HOT
SOURCE
Stinger’s excellent
seat warmers go
from zero to
thermonuclear
in a matter of
secondsBEFORE you ask, the Stinger is still being
driven around in Eco mode in a bid to silence
the optional sports exhaust. I thought I’d give
it a chance and try another mode but it’s only
really bearable when drowned out by the
stereo. One upside to schlepping about in the
Kia’s most relaxed mode is that the last tank
of fuel was consumed at the unexpectedly
frugal rate of 9.3L/100km.
The downside of bypassing the exhaust’s
bi-modal mode is that the Stinger’s now
more silent than the Red October and
something is not quite right at the stern.
There’s a persistent noise that I haven’t quite
got to the bottom of, but it sounds as if the
tailgate latch isn’t quite engaging properly,
setting up a constant rattle on anything other
than baby’s-bottom-smooth roads. Of whichthere are precisely none in my vicinity.
Other than that, the news is all good.
Although we tend to think of the Stinger as
something at the sportier end of the class,
it makes a beautifully relaxed GT car if you
keep the suspension in its comfort mode
and just make the most of the active cruise
control and the Gold Class-proportioned
front seats with their heating and cooling
functions. On the daily commute, the biggest
challenge is usually staying awake. This
languorous side to the Kia’s personality only
makes the full 272kW, when deployed, even
more startling.
In the wet, you need to be ready for the
tail to have a bit of a slither, even with the
stability control resolutely retained. The
electronics are casual, only really intervening
if it thinks you’re intent on swapping ends.
Punch it away from the lights on a damp roadand it’ll buck and yaw quite entertainingly,
but it’s something that’ll raise eyebrows if
you’re not ready for it. Once you’re used to it
you can either pre-empt it with a feather of
the throttle or just wade in and ride it out.
The tyres look to be retaining a decent
semblance of tread on them, despite the lax
stability control. While performing some
cornering duties for our snapper, it was noted
that the fronts almost looked as if they were
rolling off the rims. The pressures were all
correct, and this merely lends weight to my
suspicion that these Continental ContiSport
Contact 5 tyres might be just a tad doughy
for the power and weight of the Stinger. For
the Stinger’s Aussie launch on the Wakefield
Park circuit, the Contis mysteriously
disappeared and were replaced by Michelin
Pilot Sport 4 S rubber. That speaks volumes.
ANDY ENRIGHTStinger almost set to silent mode
Rattle and hum
118 whichcar.com.au/wheels
OurGarage
WEEK 6
4444333
010139URBAN COUNTRY SPORTS FAMILY MOTORWAY
Waze and means
Given the idiosyncrasies of the inbuilt sat-nav, I’ve taken to
using Waze, ported to the centre screen through Android Auto.
It’s truly excellent, skirting you round traffic snarls, warning
you of broken-down cars and lurking police units. Your route’sestimated time of arrival is nearly always spookily on the
money too. The downside of running the app all the time is
that it munches through data, Optus still apparently treating
mobile data as if it’s some critically scarce natural resource.KIA STINGER GT
Date acquired:April 2018
Price as tested:$60,685
This month: 1484km @ 11.2L/100km
Overall: 1821km @ 11.5L/100kmKIA STINGER GT