2023 Kia Stinger GT Tribute – Road Test

We loved the Kia Stinger GT ever since we saw it back in 2017 (a 2018 model), but unfortunately haven’t been able to grab a set of keys until now. Last year (December 2022), Kia announced that the Stinger would be discontinued in 2023 and at the same time announced a special Tribute Edition (limited to 200 units in South Korea and 800 units overseas) would be part of the final hurrah as it unfortunately disappears into history. Too bad, because this is an amazing car!

What Is It?

4-Door mid-size liftback/fastback
Available in four different variants – GT Limited, GT Elite, GT Elite Suede Package and Tribute Edition
We’re driving the Stinger Tribute Edition that comes only one way, exclusive Moonscape Matte Grey exterior paint, glossy black 19” wheels and a Terracotta Brown interior – why they combined this brownish interior with the flat silver exterior only Kia designer know… not what I’d have done!

- 3.3L twin-turbocharged V6
- 8-speed automatic with paddle-shift
- AWD
- The Tribute Edition gets numbered emblems on the Doorsteps, Terracota Brown Seats & seat belts, along with carbon-patterned materials on the top of the console and door
- Limited to 200 units in South Korea and 800 units overseas – ours is Number 516

How Does It Look?

We loved the look in 2017 and still love it today in 2023
The Moonscape Matte Grey paintjob is really nice, but you can’t take it through a carwash and you have to make sure you don’t let bird poop stay on it or it will mark the finish permanently
The paint is available on other Kia’s – but not Stingers (+$3,000, $695 in the U.S.)
All exterior lighting is LED
All Stingers gets the painted Brembo performance brakes with bright red painted brake calipers
The Tribute distinguishes itself from the other Stingers with black Brembo calipers with red lettering
The 19” Alloy Wheels are very attractive and fit in perfectly with look of the car

What’s It Like Inside?

The first thing you see is the baby-poo interior colour… however, after a day or so I didn’t mind it, so the designers obviously know what they’re doing
The Heated & Cooled Leather front seats are very firm and have nice grippy side bolsters – the rear seat is also heated
Both front seats get 12-way power adjustable to get you comfy immediately. Overweight people will not appreciate the snug fit however – especially when you switch to Sport Mode as the kidney area squeezes you to hold you in place for some spirited driving.
Switching to Comfort mode eliminates the squeeze
The seat heating/cooling is via a toggle switch in the centre console that can easily be overlooked
There’s a 2-person memory that includes the seat, mirrors and steering wheel
The heated /power adjustable steering wheel is just the right size and thickness – it also automatically lifts and moves forward to help ingress/egress from the Stinger – a very nice feature that even us shorter people can appreciate
The driver gets a very customisable 7″ Supervision LCD/TFT digital instrument cluster and there’s a separate 25” navigation/infotainment screen
The interior is very well thought out and is familiar if you’ve driven a Kia over the past few years
Visibility is very good all around
The HVAC and Audio/Navigation buttons are REAL actual buttons!
We loved the Advanced Head-Up Display (Augmented Reality) – you get the warning for vehicles in your blind spot flashing there, as well as the “hey, the car ahead has moved – pay attention” notification – love it
The key FOB is a little different from your traditional one, with the buttons on the side
The power moonroof is nice and big – the entire Stinger range get it as standard
Storage is good – typical for this size/type of vehicle. The glovebox is large-ish and useful
The centre consoles’ storage/armrest is well sized and useful
Ingress and egress are easy enough, but even with my small size 7’s I had trouble getting them under the driver’s seat when it was automatically moved back for me to get out of the front seat. There is virtually no space under the seat and it’s very low to the floor as well
Rear seats are very comfortable once you’re back there. The middle seat would not be comfortable because the large tunnel running from front to back seriously limits foot space
Rear passengers also get heated seats (the buttons is on the door beside the window buttons) for the outboard passengers
The rear cargo floor is completely flat – flipping the seats is as easy as pulling a lever, located in the cargo area. There is no storage below the cargo floor however
One really annoying ‘feature’ on the Stinger is that you have to actually start the car to put window down or up – you can’t use it in aux mode. Dumb. First time I’ve ever encountered that
Cargo Volume: Rear Seat Up – 3 cu-ft (660 L) / Rear Seat Down – 40.9 cu-ft (1,158 L)

Infotainment etc.

- The 12.25” navigation/infotainment etc. sits in the middle of the vehicle, high up and in direct eye level with the front occupants
- Some infotainment screens are better than others and we never found any issues with the response in the Stinger
- Navigation comes standard across the range – a nice bonus in 2023 when everyone else is going to subscription versions
- The 15-speaker Harman Kardon Premium Sound System is phenomenal – it really is one of the best system we’ve heard
- Apple CarPlay and Android Auto comes standard, as is a Wireless phone charger
- Only ONE USB plug is available (no USB-C) in the car, perhaps a nod to its age and how fast cars change today – remember CD’s?

