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AUTO REVIEW

2018 Kia Stinger

By Stephen Schutz, MD

The 2018 Kia Stinger is a good car. Surprisingly good. It’s a RWD with a 114-inch wheelbase, the Stinger is hardly a turn-on-a-dime
performance sedan that actually performs, and it’s the first Kia I hot-hatch. But those dimensions mean that Stingers are stable on
would recommend to my friends (and readers). the interstate and confident through high-speed sweeping turns. Still,
Of course, Kia will need more vehicles as good as the Stinger if twisty A- and B–roads are no problem for Kia’s for sports sedan,
they want to move out of the automotive bargain basement and into which really impressed me with its driving chops.
the world of Toyota, Ford, and BMW. In fact, they’ll need desirable Plenty of power helps. Like seemingly everything these days, the
crossovers that drive well and are attractive to look at along with Stinger uses turbochargers to maximize output. In this case twin tur-
SUVs that exude quality. But a sports sedan that’s legitimately sporty bos coax 365 horsepower from the 3.3-liter V6 in the GT version I
is a good start. tested (the standard engine makes do with 255 horsepower from a
Creating a new RWD platform to underpin the Stinger was bold 2.0-liter turbo inline four.) Fuel economy is 19 mpg city/25 highway
and probably necessary. RWD cars inevitably handle better than their for the GT and 22/29 for the lesser Stinger.
FWD brethren because balanced weight distribution and propulsion For the record, selecting the GT model, which would be the
from the back end of the car prevent understeer. It should be noted choice for enthusiasts, gets you Brembo brakes and 19-inch wheels
that the Kia engineer in charge of developing the Stinger was Albert with sticky Michelin low-profile summer tires. AWD is an option
Biermann, formerly VP of engineering for BMWs M–division, and that includes torque vectoring, but I’d probably go with RWD for
presumably he pushed for RWD. Nevertheless, developing a new cost and weight reasons.
platform is expensive, and kudos to Kia for signaling their serious- The exterior design of the Stinger is different from anything else
ness by making one. out there. While Chrysler made cab-forward designs famous in the
Not surprisingly, the Stinger handles very well. At 190 inches long mid-1990s, the Stinger is all about being cab-backward. Naturally,

44 San Antonio Medicine • November 2018