2018 Kia Stinger 2.0T RWD

Now, it's less demanding to check the automakers that haven't handled a purported "3-arrangement warrior" than those that have. And keeping in mind that the BMW in its present frame may not be the benchmark it used to be, the games vehicle fragment in which it contends is more argumentative than any other time in recent memory, with the field swarmed not just with kindred Germans, for example, Audi and Mercedes-Benz yet in addition by participants from any semblance of Jaguar, Infiniti, Cadillac—and yes, Kia. Its new Stinger, which we very like, is unmistakably intending to muscle into this developing foundation, regardless of whether it's formed more like these vehicles' hatchback branches, for example, the Audi A5 Sportback and the BMW 4-arrangement Gran Coupe.

HIGHS

Flexible dealing with, appealing lines, useful bundling.

LOWS

So-so quickening, not as much as luxurious inside, excessively trimmed outside.

In any case, now that we've inspected the base-motor, raise wheel-drive Stinger 2.0T you see here, we're beginning to feel that this form may fit into a fiercely unique domain. As opposed to a genuine 3-arrangement contender, could this auto rather be Kia's response to the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro?

For significantly more profound scope of the Stinger, see our Buyer's Guide top to bottom audit.

Before you call us insane, listen to us. In spite of having four ways to those horse autos' two, the base Stinger has a decent measure in the same way as those every American symbol. There are powertrain similitudes in that all component raise wheel drive joined with a standard turbocharged four-chamber motor. The autos are shut long, the Stinger coming in at 190.2 inches, while the Camaro is 188.3 and the Mustang 188.5 inches. Furthermore, the Kia has an energetic, low-threw roofline not by any means not at all like the Mustang's. The variety of vents, scoops, and trim pieces that pepper the Stinger's smooth body lines additionally appear to be nearer to the horse auto tasteful than to the tasteful limitation of most European games vehicles.

The Kia costs a comparative sum as the horse autos, as well. In spite of the fact that its base cost of $32,800 is a few thousand dollars more than the opening costs of the four-chamber Mustang and Camaro, preparing the Ford and the Chevy to the base Stinger's liberal level of standard gear—including warmed front seats, double zone programmed atmosphere control, and a 7.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto—requires an expense like our test Stinger's $34,800 main concern, an assume that incorporated a $2000 bundle of driver-help and dynamic security highlights.

The base Stinger's lodge is perceptibly less rich than those of the pricier Stingers we've driven, managing with a littler touchscreen, a more essential data show in the measure bunch, and by and large lower-review plastics. It's a genuinely sullen climate, in any event with the dark upholstery in our test illustration. Get together quality is great, however, and keeping in mind that it probably won't stack up appearance-wise to, say, a Mercedes C-class or an Audi A4, it's consummately focused with the more unassuming lodges of the Camaro and Mustang.

Lacking Muscle

With a turbocharged inline-four set longitudinally under its long hood, the Stinger seems to coordinate pleasantly with the Mustang and Camaro's base motors. Yet, Kia's 2.0-liter turbo four with 255 strength and 260 lb-ft of torque is fortunate the pace of the Chevy, which gets 275 steeds and 295 lb-ft out of a similar relocation, and the Ford, which wrings 310 horses and 350 lb-ft from its bigger 2.3-liter four.

Typically, the Stinger's 6.0-second keep running from zero to 60 mph (0.1 second faster than its heavier AWD partner) was the greater part a second behind the speediest circumstances we've kept running in four-chamber Mustang EcoBoosts and Camaro 2.0Ts. The four-entryway Kia additionally conveys more weight than the horse auto roadsters: 3688 pounds, to the Mustang's 3556 and the Camaro's 3410. Nor are the powertrains precisely logical correlation, as those autos had six-speed manual transmissions—an alternative that tragically isn't offered on any Stinger. Fortunately, the Kia's eight-speed programmed is a generally ready accomplice, with smooth moves and outfitting that capitalizes on the 2.0T's torque bend.

The Stinger's motor, in spite of the fact that not so anxious to rev as the outstanding 2.0-liter turbo fours offered by BMW and Audi, is refined and sufficiently smooth all through the rev run. Also, the auto feels peppier than its mediocre numbers may propose, strikingly its ease back 7.2-second 5-to-60-mph moving begin increasing speed, which does without the programmed transmission's dispatch control mode. It likewise applied a reasonable preferred standpoint over the Mustang in our 75-mph roadway mileage test, hitting 34 mpg to the Mustang EcoBoost's baffling 24 mpg.

Fun loving and Poised

Conveying 157 less pounds than its AWD partner and 316 not as much as the V-6– controlled Stinger GT, this Stinger ended up being light on its feet and apparently the most fun loving adaptation we've tested up until now. There's a cohesiveness here that is absent from the more nose-overwhelming six-chamber auto, as the front and back suspensions appear to work better couple to convey adjusted, sure taking care of, even as the point of confinement is drawn nearer. The damping is satisfyingly tight, the directing is just about flawlessly weighted in the standard Comfort mode (it's a bit too substantial in Sport mode), the brake pedal is firm, and the auto's weight exchanges typically. The Stinger 2.0T is a genuine driver's auto with flexible reactions; the essential change we'd demand would be an additional measure of feel and criticism through the controlling wheel.

The back drive Stinger wasn't exactly as solid as its AWD kin at the test track, falling 0.03 g shy of its skidpad result and taking three feet longer to prevent from 70 mph, in spite of wearing indistinguishable 18-inch haggles Potenza RE97AS-02 all-season tires. We can't resist the urge to ponder what the four-barrel Stinger could do in the event that it were fitted with more forceful summer elastic like the 19-inch Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires offered on the GT.

It's All in the Hatch

Obviously, the greatest contrasts between the Stinger and the Mustang and Camaro are in the autos' bundling. In spite of its smooth and alluring outline, the Kia is a prominently pragmatic machine with an extensive back seat and a spacious load region under its wide-opening seal. On account of its additional entryways and its level collapsing back seats, it will substantially more effortlessly suit families as well as load than the Mustang and Camaro with their confined back seats and little trunks with prohibitive openings.

Obviously, the other distinct contrast is that the Mustang and Camaro are saturated with legacy, while the Stinger has none. And keeping in mind that we concede that the Stinger is probably not going to be cross-shopped by the frequently obstinate purchasers of these horse autos, the similitudes all things considered play up the Kia's extraordinary position in the commercial center. Especially in four-barrel, raise wheel-drive shape, the Stinger is a lively, reasonable, and handy interpretation of the games vehicle—not simply one more BMW 3-arrangement clone.