Motor Trend First Drive Impressions

[Bamm1]

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/kia/stinger/2018/2018-kia-stinger-gt-track-drive-review/

This is the first I have heard about an electronic limited slip diff being readied for the GT.

The weight of the AWD system impacting track performance isn't a big surprise. It will likely not impact it's "GT-car" mannerisms on the street.

The throttle response and turbo lag comments are disappointing as that particular attribute is important to me.

Pricing is on par with what we have heard.

Good to hear mention of the "louder" exhaust for the US again.

Very positive overall.

I do wish they would ease up on the "calling out" of the likes of the BMW 440i's and the Mercedes C43's of the world. The C43 is a 4.1 sec to 60 and 12.7 @ 110 mph in the 1/4 mile (with almost 30 mpg on the hwy) car. The Stinger GT will not be.

 

[RMA]

Good read overall, guess I will stick with the RWD model when I decide to purchase one.

 

[Shieldzee]

A few things right away, scrolling through the pictures: the flat bottomed steering wheel looks really sharp. I like the two power ports in the console for back seat passengers to plug devices into. I have a family of four and this car WILL be used on some road trips. I DESPERATELY hope in the States that we get the covered cup holders that are shown in this article.

I hope that the turbo lag is not as noticeable as this author states. I had an '86 Saab 900 SPG back in the day and the turbo lag with glacial on that car (still loved the car though). My pre-CLI e90 335i has twin turbos and the lag is essentially non-existant.

I would not be ordering the AWD as I live in North Carolina and the wife has a Pathfinder, so no need for another AWD car here where we get very little snow. I agree with you about the C43 or an M car being used as a comparison. The Stinger GT is not going to be as "performance oriented" as those cars. I think though that it is perfectly appropriate to bring up the BMW 440i as competition. The Stinger GT is, in my opinion, "gunning" for the likes of the BMW 440i Gran Coupe and the Audi A7. Kia wants to show that it can create a car to rival those at a price that makes it very compelling.

 

[srtcrazy05]

great read. i always expect an awd car to have more understeer compared to its red counterpart. i did notice this piece of text in there thats going to make a lot of us happy...

What’s more, Kia’s American representatives tell us they’ve ordered up a louder exhaust system for our market to give it a bit more presence because it’s rather quiet outside the car.

 

[srtcrazy05]

they also supplied a lot of nice interior shots i havent seen before. i liked the shots of the rear seats folded down to show off the increased space

 

[BahamaTodd]

(Another note: Our test cars were equipped with slightly stiffer European-spec dampers.)

Hopefully they do not soften it up too much for the US spec.