RE: New all-wheel drive Kia Stinger gets drift mode

RE: New all-wheel drive Kia Stinger gets drift mode

Thursday 18th April 2019

New all-wheel drive Kia Stinger gets drift mode

The Stinger was like an old BMW beforehand; now it's like a new one!



PH likes a Kia Stinger GTS. So much so, in fact, that it beat a BMW 4 Series in our twin test. By combining punchy performance with no little dynamic finesse, it wholly overdelivered on the Kia sporting saloon promise. Being rare, interesting and different only further helped its cause.

Now Kia has seen fit to update the Stinger GTS, revealing this new special edition at the New York show. By and large it's the same as before, packing the same 370hp twin-turbo V6 and fundamental architecture, jazzed up with 'Federation' orange paint, carbon fibre for the grille, side vents and mirrors plus a new 'Stinger' logo replacing the Kia one on its rump. There are new swathes of Alcantara inside, too.


Of far more interest, though, is the new dynamic all-wheel drive (D-AWD); Kia says the technology is a result of Albert Biermann striving for a more capable Stinger, and that it "inspires more spirited driving." While there is already an all-wheel drive Stinger in the US, this new GTS edition aims to sit between that and the rear-drive car in terms of dynamics; to that end even the Comfort drive mode only sends 40 per cent of power forward, with Sport reducing that further to just 20 per cent. And, yes, there's Drift Mode, which is 100 per cent rear drive and holds gears without upshifting.

To achieve all this, D-AWD gets a mechanical limited-slip diff that isn't there in the regular all-wheel drive car and a rework of the assist systems (Slip Control, Counter Steer Detection and stability control), as well as a tweak of the gearbox shift pattern. So in theory there's the best of both worlds, as you'd get in more expensive sports saloons like the M5 and E63, boasting all-wheel drive security and rear-drive lairiness. Or, in Kia's words, an "all-wheel drive system peppered with rear-wheel drive DNA." Nice.


Interestingly, Kia will launch the 800-unit Stinger GTS limited edition in both RWD and D-AWD variants, with prices in the US expected to start at around $44,000. There's no word yet on how that 800 number will be split between the two models, or whether the D-AWD update will make it beyond this version, although it would seem bizarre to invest in the technology only to restrict it to relatively few cars. One to keep an eye on. In the meantime, those who prefer their sports saloons unsullied by all-wheel drive traction will be pleased to find half a dozen GTS Stingers in the PH classifieds, this ex-demo being of particular interest - with just 100 miles on the clock, it's already £5,000 off...




 

Author
Discussion

TaylotS2K

Original Poster:

1,964 posts

206 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
A lovely looking car imo and something I've considered.

Jamescrs

4,450 posts

64 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
A genuinely interesting car, looks fantastic and I bet it's a great drive, I wonder how many they have actually sold?

I've seen one on the road so far and that it turned out was a demonstrator being used by one of their sales people.

I suspect there is a limited market for it given most buyers would still rather have a lower performance BMW, Merc, Audi etc for the badge kudos

BFleming

3,589 posts

142 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
Jamescrs said:
I wonder how many they have actually sold?

I've seen one on the road so far and that it turned out was a demonstrator being used by one of their sales people.
There's about 800 on UK roads, but I suspect that 100 or so are still registered to Kia UK.

GTEYE

2,092 posts

209 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
Looks great in orange- sadly I’m sure a rare colour on an even rarer car!


Frimley111R

15,537 posts

233 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
Jamescrs said:
... I wonder how many they have actually sold?

I've seen one on the road so far and that it turned out was a demonstrator being used by one of their sales people.

I suspect there is a limited market for it given most buyers would still rather have a lower performance BMW, Merc, Audi etc for the badge kudos
This, it's a novelty car but once that is over 99% of buyers in the UK want a prestige badge. It'll depreciate like a stone.

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
Jamescrs said:
I suspect there is a limited market for it given most buyers would still rather have a lower performance BMW, Merc, Audi etc for the badge kudos
Very true but I don't see what badge kudos is in the usual German suspects when they are so common absolutely everywhere. Something is not special when every Tom, Dick and Harry has one.

