The 2018 Kia Stinger: A Dangerous Mixture of Economy and Driving Pleasure

Now, how could a car brand such as Kia, bring forth what may possibly be the greatest car of 2018? “Isn’t that the car with the giant hamsters?” Yes, in fact it is. But we’re not talking about the Kia Soul, which if we’re honest; isn’t exactly the most appealing car to the modern day buyer. Unless you’re looking for a car for your daughter, I doubt you’ll be looking at the Soul. Regardless. The base model of the vehicle is a 2.0L, turbocharged four cylinder model, bringing us a modest 255 horsepower.

If you need something with a little more ‘pep’, there is also a 3.3L, twin turbo six cylinder model, bringing us a respectable 365 horsepower, over 100 more than the base model! But, these horsepower numbers don’t have to come at a fortune of a price. The base model of this vehicle starts at about $32,800, which is a modest number for the modern day car buyer. Not only is that a modest number, but it is almost half of that of the Stinger’s contender, the BMW M3 that we mentioned earlier.

“Cheap” cars don’t have to be ugly. I use the term “cheap” in quotations due to the premonition of today’s cheap cars being, well.. ugly. The Chevy Sonic. The Toyota Yaris. The Ford Focus. Let’s be honest; these are all ugly cars. But the Kia on the other hand, is making a bold statement. It almost looks like a competitor to the Porsche Panamera, a car that is in a completely different class of vehicles. This car wants to be seen. This car is begging to be heard by the masses. This car is begging the new car buyer to give it a look and drive it. Who knows, you may even like it and drive it home with you.

Let’s talk about fuel economy quickly. As tested in the V6 model, the Stinger brings us a fuel average of 17 miles per gallon in the city, and 26 miles per gallon on the highway. The fuel tank itself is just a hair shy of 16 gallons (15.9 to be exact), which gives us an average of about 270.3 miles of city driving, and 413.4 miles of highway driving.

These two averages combined leave us with a total of 341.85 miles on a full tank. Not bad when you factor in the price of your fuel-ups. (In New Jersey, gas goes for about 2.29 a gallon to 2.89 a gallon, depending on the area you live in.) Therefore, you can enjoy driving your lookalike Porsche Panamera, while not having to stop as often for gas. It’s almost like having your cake and eating it, too.

This just goes to show the lengths that Kia is going to appeal to young car buyers and family buyers alike. Remember in the early 2000s when a Kia was just a car that people laughed at? Those days are no more. The 2018 Stinger is here to make a good impression, and a very good impression at that.

Also see Torque News reporter Denis Flierl's previous story discussing how new Kia Stinger 3.3L V-6 overtakes BMW’s 3.0L for top engine honors. If you have opinions about the new Kia Stinger please share them in the comments section below. If you liked this article and think it may help your friends, consider sharing or tweeting it to your followers.