Oh my! New Leaks Illuminate Kia EV8, Stinger's Electrifying Heir.

It has been such an eventful 1st quarter for us here at Jim Butler Kia of St Louis: Just for starters, our prized EV6 won “2023 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year”! The flavorful and aggressive stance of the Stinger has made such an amazing contribution to the brand since 2017 and took center stage last year with a rousing farewell edition. It started things off with the GT specification and featured the 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6, which cranks out 368 horsepower and 376 lb-ft of torque. 

The Autoblog team lamented just how the Stinger was under-appreciated, and that it was one of the last affordable rear-wheel drive internal-combustion sedans out there. In some ways, we agree that it was absolutely “too pure and exhilarating for this world”, with its well-built penchant for luring drivers to take on exhilarating two-lane adventures. A new report out of Korea claimed that the Stinger’s unofficial successor is now in the works and that it will be electric. 

The car is code-named GT1 and will be constructed on the next-generation EV platform. Assembly is scheduled to take place out of Kia’s Hwaseong Plant 3 in 2026, with the project name tentatively being billed as “The EV8.” The EV8’s specific platform is called eM, which it will have in common with the full-sized Genesis GV90 SUV. The Korean Car Blog also reports that the EV8 will use a 113.2 kWh battery pack and have a range of approximately 435 to 500 miles. For a reference against current contenders, that’s more capacity than the prominent Lucid Air Grand Touring’s 112 kWh.

Dual motors on the top trim will crank out 335 horsepower to the front wheels, along with 268 horsepower to the rear wheels. Entry-level trims will have a single 215-horse motor driving the rear wheels, with AWD models using a second 215-horsepower unit to drive the front wheels as well. The Genesis GV90 and EV8 will share the sentiment of another very exciting milestone, as they will be the first eM platform cars. With this new information heartily on deck and sent out to the digital masses, The Gear Patrol blog also put in its two cents last week.

They claimed that the Stinger GT was “arguably a Porsche Panamera for half the price”. It also made waves by coming in as a close finalist for North American Car of the Year, where vehicles are judged for their safety features, handling, driver satisfaction, user experience, and innovation. Anticipate commenters on EV threads worldwide sharing their thoughts on this news regarding an exciting successor for the Stinger. One Kia fan in New Hampshire claimed: “I love my EV6 GT and would absolutely upgrade to another Kia EV after being so impressed with this quality, performance, reliability, and long-lasting comfort it has offered me”.

She was also thrilled that she had put on 23K miles in 10 months and had not needed a single dealer visit. Ahead of the EV8, we are also excited for the launch of the EV3 and EV4, which share pivotal stakes in our “EVs for all” vision. The InsideEVs.com staff publicly shared their excitement about the EV8 project, which they enthusiastically have their eyes on as the “Stinger’s spiritual successor.” Looking even more promising than the Stinger in the power department has also piqued the interest of everyone from diehard “volt cultists” to petrol purists who recently have transitioned to all-out enjoying the drive benefits of electrification.

Kia's Hat-Trick Triumph: Success in J.D. Power's 2023 APEAL Study with Unmatched Honors

Awards and accolades have filled up our virtual calendars and timelines for many years here at Jim Butler Kia of St Louis, and this summer we have had the pleasure of many positive reinforcements that solidify our brand’s innovative momentum. Kia America set a record for the highest total number of awards ever earned in a single year by a brand in the J.D. Power 2023 Automotive Performance, Execution, and Layout (APEAL) study. 

Just last month, Kia also claimed the highest number of possible awards in the J.D. Power 2023 Initial Quality Study. The appealing EV6, family-toting Carnival, and exhilarating midsize K5 took top honors in their respective segments, with four other models ranking number one. The Telluride, Forte, Rio, and Stinger were perched at the absolute top of their categories, providing a solid mile-marker and foundation for solid leadership within the electrification sector. Enjoying the clout of the most awarded brand across both annual recognition benchmarks, we are continuing to educate consumers about our penchant for reliability and sought-after technology. 

The 2023 U.S. APEAL Study is based on responses from 84,555 owners of brand-new 2023 model-year vehicles who were surveyed in detail after the very crucial first 3 months of ownership. The study data provides very useful insight into experiences with performance, design, safety, comfort, and perception of quality. Various awards from this very respected entity provide the highest-performing companies with an opportunity to let consumers know that being a winning and desirable brand is their top priority.

