First Impressions

We just told you about the performance strides being made at Hyundai. But, over at their Kia brand, it’s not just strides, it’s a whole new path designed to really get our adrenaline pumping. Enter the rear-wheel drive, 2018 Kia Stinger luxury-sport sedan. 

Yes, Kia has set its sights squarely on the compact European sport sedan segment with this 365-horsepowered fastback. In fact, the Stinger design team calls Germany home.

That power pumps from a 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6 in the Stinger GT. Base Stingers get a still-potent 255-horsepower 2.0-liter turbo-4. 8-speed automatic transmissions for both, and all-wheel-drive is available with either. 

Though clearly aimed at the likes of BMW, Mercedes Benz, and Audi; Kia skipped the 4-door stage and went directly to the 5-door coupe-roofed hatchback, ala Audi A5 Sportback. 

Kia knows it takes some splash to get noticed in this segment, and they’ve mostly delivered; save for the obvious misstep of the J.C. Whitney-style fender and hood trim.

Of course, it really all comes down to the driving…

BRIAN ROBINSON: “Braking into the traditional European sport sedan segment is certainly not an easy task, but the Stinger seems to have what it takes. Put it in Sport mode, the car is incredibly responsive, great power from the twin-turbo 6, really good brakes; all-in-all, a really nice, tight package that should do wonders for changing Kia’s image.” 

JOHN DAVIS: Pricing starts at around $32,000 for the 2.0-liter; $40,000 for the GT.