Thursday, September 6, 2018

Kia's new Stinger is a road-burning zinger

A menu of Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews can be seen on the Business page of The Sacramento Bee’s website  www.sacbee.com/news/business/article4005306.html

This review first appeared in the August 2018 edition of the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News published out of Folsom, California – mg
 
Sacramento, California If you have two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and two-time Formula One world champion Emerson Fittipaldi putting your auto manufacturing company's new creation through its paces in a TV commercial, it better be a serious performance machine.
 
Fortunately, the all-new 2018 Kia Stinger is every bit of that, and then some.


My tester was the 2018 Kia Stinger GT2 AWD V6 with a 3.3-liter, twin-turbo engine rated at 365 horsepower.  Some call the four-door model a hatchback.  Kia prefers "fastback sport sedan."  I call it fast.


This one is special. The performance characteristics of the tested Stinger were so outstanding that I was impressed far beyond my expectations.


It's not so much that it's fast off the line -- which it is -- but what it can do when the revs are up.  You can be sailing along at 60 miles per hour on the freeway, and a small blip on the accelerator blasts you into another time zone.  The response is so instant, so robust and so pleasing to the ears (a throaty roar) that surrounding cars just disappear from consciousness.


I've driven plenty of high-performance motor vehicles, but this Stinger on the move is one of the best I've ever driven.  Kia touts the amount of time and research it put into developing the Stinger's performance DNA, and it's no idle boast.  It's that good.  And yes, fun.


My ride was nicely equipped with a somewhat hefty bottom line of $52,300.  Nice perks included a power sunroof, a head-up display and leather trim.


The Stinger package competes against primo foreign sports car makes with special goodies that include quad exhausts and distinctive, bright-red Brembo performance brakes, world-class stoppers to be sure.


Fuel mileage is not so bad, given the engine power: 19 miles per gallon in the city and 25 mpg on the highway.


The rear hatch area holds a fair amount of cargo, but the seating area in the back seats is going to be a tight squeeze for large-size adults.


Even with four doors, the exterior look of the vehicle broadcasts performance, with sleek, angular sculpting on the front end and a nicely constructed tail section, complete with a subtle, extended spoiler.


The safety features are plentiful and state-of-the-art. As usual, the Kia warranties are exceptional.

OK, you can buy this car as a family sedan and a daily driver commuter, but the truth is that you want it for the performance rush it provides.  You don't go to the racetrack for the food; you go for the thrill.


That, in a nutshell, is why you would get a Stinger for your driveway.

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