STINGER

2022 KIA Stinger Canada Price, Interior, Exterior

2022 KIA Stinger Canada Price, Interior, Exterior

2022 KIA Stinger Canada Price, Interior, ExteriorKIA Stinger is a great car, lackluster sales are a sign that potential buyers are not being fired as we criticize. But we are pleased to report that, for now at least, we have been proven wrong. Kia has just announced a slew of updates to make the Stinger both better looking and more upscale. Plus, this sedan gets a more powerful four-cylinder engine.

When compared to rivals such as the Audi A5 Sportback and BMW 4-series Gran Coupe, the Stinger offers a very similar premium look and feel as well as plenty of verve driving, making it a great choice for fans on a budget.

2022 KIA Stinger Canada Price, Interior, Exterior

2022 KIA Stinger Canada Price, Interior, Exterior
2022 KIA Stinger Canada Price, Interior, Exterior

It shares a base with the impressive Genesis G70 sedan, but the Stinger disguises its airier interior, larger cargo, and liftgate hatchback with a sexy fastback roofline. A trio of turbocharged engines is on offer, with top-level models getting a bold twin-turbo V-6. Rear-wheel drive is standard but all-wheel drive is also available for those who want it.

For starters, the exterior of the car gets some minor revisions. In front of the tiger-nose grille is getting wider— a trend Kia has been running throughout its ranks lately— and headlights are getting a bit of a redesign to give them a sharper look.

There’s a new backlight design at the back, and the rear-facing turn signal gets a design intended to mimic the checkered flag. The rear bumper also gets a bit of a redesign, with a larger exhaust port that can now be completed in bright silver.

2022 KIA Stinger Engine

In addition to several style updates for 2022, the Stinger received a new 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder as an optional mid-level engine. The new engine makes 300 dashing horsepower. Needless to say, the optional twin-turbo 3.3-liter V-6 received a slight power boost for the 368-hp thanks to a new variable exhaust system.

Style improvements for 2022 include updated exterior lighting elements, a new wheel design, and a larger exhaust tip. Inside, the Stinger 2022 will receive upgraded materials throughout, new metallic trim pieces, adjustable ambient lighting, and an optional larger 10.3-inch infotainment display.

2022 KIA Stinger Specs

Kia also introduced two new wheel options— one 18 inches in diameter, the other 19 inches — which it said improved the sporty personality of the GT of the Stinger. There are also two new exterior packages. The Dark Pack has a gloss back surround diffuser and a blackened exhaust tip. The Black Package adds a matte 19-inch black wheel, spoilers for the rear liftgate, and a blacked-out mirrored hat.

The Stinger now has three engines available and can be equipped with rear-drive or all wheels. The 2.0-liter entry-level powertrain does an adequate job relative to its rivals, but the powerful twin-turbo V-6 delivers a scintillating performance that makes pumping our fan’s blood.

The 2022 Model will offer an optional turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder for the first time, but we haven’t tested that model yet. The eight-speed automatic that comes in each Stinger offers a quick shift and is well-calibrated when left to shift for itself.

However, we expect paddle shifters to offer a sharper response to driver input. However, for drivers in a single-minded pursuit of straight-line speed, the Stinger GT does not disappoint. Stinger has mastered straight-line speed and returned solid numbers during our track testing. It comports itself well in normal driving, but when pushed to the limit, it can’t quite match the composure of more established competition.

Likewise, we identified some protests from the rear suspension—a terrible sidestep when cornering bumpy roads—while some front and back pitching accompanied our all-out acceleration and braking. All GTs have strong Brembo brakes, which provide fast stops of any size and fit well in this class of high-performance sedans. Without Brembos and rolling around on less grippy season-long tires, in our testing the four-cylinder Stinger was not impressive – in this class or otherwise.

2022 KIA Stinger Canada Interior

2022 KIA Stinger Canada Interior
2022 KIA Stinger Canada Interior

Stinger’s Interior is well designed and attractive but doesn’t quite match the Audi A4 or BMW 3 series for material quality or construction. Then again, Kia costs far less than two German sedans. The Stinger, however, offers a much more comfortable rear seat than many cars in this class—and the benefits feel greater than the number.

While stinger interiors are free of glaring errors and omissions, the overall effect is less polished than the efforts we enjoy from established luxury brands. The Stinger’s stated baggage volume will predict that it has by far the most cargo space in this set but only bested its rivals by a small margin in our real-world cargo tests.

With the wide opening of the hatchback and a long wheelbase, we hope the Stinger will do better in this measurement. The center console is on the big side for the car, which helps offset the fact that the front door bag is the smallest of this group.

Inside, the cabin is more GT and fewer sports cars than ever before. Buyers can now spec Nappa leather in either Saturn Black, Red or Beige–and that’s on top of the colors already on offer. The physical dial ditch cluster instrument supports a fully digital driver display, and the infotainment screen swells to 10.25 inches (up from 7.0 inches).

Now to the powertrain. Kia offers a new 2.5-liter turbocharged engine only for North America and Korea. The plant produces 300 horsepower and 311 lb-ft of torque. That makes it more powerful than the current 255-hp, 260-lb-ft base 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo, but less powerful than the 365-hp, 376-lb-ft 3.3-liter twin-turbo V-6.

It is unclear whether the new engine will eventually replace any of the options available here in the U.S. Globally, the two older engines remain unchanged, except for the 3.3-liter get a more prominent exhaust record with the addition of an electronic variable exhaust valve system. All three engines are paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission.

KIA Stinger Fuel Economy

Whether you look at the four cylinders or the V-6, the Stinger is less efficient than the same equipped competitors. The EPA’s fuel economy rating for each Stinger engine is below comparable competitors, but the V-6 outperforms its rating on our real-world testing, and there are virtually no fuel economy penalties for selecting the all-wheel drive. So far, only V-6-powered Stingers have traveled on our highway test circuits. Rear-drive and all-wheel models outperformed their EPA ratings by a small margin during our real-world testing.

Kia’s infotainment system—called UVO—is used to good effect in the Stinger and consists of an 8.0 or 10.3-inch touchscreen mixed with useful physical buttons. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, as are the six-speaker stereo system. Audiophiles can upgrade to the 15-speaker Harman/Kardon stereo system, and Kia offers a number of other technology upgrades as well, such as wireless smartphone charging pads and in-dash navigation.

KIA Stinger Safety

Stinger has been awarded a five-star safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Stinger also has almost every driver’s assistance we report available as an option. Key safety features include:

  • Automatic emergency braking available with pedestrian detection
  • Lane-departure warning and lane-keeping assist available
  • Adaptive cruise control available

A Kia spokesman told us that the Stinger U.S. market will be a carry-over for 2021, which means it won’t have this update. We hope this change will make it here for the 2022 model year.

2022 KIA Stinger Price Starting From $35,000

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