Kia Stinger 2025: Price, consumption, picture, technical data.
Kia’s large sports sedan – the Stinger – aims to challenge Europe’s automotive elite and almost succeeds. Compared to rivals such as the Audi A5 Sportback and BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe, the Stinger offers a similarly high-quality look and feel as well as plenty of driving fun, making it a great option for enthusiasts on a budget.
Sedan Kia Stinger
It shares its underpinnings with the impressive Genesis G70 sedan, but the Stinger disguises its roomier interior, larger cargo area and rear hatch with a sexy fastback roofline. Two turbo engines are offered: A 300-hp 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder is standard, and a gutsy 368-hp twin-turbo V-6 is available. Rear-wheel drive is standard, but all-wheel drive is also available for those who want it.
What’s new ?
In addition to several styling updates, the Kia Stinger is expected to replace the standard 255-hp 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder with a more powerful 2.5-liter turbo four. The new engine produces an impressive 300 hp. Not to mention, the optional 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6 gets a slight power increase from 365 hp to 368 hp thanks to a new variable exhaust system. Styling improvements include updated exterior lighting elements, new wheel designs and larger exhaust tips. Inside, the Stinger gets improved materials throughout, new metallic trim, adjustable ambient lighting and a larger optional 10.3-inch infotainment display.
Even though the GT-Line has the styling of the V-6 models, we’d still opt for one of the more powerful models. Of those, the GT1 is the one to go for. It keeps its price under the $50,000 mark but adds a sunroof, navigation, an 8.0-inch infotainment display, Harman/Kardon audio, automatic high-beam headlights, a power-adjustable steering column, ventilated front seats, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist and a driver attention monitor.
Engine, transmission and performance
The Kia Stinger is available with two different turbocharged engines, a new 300-hp 2.5-liter turbo-four as well as a 368-hp twin-turbo 3.3-liter V-6. We haven’t tested the new engine, but the V-6 delivers scintillating power that gets our enthusiasts’ blood pumping. Both engines pair with an eight-speed automatic transmission, which we’ve found to provide quick shifts and remain unobtrusive when shifting.
We do wish, however, that the paddle shifters offered sharper responses to driver inputs. For drivers who are single-mindedly seeking straight-line speed, however, the V-6-powered Stinger GT does not disappoint. The Stinger GT mastered straight-line speed during our track testing, sprinting to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds. It handles well in normal driving, but when pushed to the limit, it can’t quite match the composure of its more established competition.
Likewise, we noted some protests from the rear suspension – an annoying sidestep when cornering hard on a bumpy road – while some fore and aft lean accompanied our entire acceleration and braking runs. All GTs have powerful Brembo brakes that offer quick stops by any standard and fit well in this class of performance sedans. Without Brembos and with less grippy all-season tires, the Stinger is less impressive – in this or any other class.
Fuel Economy and Real-World MPG
The rear-wheel-drive, four-cylinder Stinger has the highest estimated fuel economy, with EPA ratings of 22 mpg city and 32 highway. Of course, the more powerful V-6 engine is less efficient, especially with all-wheel drive, which lowers its estimates to 17 mpg city and 24 highway. While we didn’t test the new 2.5-liter turbo-four on our 75-mile highway route that’s part of our extensive testing program, the all-wheel-drive V-6 model we evaluated delivered 26 mpg in that test. For more information on the Stinger’s fuel economy, visit the EPA’s website.
Interior, comfort and cargo
The Stinger’s interior is well designed and attractive, but can’t quite match the Audi A4 or BMW 3 Series in material quality or construction . Then again, the Kia costs significantly less than those two German sedans. The Stinger, however, offers a significantly more comfortable back seat than many cars in this class – and its advantage feels bigger than its numbers suggest.
While the Stinger’s interior is free of glaring errors and omissions, the overall effect is less polished than efforts we’ve enjoyed from established luxury brands. The Stinger’s stated trunk volume would predict it has by far the most cargo space in this set, but it only narrowly outperformed its rivals in our real-world cargo testing. With its wide rear door opening and long wheelbase, we’d hoped the Stinger would fare even better in these measurements. Its center console is large for a car , which makes up for the fact that the front door pockets are the smallest in this group.
Price Kia Stinger
Kia Stinger price in Europe for base trim from 33,500 euros
The Kia Stinger GT-Line AWD is powered by a 2.5-liter turbo inline-4 gasoline engine that delivers 300 hp and 311 lb/ft of torque. It has all-wheel drive and an 8-speed automatic transmission.
