Kia Stinger Review 2026

Kia Stinger Verdict

Excellent levels of standard equipment. Looks distinctive. Good interior. Sonorous and powerful 3.3 litre V6 T-GDI. Reasonable economy.

Unsophisticated RWD suspension and gearbox. No 4WD for UK. Shallow boot.

Reviews for Kia Stinger's top 3 rivals

Skoda Superb

Near perfect as a practical family estate car. Great value for money. Comfortable and quiet on the move....

Volkswagen Passat

Neat styling inside and out, fine quality, strong performance even from the entry-level engines, spacious...

Alfa Romeo Giulia

More likely to attract admiring glances than a BMW 3 Series or Audi A4, even the diesel is good to drive.

Kia Stinger handling and engines

• Engines range from 2.0 T-GDi to 3.3 T-GDi
• Readers report Real MPG to be between 23–34 mpg

You may have noticed a note of hesitation about how well the Stinger drives in the introduction. It’s very good, for the money, but it’s also flawed in a number of areas. The gearbox, for example, is hesitant, and seems to take an age to change gear. Stick the cruise control on and, even at a fixed speed, it’ll jerkily flick between gears as it can’t decide which of the eight available is best suited to the conditions.

You can use the steering wheel paddles to take control if you like - and, while this is better for spirited driving, it’s still not fully manual. The automatic gearbox will override you if it thinks it knows better, and that’s frustrating if you’re mid bend with the tyres fully loaded up.

The standard suspension of the four-cylinder cars provides a smooth ride most of the time, but it’s not quite as polished as premium rivals when you do hit a bumpy stretch. The Stinger does weigh more than 2000kg, and it feels it.

Despite all that, the Stinger does handle a lot better than you’d expect for its size. For a budget GT car, it’s incredibly agile - with a front end that loves to dart in and a rear end that’ll follow obediently until you select Sport Plus mode. In which case, you’ll need your wits about you as even the 2.0-litre petrol has enough power to lose traction in the dry with a bit of provocation.

When you've got long distances to cover, the Stinger's GT side comes into play. It's a lovely companion for longer journeys - jerky gearbox aside - with little wind or road noise at motorway speeds. While not enough people have bought Stingers yet to report their Real MPG, our time with the 2.0-litre petrol proved its official 35.8mpg to be perfectly achievable with sensible driving. High mileage drivers will probably find the diesel to be a better option, but its 154g/km CO2 figure might make it expensive for company car users.

Kia Stinger interior

• Euro NCAP rating of five stars

The Stinger has the kind of interior that gets better the longer you spend in it. On first impressions, it's high quality without being excessive. There's no wood or strange veneers, and no mixed materials fighting for your attention. Even the three central and two rear ventilation nozzles feel premium, working beautifully and reminding us of the original Audi TT (in a good way).

With a bit of time, you start to realise how user-friendly the Stinger's cabin is. Many of the essential controls are duplicated or even triplicated, so you don’t have to fumble around in an impenetrable touch-screen menu just to adjust the climate control. You can turn up the radio on the steering wheel, by using a knob, or in one of the function menus: whatever suits you. Everything you want to know is easy to find. And all the switchgear is beautifully laid out and neatly designed. 

Eight-way adjustable front seats means it's easy to find a comfortable seating position, and the driver's seat drops very low to help the Stinger's sporty feel (also aided by the view over the long bonnet). Tall adults might be less comfortable in the rear, where legroom isn't as generous as you may expect, although the Stinger's slooping roofline doesn't hinder headroom too much.

Although the Stinger's interior isn't as plush as upmarket alternatives, it's different enough from other Kias to feel special. There could be a few more soft-touch materials and the infotainment system clearly isn't a premium system, but few buyers are going to feel short-changed by the Stinger's insides.

Specification (from July 2018):

All models have an 8.0-inch touchscreen navigation system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, Bluetooth with voice recognition and music streaming and is equipped with a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors and a 7.0-inch TFT supervision cluster. A head-up display is also standard providing speed and navigation info, while GT-Line S and GT-S also have a 360-degree around-view monitor.

GT-Line has a nine-speaker sound system with front under-seat subwoofer, while the other two trim grades feature a 15-speaker harman/kardon premium sound system with subwoofer, external amp and front centre speaker.

Standard safety features to assist drivers on long journeys include Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Keep Assist, Driver Attention Warning and Speed Limit Information. GT-Line S and GT-S also have Blind Spot Detection with Rear Cross Traffic Alert, and GT-S is fitted with Brembo brakes. A limited slip differential is standard, as is an Active Bonnet to protect the heads of pedestrians in the event of a collision.

GT-Line and GT-Line S have 18-inch alloy wheels with 225/45R18 tyres, while for GT-S the wheels are upgraded to 19 inches with tyres of 225/40R19 at the front and 225/35R19 at the rear. There are projection headlights on GT-Line, and full LED headlights on the other two trim grades. All versions have LED tail lamps and daytime running lights.

Leather upholstery in either black, grey or red is available on all trims, and in GT-S there is Nappa leather. Eight-way power-adjustable memory front seats are fitted to all models, along with a two-way power-adjustable cushion extender. Two-way side bolster adjustment is added in GT-S. The front seats are heated, along with the outer rear seats in GT-Line S and GT-S, which also have ventilated front seats. Adding to comfort and convenience is electrically operated tilt and telescopic steering wheel adjustment as standard across all grades.

There is a D-shaped leather-trimmed steering wheel and a leather and chrome gearshifter, leather on the dashboard and door armrests, an aluminium finish centre console, which also has a wireless phone charger, alloy pedals, stainless steel door scuff plates, suede headlining, dual automatic air conditioning, Smart Cruise Control with a speed limiter and a Smart Entry System with engine start/stop button. A powered tailgate is fitted to GT-Line S and GT-S.

GT-S has electronic suspension which can be set to one of five modes and variable gear ratio steering.

Stinger's standard paint finish is Sunset Yellow, while Pearl White, Midnight Black, Ceramic Silver, HiChroma Red and Panthera Metal are chargeable options.

Kia Stinger models and specs