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We already know the Stinger will be the fastest accelerating car Kia’s ever made. We’ve also heard rumblings that it will cost less than $27,000, which should make it quite the performance bargain. However, buying a sports sedan—no matter how inexpensive it may be—is an inherently irrational decisioninvolving criteria that go beyond stats and speed-per-dollar ratios. A major part of the sports sedan buying and driving experience is how it makes you feel, and a large part of that can be made (or broken) depending on the way the machine sounds.
Does the Kia Stinger have the aural chops to duke it out with its more expensive targets? Let’s find out.
Of course, quality is in the ear of the beholder, but to mine, the Stinger we have here sounds a little…uninspired. It just sounds like any old car. Hopefully, reports that Kia Australia is working on its own to ensure the Stinger sounds great when it hits their shores are correct and said plan comes to fruition. Maybe it’ll inspire Kia of America to do the same.
The Kia Stinger comes equipped with either a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder producing 255 horsepower with power going to the rear wheels, or a 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6 good for 365 hp mated to an AWD system. We’re not 100 percent sure which one we were just listening to, but I have a hunch it was the upmarket V6. Although for Kia’s sake, I hope it wasn’t.
