Kia Stinger CK 330S

The best value Stinger – This Kia Stinger 330S had no options, and was priced at $57,890 drive away. You can get into the Stinger range for a little less, at $54,090 drive away, which you shouldn’t do, since that is the 2.0L four cylinder Stinger. Sure, the motor is still strong in that car, but just do yourself a favour and opt for a 330S, it’s going to bring everything to the table in the performance department. If you’re going to compare the Stinger 330S to other cars in this class, you’re going to come up short with other brands not offering this much power, performance or even versatility of boot space. Here in the base Stinger 330S, you get 18-inch alloy wheels, Brembo brakes, a bi-modal exhaust, radar-cruise control, semi-autonomous active lane-keep assist and of course, the 274kW twin-turbo V6, all under $60,000. I can’t recommend a vehicle that could match the Stinger across all of these segments or come out on top when cross shopping for a performance four-door grand-tourer. Instead, I’d have to push you down to a smaller hot-hatch such as a Toyota GR Yaris, which wouldn’t offer the same rear-wheel drive or larger engine experience. The Stinger is serious about being an attainable high-performance Sports-sedan, however it faces an uphill battle with getting new customers to overlook the three letters on the hood of the car. Look past the badge, and you have more car than you’d know what to do with at this price-point.

Kia offers the Stinger with a ultra competitive 7 year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which adds to the value for money sales pitch of this car. Total price of servicing over 7 years is $4,243.

Sound isolation is a solid 8/10, with the last points being lost for some mechanical whine from the limited slip differential found in the rear, the occasional knock emanating from the boot, and the unused front passenger seat belt, which has a tendency to knock against the hard plastic behind it.

When you do decide to step on it, there is a healthy amount of distinct V6 tomfoolery that pronounces under hard acceleration. Although, this addicting noise quickly subsidies unless you’re higher up in the rev-range, even when in ‘Sport’ mode. The addition of a bi-modal exhaust system for the 2021 model year certainly helps produce more theatre from the outside.

Shame you can’t hear what that exhaust sounds like from the inside.

It’s likely that you’re looking at buying a 330S purely for that motor, as it does miss out on some options that the more expensive trims get. That means you’re going to be reading this section a little more carefully than the others, and I can tell you straight away that this is a fast car. 274kW, 510Nm and a 0-100km/h time in a claimed 4.9 seconds. Yeah, that fast. This twin-turbocharged V6 immediately makes that torque known to you, the driver, the second you begin to search a little deeper in the accelerator pedal. To extract all that power as quickly as possible from the motor, you’re going to want to put the car into Sport mode, completely turn off the traction-control system, and begin the launch control sequence. The Stinger creates no fuss about activating launch control. Foot on the brake, foot pressed down on the accelerator at the same time. ‘Launch Control Active’ pops up on the screen, and lifts that brake pedal for one of the fastest rides of your life (for $57,890). All relative of course, if this is your first time owning a car with this much power and pace. The back tires will roll around a little if they’re too cold, or the surface you're launching on is a little tricky. Aside from that, the 8-speed auto will help you rocket to 100km/h swiftly, and would definitely keep powering through to your top speed if you’re not a fan of keeping your license. The induction noise from those twin-turbos is incredible, and outside the car, that bi-modal exhaust is doing everything it can to generate excitement in the surrounding area. Mid-range pulls are very strong, however, so remain in Sport mode for the best response times. Even better, pull on those paddles for optimum turbo response, as occasionally you’ll notice a slight lag in response before the Stinger is ready to roll.

It’s a really nice ride, it truly is. The Stinger is comfortable, ironing out bumps and rough surfaces. However, if it’s a plush luxury car you’re looking for, the Stinger may prove to be a tad more aggressive than I’d like. Even out of Sport mode, the car likes to respond to the bumps in the road a little more directly. While you’d prefer in Sports mode, it does the same in Comfort mode. As for ironing out those bumps, instead of making them invisible, it translates that to your bum, so you can braille read the roads, something not ideal in a luxury GT.

I’m not even going to pretend this is an economical motor, with Kia claiming 14.9L/100km in the city.

The Stinger actually uses a hatch operation, so it’s more of a ‘Sportback’ than it is a sedan. This is extremely useful as it allows for easy entry and access for your items in the boot’s 406L of storage space. The rear seats fold in a 60/40 split and are flat where the back of the seat meets the boot floor, making sliding items in and out a little easier. However, they do slope up a fair bit, which can encroach on your vertical storage space. Fold all of these seats down, and you’ll have 1114L of boot space, which provides a spacious and usable space. It’s a usable boot for more than you’ll most likely need to carry around. However, considering that the Picanto had over 1000L of storage with its seats folded down too, it’s not a mind-bending amount of space.

If you’re not looking for a sports-sedan, you may not appreciate the Stinger for all it’s worth. However, you can certainly still enjoy the Stinger for all its luxury and comfort features.

The 2021/22 Kia Stinger 330S is so convincing in its affordability and reliability that if I didn’t review cars for a living, I’d certainly take one home in this exact trim.

*Disclaimer - I work for ProductReview as their independent car and motorbike expert. I borrow new cars and motorbikes from manufacturers and owners to review. I am not paid or incentivised by these brands to post reviews. I write and create content to provide insight and information about any new or used vehicle I can get my hands on.