The Internet’s favorite car of 2018 is the Kia Stinger GT, and it’s good

Every year there will be one or two new cars that generate a whole lot of buzz. Cars that generate hype. Cars that people who post on Internet forums salivate over. I'm not talking hand-built exotica with 600 horsepower and six-digit price tags; that kind of unobtanium might make for good desktop wallpaper or bedroom posters, but few of us will ever be lucky enough to meet that kind of four-wheeled superstar. No, the kind of machine I'm talking about needs to be within reach of your average working stiff but still far enough from the default to quicken the pulse: a car like the new Kia Stinger.

We first saw the Kia Stinger at this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January. Since then it has been a regular on the auto show circuit, as well as popping up at various other events—and a whole load of Kia dealerships—but we've had to wait until now to get behind the wheel. In the meantime, it has built up quite a degree of hype. It's Kia's foray into the performance domain, the Korean OEM having concentrated until now on things like build quality and value for money. Those attributes will certainly win sales, but Kia wanted something with a little more passion, a halo car to get people excited. As you'll find out shortly, it was worth the wait.

Sportbacks are in now

The Stinger first began back in 2011 as the GT Concept, a four-door gran turismo inspired by vintage metal like the Maserati Ghibli, the sort of four-wheeled conveyance that could carry four adults and their luggage across a continent. It's a four-door sportback (my favorite!) design, styled by Gregory Guillaume at Kia's German design studio. As the man himself described it, "a true gran turismo, a car for spirited long-distance driving, is not about outright power, hard-edged dynamics and brutal styling, all at the expense of luxury, comfort and grace.” It's something of a golden age for the performance sportback, what with Audi's S5 and Buick's Regal GS also available for similar money. I'm not quite sure why this design convergence has happened, but I hope it continues.

Up front is a recognizably Kia face, but one that has spent some time working out at the gym. Those scoops and vents are functional—the shape funnels air through the front wheel arches to cool the brakes and reduce eddies to ease its passage through the air. The chassis is fashioned from high-strength steel, with some added strength via structural adhesives that bolster the various welds to keep things nice and rigid. (That's doubly important, because one downside to the sportback body style is the large opening at the rear where you'd normally want things nice and buttressed for stiffness.) The attention to airflow extends around the car, with flat underbody panels that lead to a rear diffuser (with a couple of NACA ducts along the way) and rear spoiler to provide downforce at speed. The suspension is a MacPherson strut up front and a multilink arrangement at the rear.

Tested at the ’Ring

There are two choices of engine for the Stinger. The base model—which starts at just $31,900—gets a 2.0L (single-scroll) turbo direct-injection four-cylinder engine, which makes 255hp and 260ft-lbs. The hotter variant (which we drove) is the Stinger GT. This starts at $38,350 and replaces the four-cylinder engine with a 365hp, 376ft-lbs 3.3L twin-turbo direct-injection V6. It's the same engine found in the Genesis G90 that we tested recently, but in this application it's carrying around almost 1,000lbs less mass, which makes for a much more performance-oriented experience.

In both cases, the Stinger uses an eight-speed automatic transmission, a bespoke Korean gearbox common to other Kias, Hyundais, and Genesises rather than the ubiquitous ZF 8HP. And you can have a choice between rear- and all-wheel drive. As we discovered, you'll want to save the $2,200 and go for the RWD variant—rather, spend that money on some dedicated snow tires if you live somewhere where winter weather is a serious concern. If you do opt for AWD, the car is rear-biased by default but can send up to 50 percent of its torque to the front wheels.

Further underlining the Stinger's performance credentials—honed with more than 6,000 miles on the Nürburgring Nordschliefe, you know—are dedicated oil coolers for the engine and transmission, an optional limited-slip differential for the RWD models (from GKN), and the fact that it comes equipped with Michelin's latest Pilot Sport 4 tire (a Stinger-specific variant developed with the car's engineers).

A proper gran turismo?

A good GT car shouldn't just be fast; it needs to be somewhat luxurious. After all, there's no point driving across Europe in a day to get to Monte Carlo if you emerge from your car looking like a sweaty, crumpled mess. There is plenty of room thanks to the car's 114.4-inch wheelbase; even the rear seats get more than 36 inches of leg room, and two adults could happily sit back there for hours without complaints. The materials are all of a quality you might not expect of Kia, particularly the GT2-trim-level cars, although even the cheapest Stinger is wrapped in leather on the inside.

