One of the most exciting changes of the year for
us here at Jim Butler Kia of St
Louis was the way in which the Stinger GT has given the brand a completely exciting new sense
of direction. We have always been proud of the fact that we were known as a
company that was putting hard work and dedication into creating vehicles that
were for the savvy, sensible driver on a budget. We fully admit that during the
beginning of our brand's lifespan, the type of consumer who favored “that
luxury brand beginning with the letter 'B' “ among other members of the
high-performing and pricier club may not have paid us much attention.
The staff on duty at the Wheels24.CA blog
produced a video and posted it here regarding their road test of the Stinger GT, and highlighting their high level of satisfaction as
well. The 3.3-Liter turbocharged V-6 was taken to fondly right away, and car
tester Mathis Kurrat lamented that the first versions of Gran Turismo cars were
amazing to look at with their elongated hoods and their perfect proportions
that called out “Get in, and we'll get right down to business!” During his
drive on camera, Mathis claimed that Kia has come up with a model that makes
those 1950s versions look downright old-fashioned, and loves the trademark
tiger nose grille at the front, with large air intakes as a trademark feature.
The video does a good job of showing the Stinger GT's side profile, and the standard divided taillights
with LED design which come as standard. This is Kia's quickest and most
powerful series production model, and the black diffuser along with dual-twin
exhaust are telltale signs of the fact that this is an entirely new breed and
dimension of sportiness altogether for Kia. The sports steering wheel comes
equipped with integrated paddle shifters, complemented perfectly with aluminum
interior accents. Before he had even activated Sport Plus mode, Mathis was
loving the way the car glided nicely through curves, thanks to all-wheel drive
even during the wet weather conditions he was experiencing that day.
As many seasoned car engineers can tell you, when
you are in a situation where you are going faster than average speed in a
vehicle (which is bound to happen in the Stinger GT) the suspension “simply
needs to play along.” In this case, it does, and even though some are under the
cautious spell of wondering “Who needs this huge of a V6,” one only needs to
take a quick look around to see the hefty horsepower amounts doled out by the
likes of the Dodge Challenger, and the unearthly act of dropping the brand-new
707-horsepower capable engine into the new Jeep Cherokee Trackhawk.
As the experts at Car and Driver have
themselves admitted, the Stinger is a “Self-professed BMW 3-series fighter,”
and the GT variant is where the grunty and gallant V6 comes into play. A testament
to the great things that happen when a dedicated team of engineers and
conceptual thinkers put their heads together to reach for the skies, the
Stinger GT is our sleek and stealth contender for tech-loving and track-hungry
car buyers who are tapping their feet while waiting to step up their driving
game!