The 2023 Kia Forte is a very grown-up small sedan that is an excellent value with a very comfortable and accessible utility factor. It’s loaded with features at a price point much lower than key competitors, and drivers love its high fuel economy. The GT trim offers very compelling performance and feels perfectly punchy during everyday driving. The seats are nicely contoured for long-distance comfort, and any road noise encountered is amply quieted. The Forte’s suspension has a very individual yet stiff feel, which urban commuters have given high marks for when navigating cityscapes on the tighter end.

The 2023 Kia K5 arrived on the scene here at Jim Butler evoking a sense of modern class, while offering what we consider one of the smoothest sedan rides on the market! It also snagged up the U.S News and World Report’s “Best Midsize Car for the Money” award AND their 2023 Best New Car for Teens honor. It boasts very supportive seats, a spacious cabin, along with all-wheel drive. Few infotainment setups are as easy to navigate as Kia’s UVO, which offers a well-organized menu layout, an intuitive interface, and quick response times. 

The 2023 Kia Stinger has raked in the high marks for being “disarmingly handsome, hugely spacious, loaded with charisma, and full of rear-wheel drive bravado.” The Stinger’s point is to make you notice it, and as a well-proportioned fastback saloon, it is entertaining, engaging, and full of very well-engineered bursts of sheer automotive wizardry. While only  a small number see the Stinger as a bit of a Co2 menace, it displays a very raw breed of character and is guaranteed to make anyone who drives on a twisty road grin ear to ear. The Stinger’s injection of extra flavor is genuine, thrilling, smooth, and it will be missed greatly after this year. 

Sporty + Sensational GT1 May Succeed Kia Stinger, Dishing out Thrills With Industry’s Largest Battery

The 2023 Stinger has enjoyed a rewarding and trend-setting existence here at Jim Butler Kia of St Louis, as its launch in 2017 proved that a competitive and very athletic sedan would win over a diverse audience. The current model fares well up against competition such as the Genesis G70 and Audi A5 Sportback, its 4-door design boasts a sense of common everyday practicality. The telltale Kia tiger nose, narrow headlights, and sloped back tailgate contribute to its vibe that is always teasing a very track-focused demeanor.

Once inside, the Stinger continues to evoke a very stealthy and sporty vibe with smartly bolstered front seats and a very solid and modern center console with the gear selector. The U.S. News auto review crew gave the Stinger very high marks for its turbocharged engine options, segment-leading cargo space, and easy-to-use infotainment system. It gained clout and a loyal fan base with its relaxing highway drive, yet uncanny ability for performance handling on tight roads. The auto community is buzzing now with a plausible rumor: the very first production model based on this new platform looks to be a Kia-branded sedan named the GT1. 

Kia and Hyundai are both planning to invest at least $18 million into EV power by the end of the decade, on a mission of sustainability and future technology development that outlines an entirely new blueprint. This proposed GT1 is expected to be slightly larger than the current Stinger, and derives power from a 113.2-kWh battery pack. This is even larger than the batteries powering the Tesla Model S and Kia EV9, which both offer up competitive maximum driving ranges of around 497 miles. 

Right now, it seems that Kia will offer both single and dual-motor models of the GT1, with the most powerful cable of cranking out 603 horsepower. All of us at Jim Butler are leaning towards the notion that this will probably become a reality, rendering it the most powerful production model in our brand’s history. We need to stress the fact that these are all rumors as of now, but a glance at the current landscape and what consumers are asking for deem many elements pointing in a progressive and exciting direction. 

The Edmunds.com review team had an abundance of praise for the current stinger model, claiming after their initial test drive that “there’s nothing else on the road quite like it.” Having a penchant for not leaving the driver bored while doling out entertaining levels of performance, this model with a low-slung and amazing stance could pacify even the choosiest of drivers in the meantime. The 2023 Stinger can easily drift around corners with segment-leading chops, while also providing the peace-of-mind all-wheel drive offers if a snowstorm rears its head during the journey. 

The Stinger hit 60 mph in just 6.2 seconds during testing, with the V-6-powered GT1 arriving rapidly there in just 5.0 seconds. Steering characteristics are very fast and precise and give the car a very agile personality even during heavy acceleration. The gadget and tech-loving crowd will be pleased with the Stinger’s wireless charging pad and a handful of USB ports, along with 12-volt outlets for charging. We are told constantly that our warranty is the best in the business here at Jim Butler, and proudly stand by a 5-year/60,000-mile basic and 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty to allow for safe, efficient, and top-quality miles of enjoyment.