the range-topping 3.3-litre V6 and designed to make an S5 Sportback owner stop and stare.
And sure, it wasn’t perfect. But in GT-S format it had 370hp, would do 0-62mph in under five seconds, was adaptively damped, came with a mechanical limited-slip diff as standard and looked the business. It was the halo car Kia had never had before in Europe, and you could buy one for a whisker over £40k. The fact that not a huge amount of people did says a good deal more about the insular, image-preoccupied nature of the UK market than it does the car - if Kia managed to get the right person in it, they generally loved it. We did.
Seven years on from its launch - and three years since Kia announced that it would not directly replace the Stinger - that leaves the model in roughly the same position: barely known about or acknowledged by the majority, and therefore cherished by a bargain-hunting minority that favour a sonorous, well-equipped sort of honesty over badge snobbery. This one-owner example in Sunset Yellow has covered less than 18k in six years, and can be had for less than £25k. It’s got a lifetime of GT-style pleasure yet to give. Or possibly two, if someone gets their story right.
SPECIFICATION | KIA STINGER GT-S
Engine: 3,342cc V6, twin-turbocharged
Transmission: 8-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive, limited-slip differential
Power (hp): 370@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 376@1,300-4,500rpm
CO2: 225g/km (WLTP)
MPG: 28 (WLTP)
First registered: 2018
Recorded mileage: 18,416
Price new: £42,495
Yours for: £24,495
This car was an absolute sales flop, selling around 10,000 vehicles across the entire European continent and it's not hard to see why; most normal people simply wouldn't spend that kind of money on an Asian car with no prior history in the segment when they could buy a BMW, Mercedes or Audi instead.
People on here can talk a great game and "back the underdog" all they like but when it actually comes down to parting with cash most people will understandably go with what they know. It was good but not that good in comparison to its market leading rivals so it deservedly sank without trace.
Also the Stinger gets hit with the highest rate of VED for the first 6 years as well as they put it *just* over £40k list. First year would've been £1,650 then £600/yr for the next 5 years. Putting it at £39,999 list would've saved £2k in VED over that period.
FWIW I would happily have had one but the running costs put me off.
This car was an absolute sales flop, selling around 10,000 vehicles across the entire European continent and it's not hard to see why; most normal people simply wouldn't spend that kind of money on an Asian car with no prior history in the segment when they could buy a BMW, Mercedes or Audi instead.
People on here can talk a great game and "back the underdog" all they like but when it actually comes down to parting with cash most people will understandably go with what they know. It was good but not that good in comparison to its market leading rivals so it deservedly sank without trace.
Pre 2021 they were under 40k .
Had mine since Jan 2022 was on 7k miles now 23k miles.
Front discs changed under warranty at 14k is only fault.
Paid £730 up front for 4 services .
6k intervals are a PITA but you get used to it.
MPG is 20 ish on short runs and Mid to high 30s on a run.
Number sold is good for me as means it's easier to find in car parks.
If you put aside any prejudices why would you buy a 4 year old BMW or VAG 350bhp car against the stinger with 3 years factory warranty left ?
On MPG on a recent track day it did a glorious 5 MPG
Give one a try
Think they were always going to struggle especially in the U.K with the image Kia has.
This car was an absolute sales flop, selling around 10,000 vehicles across the entire European continent and it's not hard to see why; most normal people simply wouldn't spend that kind of money on an Asian car with no prior history in the segment when they could buy a BMW, Mercedes or Audi instead.
People on here can talk a great game and "back the underdog" all they like but when it actually comes down to parting with cash most people will understandably go with what they know. It was good but not that good in comparison to its market leading rivals so it deservedly sank without trace.
Pre 2021 they were under 40k .
Had mine since Jan 2022 was on 7k miles now 23k miles.
Front discs changed under warranty at 14k is only fault.
Paid £730 up front for 4 services .
6k intervals are a PITA but you get used to it.
MPG is 20 ish on short runs and Mid to high 30s on a run.
Number sold is good for me as means it's easier to find in car parks.
If you put aside any prejudices why would you buy a 4 year old BMW or VAG 350bhp car against the stinger with 3 years factory warranty left ?
On MPG on a recent track day it did a glorious 5 MPG
Give one a try
The i8 was never was anything other than 100% reliable, needed fewer servicing intervals (interim every 12 months/12k miles, full every 2 years/24k miles) meaning the cost was comparable to what you'd be paying using third parties. There was zero road tax, no ULEZ/CAZ and, for a while, no Congestion Charge in London either.
I never had to change the brake discs (isn't braking re-gen wonderful!?) and it was more fuel efficient than the Stinger - I'd regularly see 62+ mpg on motorway runs, town driving was closer to 39+ mpg. I couldn't get it to do under 30 mpg, no matter how much I tried.
It was WAY cooler to look at than the Stinger and weighed almost 400 kgs less so significantly outperformed it too.
If you want to talk about numbers sold, BMW shifted around 2,500 i8s in the UK so I can promise you it was far easier to find in any car park compared to your car!
I've moved on to BEVs now and wouldn't go back to any ICE in the segment the Stinger inhabits.
In summary, clearly the whole of Europe pretty much felt the same way about the car as I did.
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