The GT2 spec cars really are fully loaded; on top of upgraded Nappa leather trim and a 16-way adjustable driver's seat (versus just 12-way seats in other GTs or 8-way seats in the four-cylinder car) you also get seat coolers (all versions get seat heaters), a suite of advanced driver assistance systems (these are options on the other cars), and a heads-up display. But expect to pay for the privilege—so equipped, a GT2-spec Stinger GT will set you back $49,500. That's a lot of money for Kia, but you do get a lot of Kia for your money.

But what I imagine you really want to know is what it's like to drive. After all, so did I, which is why Ars flew me all the way out to Los Angeles. In the morning, my drive partner and I picked an AWD Stinger GT, and I must confess that even after half an hour on the Angeles Crest Highway, I was feeling a little underwhelmed. The car is certainly capable, with plenty of grip for the conditions and an ability to gather speed deceptively, but it didn't quicken my pulse (in either a good or bad way). Had I come all this way for nothing? Everything was very stable and predictable, although with the traction control turned off it was possible—just about—to provoke the car to break loose.

So, so good to drive

A lunch stop in the shadow of Magic Mountain threw out those first impressions, for it was here that I got my first taste of the RWD version. What a difference! Kia had laid out an autocross course on which we could push the car's limits. (Kia also brought along some of the rival cars it benchmarked the Stinger against, including the Porsche Panamera, Audi A5 and A7, and BMW 440i Gran Coupe, reflecting plenty of confidence on its part. Although Kia says it doesn't expect anyone to actually cross-shop a $90,000 Porsche against the Stinger GT, it wanted to show the car could hold its own.)

After just my first run through the cones in a RWD Stinger GT, the past year's hype all suddenly made sense. The stolid nature of the AWD variant was gone—here is a car that is playful and energetic. This was further confirmed with another run through the canyons on the way back to North Hollywood. The RWD Stinger GT is so much more eager and it flows down the road effortlessly. There's more grip than you’d think from the front, thanks to the Pilot Sport 4s. Even if traction control on the rear is a little playful, you get that lovely mid-corner yaw that delivers a micro jolt of adrenalin as the limited-slip differential makes its presence known, reminding you that yes, this is a driver's car.

With TC turned off, the rear tires can be lit up with the judicious application of the throttle, and it's easy to catch and drift. One piece of advice: rather than putting the car in Sport, choose Custom instead and turn the steering setting back to Comfort. In Sport, the steering weights up, but you don't get any added feel, and the lighter help in the Comfort setting makes for a less tiring drive. (Your options are Smart, Eco, Comfort, Sport, and Custom, and these will remap the throttle, steering, ESC, transmission, suspension, and AWD.)

You'll also be glad to know that the Stinger GT's brakes are more than up to the job. Up front, these are 13.8-inch four-piston Brembos, and they feel more than up to the job of stopping a 4,000lb (1,814kg) car capable of 167mph (269km/h) flat-out. (The other notable performance spec is its 0-60mph time: 4.7 seconds.) Even sitting in the back during some canyon carving proved comfortable. You obviously lose some of the lateral support that the front seat occupants enjoy, but the primary and secondary ride is good even with the suspension in its harder setting. Four-up you probably won't want to throw the car around like it's a qualifying lap, but it's good to know that if you do the results won't be nauseous passengers.

Other points to note? Oddly enough for a performance car I managed to exceed the car's stated fuel economy. Kia quotes 19mpg city, 25mpg highway, and 21mpg combined for the V6 (regardless of RWD or AWD). But with the car set to Smart, I saw more than 30mpg on the freeway legs of our route. Hard driving in the canyons was a little worse as you might expect, at around 13mpg. The infotainment system is adequate—it's Kia's latest Uvo3 system, which includes some telematics options for your smartphone (diagnostics and geofencing), but the presence of CarPlay and Android Auto is welcome, and the optional 15-speaker Harmon Kardon sound system was more than acceptable to my middle-aged hearing.

At the risk of repeating myself, I am glad to report that the Stinger GT is indeed one of those cars that lives up to the hype. If you're one of those Internet commenters who has expressed a desire to put one in your driveway, please do, because this car deserves to succeed in the marketplace. Although we didn't get a chance to try out the 2.0L version, I'm hoping to remedy that soon, as Kia has promised they're being rolled out to the press fleets shortly. As and when that happens, we'll keep you informed.