Safety Features are described in detail after What’s The Verdict? At the end of this review

So How Quick Is It & How Does It Handle?

Steering is extremely good and predictable – perfect at any speed
Shift-by-wire transmission control
Idle ‘Stop & Go’ technology
There are 5 drive modes in the Stinger: Eco, Normal, Comfort, Sport and Custom. There’s probably a winter one buried somewhere in the menu, but I wasn’t looking for it. To be honest, there’s only one mode that you need with this car – Sport
Switching the Drive mode is as easy as it gets – there’s a small rotating dial below the shifter that can’t be confused with any other button/dial
In Eco mode it’s quite sedate – great for 99% of drivers. Normal is also pretty safe for most people and unfortunately it’s the default setting. I say unfortunate because you click the Sport mode, drive around and park it. Once you get back in and fire up the engine… guess what mode it’s in? WHY do manufacturers keep doing this? It’s electronic – let ME choose what mode I want and lock it in for my driving pleasure without have to go toggling through the menu to get to it every time I go for a drive!!
In Sport mode – the driver’s seat changes and it gets snug around the kidney area you’re getting strapped in for some fun! (if you’re overweight, stop eating all that crap food because this will be uncomfortable for you). The entire feel of the Stinger changes – suspension feels stiffer, the steering is much better, sharper and the throttle is now very responsive and now the fun can begin!
Stomping on the gas pedal launches you but it’s all very civilized… and FAST! You get an instant response, but the car is never out of control or catches you off-guard – THAT’s a well-balanced car and not many can make that claim (the AWD probably helps too)
If you go fast, you usually have to stop fast as well. With that in mind the Brembo Performance Brakes to a terrific job of bringing you to a standstill with 13.8” 4-piston caliper vented disk front brakes and 13.4” 2-piston caliper vented disk on the rear
The auto/start stop is very good, it’s not intrusive and not annoying like so many others

Horsepower: 368 @ 6,000 rpm>

Torque lb-ft: 376 @ 1,300 ~ 4,500 rpm

Top Speed (limited): 240 km/h / 149 mph

0-60 mph (sec): 4.6

Towing: w/brake: 1,043 kg (2,300 lbs)

Curb Weight: 1,873 – 1,889 kg (4,129 – 4,165 lb)

What Does It Cost? For up-to-date pricing visit: Kia Canada

To Buy…

The Stinger GT starts at $54,683

The GT Tribute is $59,183 – there are no options Delivery & Destination Charge: $2,549

To Operate…

Rated at (L/100 km): City – 13.7 / Highway – 9.6 /
I saw 8.7 L/100 km on the highway without even trying to get good fuel economy!
Bombing around the city in sport mode got me an impressive 9.8 L/100 km – great considering I was not being gentle with the throttle

Warranty:

Comprehensive: 5 years/100,000 km – covering virtually the entire vehicle
Powertrain: 5-years/100,000 km
First-year adjustments: 1-year/20,000 km, covering consumable items such as bulbs, wiper blades, fuses, brake pads etc.
Roadside Assistance: 5 years /Unlimited km

The Competition

Audi A5 Sportback, BMW 4-Series Gran Coupe, Genesis G70

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good: Love the look, power and fun-to-drive
The Bad: When I want to drive in Sport Mode… I expect it to always be in sport mode all the time!
The Ugly: Zero

What’s The Verdict?

The Stinger is one VERY good car, bordering on perfection (bonus points for it being a hatchback). It’s fast, it’s comfortable it’s a perfect all-round car… except it’s not. Unfortunately I drove the perfect car on the week prior to driving this Stinger, and everything going forward will be compared to that car. I so wish I’d driven the Stinger GT first, because it would be the perfect comparison car. So what is the perfect car? Well it’s a Kia… and it’s an EV…and it’s mind-blowingly quick and agile…The EV6 GT. Maybe this is why Kia have decided to end the Stingers run on a high. If you don’t want the EV6 GT I would suggest you run down to your Kia dealer ASAP and get a Stinger before they’re gone!

Kia SmartSense safety features include:

The curb camera when you signal is also a great feature – it shows up in the driver’s digital instrument cluster
Hill-assist control (HAC)
360° Surround View Monitor (SVM)
Highway Driving Assist (HDA)
Advanced Smart Cruise Control (ASCC)
Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA)
Lane Following Assist (LFA)
Lane Keeping Assist (LKA) – works great, just enough input to help you without micro-managing your driving
Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist (BCA) – shows up in the HUD too!
Rear Cross-Traffic Avoidance Assist (RCTA) – it can even hit the brakes if necessary
Parking Distance Warning (Forward and Reverse)
Brembo Brakes and All-Wheel Drive round out the safety features