Did you hear the news?
Kia has a sports car now!😱 And it is HOT!
2018 Kia Stinger GT
It’s the brand new, adrenaline pumping, European styled 2018 Kia Stinger. It is a phenomenal car, a true GT with RWD proportions. It took 6 years for them to make it and it was worth the wait!
I only got to drive it for a day, but it only took a few minutes of driving this beauty to realize how incredible it is. The two Kia Stinger GT cars I drove were priced between $43,250 – $49,200. The Stinger starts out at $31,900 and depending on what you get, the price goes up to $52,400
Gas Mileage
During my drive I averaged 28.8 mpg, even though it is supposed to get 19 city, 25 highway and 21 combined. I thought that was excellent gas mileage, especially since it is made with 55% high strength steel. Keep in mind, I drive super slow and conservatively, that is probably why I was getting better gas mileage than the estimates.
There is an elaborate head-up display that shows you what the speed limit is, how fast you are going, blind spot detection, audio settings, and what you have your cruise set to. A heads up display is the little screen projected onto the windshield in your line of sight.
Interior Touches
Leather comes standard on Stinger GT models. The leather around the steering wheel is hand stitched. They hand pick their soft Nappa leather hides to make sure every piece looks good. (Could you imagine if your job was to look about cow hides and pick out the best butt?)
The Stinger has a 16 way driver’s seat and I’m happy to report the lumbar support is good. I was substantially surprised to find that the 12 way passenger front seat also had lumbar support. The seats have heating and cooling. I was thankful for the cooling option since I was hot flashing that day! I think it was because my driving partner All Things Fadra is a scary driver.😜. Kidding of course, she’s a perfectly fine driver. Although, she didn’t seem to appreciate Dr. Dre on the 15 high performance surround sound Harmon Karmon speaker system, including two subwoofers under the back seat as much as I felt she should.
The back seat sits three people and has air and power. You could get two car seats into this back seat. It is not a compact car and has more leg room than other vehicles in this space.
You can see the airplane inspired touches throughout, like the turbine air vents and metal ring gages.
Of course the Stinger has the UVO3 Infotainment system that you can control on the 8″ touch screen. I love the geofencing, curfew alert, and parking minder. I can never recall where I have parked, so I always appreciate this feature.
Trunk Space
The back has a wide sportback hatch, which allows for 23.3 cubic feet of space. With the seats down, which split 60/40, there is 40.9 cubic feet of space.
Highly Capable
They had us run the car through a track they had set up at Magic Mountain and I got to experience the sports car performance for myself. The Stinger goes from 0-60 in 4.7 seconds! Its top speed is 167 Miles, faster than other cars in this category. I was pleasantly surprised how stable the Stinger was when it was taking turns.
The Kia Stinger was designed to handle extreme environments and you get the same braking pressure no matter what the temperature is. It has 4 piston Brembo brakes. They added an engine oil cooler and a transmission oil cooler, making it even more capable.
They even had special tires made for the Stinger, Michelin Pilot Sport 4 Tires. They are long wearing to ensure you do not have to get new tires all the time.
To see us running it through the course they set up check out this clip!
Safety Features
Full disclosure the Stinger has more safety features than this, these are just the ones that I liked the most.
- Lane Departure Warning
- Lane Keep Assist
- Forward Collision Avoidance Assist
- Smart Cruise Control – The one I drove would allow you to set the adaptive cruise control between 1 – 4 car lengths behind the car in front of you.
- Rear Camera
- Blind Spot Collision Warning
- Lane Change Assist
- Rear Cross Traffic Collision Warning
Warranty
Like all Kia vehicles the Stinger if bought brand new comes with the 10 year/100,000 mile limited Powertrain warranty. This continues to be one of the best warranties you can get on a new car.
Aftermarket parts are already available!
One neat thing is that there are already aftermarket parts available. So, if you buy a Stinger you can start customizing it if you want. This means nothing to me, but I know for someone like my brother this is a big deal!
Summary: I totally love it!
To sum it all up, the seats were blowing cold air so my butt didn’t sweat, the lumbar support kept my old lady back from killing me, the gas mileage rocked, I could fit all three of my kids in here and they wouldn’t even touch each other which is important, the premium sound system allowed me to rock out to the 90s adequately, and it hauls. I loved it.
Oh, and it has rain-sensing wiper blades, which is a big deal when you live in Portland, Oregon and it rains day after day after day.
I was Kia’s guest down in Studio City, California for the media preview of the Stinger. All opinions are my own, but I certainly did enjoying being hosted.
I stayed at the Garland Hotel. Just look at it in these photos. It’s got a 70’s retro vibe going on.It also happens to be right near one of my oldest and dearest friends.
Meredith and I have been friends since junior high and we got to spend quite a bit of time catching up before she had her first baby the week after I was there!
The hotel is also super close to the Brady Bunch house. How random is that? 
The Garland has some cool stuff happening this summer.
- Poolside Polaroids, where guests can reserve a retro polaroid and snap photos to take as keepsakes.
- ‘Songs of Summer’ concert series, where guests and locals alike can enjoy an evening of beverages, bites (taco carts!) and live music beginning at dusk. The monthly series will take place from 7-10pm and self-parking or valet will be available at a cost. The event is free to all attendees and tickets will be available on Eventbrite. Scheduled dates will be on June 14, July 12 and August 16 with performances by Everyday People, LoveStoned and Cowling Band.
See what my friend Ryan from Test Miles thought of the Kia Stinger and see the Stinger run through the course.
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