BFleming

3,589 posts

142 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
BFleming said:
Jamescrs said:
I wonder how many they have actually sold?

I've seen one on the road so far and that it turned out was a demonstrator being used by one of their sales people.
There's about 800 on UK roads, but I suspect that 100 or so are still registered to Kia UK.
I should have quantified this a little. There were about 800 Stingers of all guises on UK roads up to the end of 2018. That figures includes the 2.2 diesel (197bhp), 2.0 petrol (244bhp) and the 3.3 (365bhp). The lion's share are (or were) 3.3's.

George Smiley

5,048 posts

80 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
Frimley111R said:
This, it's a novelty car but once that is over 99% of buyers in the UK want a prestige badge. It'll depreciate like a stone.
Good, I want one but not at list price

Triumph Man

8,670 posts

167 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
I really like the Kia Stinger, I had one for 2 weeks as a hire car in NZ. Although initially disappointed it wasn’t the V6, I bonded with it. The gearbox was a little frustrating though.

big_rob_sydney

3,394 posts

193 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
Potentially an interesting car. I'd certainly love to know more about it.

cobra kid

4,906 posts

239 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
I spent a week in South Korea in 2010 with work. It blew my mind the stage they were at with styling. It's gradually leaking out round the world it seems.

richs2891

895 posts

252 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
I feel if Kia had pitched it at less than £40K inc metallic paint then it would potentially sell better

RSTurboPaul

10,219 posts

257 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
Elatino1 said:
Jamescrs said:
I suspect there is a limited market for it given most buyers would still rather have a lower performance BMW, Merc, Audi etc for the badge kudos
Very true but I don't see what badge kudos is in the usual German suspects when they are so common absolutely everywhere. Something is not special when every Tom, Dick and Harry has one.
This.


Nevermind that one is driving some dreary, under-engined, miserable handling identi-box, look at the shiny tech! Look at the badge! Look at the 'lifestyle'!

rolleyes


The Stinger is the sort of car that will sell about six of them, drop like a stone in value, and then years later, be hailed as a true gem, in the same way that the Avantime did.

Kia and Hyundai deserve to do really well for all the effort they are putting into making decent driver's cars, but I do fear it might be too late - with 'Intelligent' (haha) Speed Adaption on the way rendering anything with performance basically redundant, and people apparently more interested in how they look to others than how they are actually feeling themselves, I think perhaps the ship might have sailed, which makes me sad.

Andeh1

7,107 posts

205 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
I love them, one in yellow please!

culpz

4,881 posts

111 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
I think these will make much more sense on the used market after a few years, with the reliability and 7-year warranty. From new though, something like a 440i will make more sense, due to decent BMW dealer contributions and better-value lease/PCP deals.

I've only ever seen 2 GTS models in total on the roads. It's a very big car, but it's got some real presence to it. I like it!

hebbhog

48 posts

186 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
6000 miles service interval is a bit of a bore though............

nickfrog

20,871 posts

216 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
RSTurboPaul said:
This.


Nevermind that one is driving some dreary, under-engined, miserable handling identi-box, look at the shiny tech! Look at the badge! Look at the 'lifestyle'!

rolleyes

.
I have one of these for the commute as it's perfect for the job and more crucially it's very very cheap. I am not too fussed about lifestyle either as I am not sure what that means nor knew that anyone cared enough to post about it. The tech is superb indeed and does make life easier, particularly the Android / Google maps / Spotify integration.

culpz

4,881 posts

111 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
hebbhog said:
6000 miles service interval is a bit of a bore though............

I forgot about that tbh!

Alex_225

6,233 posts

200 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
I have to admit, I think the Stinger looks really really good, especially in that colour as well!

Seems like a thoroughly impressive car all round considering the brand it's coming from. They've pulled out all the stops on it though.

Harry_523

350 posts

98 months

Thursday 18th April 2019
quotequote all
Very nearly replaced my M135i with one of these, but at the time there were so few available and there were no deals on. Also as said here 6K service and high tax and fuel not ideal. Might revisit when getting out the finance trap spin