2023 Kia Stinger

Overview

Kia, the same automaker that sells the 120-hp Rio subcompact and the Soul crossover that was once marketed by hamsters, has a wildly-good sports sedan that doesn’t get the respect—or the sales—it deserves. The Stinger is a four-door hatchback with rear-tire fire—rear-drive is standard—and all-wheel drive as an option. The Stinger is like a BMW 4-series Gran Coupe but with the starting price of an affordable sport compact. The base engine is a zippy 300-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder. The available 368-hp twin-turbo V-6 is the preferred method of stinging, and this combination was the first Kia to accelerate to 60 mph in under 5.0 seconds. This is a good-handling car with surprisingly comfy ride quality plus sharp styling and a premium interior. Considering all that, there should be more buzz around the Stinger, but it's too late for that. Kia announced that 2023 is the final year for its powerful sports sedan, while high-power EVs such as the EV6 GT will take the flame.

Where This Vehicle Ranks

1

BMW 3-series

STARTING AT: $44,795

2

Audi A5 Sportback

STARTING AT: $45,695

3

Genesis G70

STARTING AT: $40,525

4

BMW 4-series Gran Coupe

STARTING AT: $46,895

5

Mercedes-Benz C-class

STARTING AT: $46,000

11

Kia Stinger

STARTING AT: $37,865

What's New for 2023?

The Kia Stinger celebrates its fifth rotation around the sun with a simplified lineup and two special edition models for 2023. Kia has also announced that 2023 will be the final production year of its sports sedan. Last year’s GT-Line, GT1, and GT2 availability have been slimmed to just GT-Line and GT2. Kia is also offering Apex and Grand Tourer special edition packages. Apex, available exclusively for the Stinger GT-Line, goes dark with Brembo brakes, black exhaust tips, fenders, and mirrors. The Grand Tourer, available exclusively for Stinger GT2, also adds black exhaust tips, fenders, and mirrors, but gets specialization for the interior with black suede seat inserts, suede dashboard trim, and sporty red stitching for the seats and instrument panel. To honor the last year of the Stinger, a Tribute Edition, limited to 1000 units worldwide, gets Ascot Green paint finish, with an optional Moonscape matte gray paint hue. Black details and Brembo brake calipers are also added. Special badging will authenticate which of the 1000 special editions customers are driving.

Pricing and Which One to Buy

The right way to order the Stinger is with the peppy 368-hp twin-turbo V-6. The only way to get that powertrain is to order the GT2. For an additional charge, you can add all-wheel drive, but that replaces the rear-drive Stinger’s Michelin Pilot Sport summer tires with all seasons. All-wheel drive also reduces the top speed from 167 mph to 149 mph. Granted, you could end up in jail at either of those speeds, but should you want to enter the Stinger into a track day on a circuit with a very long straight, the extra 18 mph might just come in handy.

Engine, Transmission, and Performance

The Stinger is available with two different turbocharged engines, a 300-hp 2.5-liter turbo-four as well as a 368-hp twin-turbo 3.3-liter V-6. The V-6 delivers scintillating performance that gets our enthusiast blood pumping. Both engines pair with an eight-speed automatic transmission, which, in our experience, delivers quick shifts at redline and is unobtrusive when left to shift for itself. We wish the paddle shifters offered sharper responses to driver inputs, however. Still, for drivers in single-minded pursuit of straight-line speed, the V-6–powered Stinger GT does not disappoint. The all-wheel-drive Stinger GT2 has mastered straight-line speed; it sprinted to 60 mph in 4.6-seconds during our track testing. It comports itself well in normal driving, but when pushed to the limit, it couldn't quite match the composure of its more established competition. Likewise, we identified some protestations from the rear suspension—an unnerving side step when cornering hard on a bumpy road—while some fore-and-aft pitching accompanied our all-out acceleration and braking runs. The GT2 features powerful Brembo brakes, which provided quick stops by any measure and fit in nicely within this class of high-performing sedans. Without the Brembos and rolling on less grippy all-season tires, the Stinger is less impressive.

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Fuel Economy and Real-World MPG

The rear-drive, four-cylinder Stinger has the highest estimated fuel economy, with EPA ratings of 22 mpg city and 32 highway. That efficiency drops slightly if all-wheel drive is added, to an EPA-rated 21 and 29 mpg respectively. Naturally, the more powerful V-6 engine is less efficient at 18 mpg city and 25 mpg highway, especially with all-wheel drive, which drops its estimates to 17 and 24 mpg. While we haven't tested the new 2.5-liter turbo-four on our 75-mph highway route, which is part of our extensive testing regimen, the all-wheel-drive, V-6 model we evaluated returned 26 mpg in that test. For more information about the Stinger's fuel economy, visit the EPA's website.

Interior, Comfort, and Cargo

The Stinger's interior is well-designed and attractive, but it can't quite match the Audi A4 or the BMW 3-series for material quality or construction. Then again, the Kia costs considerably less than those two German sedans. The Stinger does, however, offer a significantly more comfortable rear seat than many cars in this price class—and its space advantage feels greater than its numbers would suggest. While the Stinger's interior is free of glaring errors and omissions, the overall effect is less polished than the efforts we've enjoyed from established luxury brands. The Stinger's stated trunk volume would predict that it has by far the most cargo space in this set, but it only bested its rivals by a small margin in our real-world cargo tests. With its wide hatchback opening and long wheelbase, we'd hoped the Stinger would do even better in these measurements. Its center console is on the large side for a car, which helps to compensate for the fact that the front-door pockets are the smallest of this bunch.

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Infotainment and Connectivity

Kia's infotainment system—called UVO—is used to good effect in the Stinger and consists of an 8.0- or 10.3-inch touchscreen mixed with useful physical buttons. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, as is a nine-speaker stereo system. Audiophiles can upgrade to a 15-speaker Harman/Kardon stereo system, and Kia offers a host of other tech upgrades as well, such as a wireless smartphone charging pad and in-dash navigation.

Safety and Driver-Assistance Features

The Stinger offers many of the most popular driver assist features as standard equipment. For more information about the Stinger's crash-test results, visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) websites. Key safety features include:

• Standard automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection
• Standard lane-departure warning and lane-keeping assist
• Standard adaptive cruise control

Warranty and Maintenance Coverage

Kia's long powertrain warranty is practically legendary, and it easily outdoes every other car in this set for length of coverage. Unlike many of its premium-branded rivals, the Stinger offers no complimentary scheduled maintenance.

• Limited warranty covers five years or 60,000 miles
• Powertrain warranty covers 10 years or 100,000 miles
• No complimentary scheduled maintenance

More Features and Specs