[Behind the Wheel] Kia Motors‘ premium sports sedan Stinger lives up to its title

Members of the media were given an opportunity to test drive the top trim of the Stinger -- the 3.3-liter twin-turbo -- for a 168 kilometer-long drive from Grand Walkerhill Hotel, western Seoul to Museum San in Gangwon Province earlier this month.

Before the test drive, Kia Motors highlighted that Stinger is their quickest-accelerating car that can speed up from zero to 100 kilometers per hour in 4.9 seconds with 370 horsepower and 52 kilogram-force meter of torque.

The high performance sedan lived up to its title while driving on the long and straight second Yeongdong expressway set on sports mode.

Making an exhilarating exhaust note, Stinger immediately responded when the driver stepped on the accelerator pedal, speeding up from 50 kilometers per hour to 140 km in the blink of an eye.

The sports sedan is a rear-wheel drive that transmits power produced in the front engine to rear wheels, which makes it easy to accelerate.

The notably low driving position of 1,400 millimeters delivered high-speed thrills to drivers and passengers in a stable environment.

As for design features, the low car body and the long 2,905 mm wheel base gives the high performance car a dynamic and classy look.

Stinger is 70 mm lower and 100 mm longer than Kia’s flagship mid-size sedan K5, the company said.

From the unveiling of Stinger, Kia Motors has also underlined level two automated Highway Driving Assist systems installed for the first time among its cars.

For an inexperienced driver, the Lane Keeping Assist that gives the driver a heads up when the car is about to go out of lane came in handy.

The complete suite of partial self-driving features programed to operate on highways controlled the speed by measuring the distance between the surrounding cars.

The Stinger also displays a rear view on the screen, a feature installed in Hyundai’s Grandeur IG premium sedan.

Although it was helpful in checking the distance between the car in the back, the image was slightly confusing to look at while driving at high speeds.

The sports sedan comes with a sticker price that is about 10 million won ($8,811) cheaper than German luxuries BMW 3 and 4-series and the Mercedes-Benz C-class, which the local automaker said Stinger rivals.

Stinger is priced between 35 million won and 51.1 million won.

Over 2,700 units of the Stinger were sold in 19 business days between May 7 and June 19, averaging some 140 units a day, Kia Motors said.

In terms of total sales, customers in their 30s and 40s stood for 65 percent and male customers 84 percent, the company said.

“About 44.3 percent of customers purchased the top Kia Stinger GT trim, reflecting motorists’ passion for driving,” Kia Motors said. 

By Kim Bo-gyung (lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)