2023 Kia Stinger Review

Name: 2023 Kia Stinger Review
Brand: Kia

Price Range: $28,599 - $34,687

+179

Even several years after its debut, there's still nothing else on the road quite like the 2023 Kia Stinger. This sleek hatchback offers a look and feel you won't find anywhere else in the class. It also has loads of cargo space. Overall performance doesn't quite live up to the sport sedan looks, but the Stinger won't leave you bored.

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9 cars

$31,241 avg. price

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by Edmunds Test Team

2023 Kia Stinger Review

by the Edmunds Experts

10/24/2022

What's new

GT1 trim level discontinued
Part of the first Stinger generation introduced for 2018

What is the Stinger?

The Kia Stinger has been one of the most surprising vehicles released over the last half-decade. Seemingly out of nowhere, Kia introduced a midsize sedan/hatchback with rear-wheel drive and a pair of spunky turbocharged engines. In our eyes, it's one of the best vehicles on the road — a fun-to-drive four-door with the DNA of a German sport sedan and a price tag that rivals a Honda Accord.

We've heard rumblings that the Stinger is not long for this world. Despite a nicely trimmed interior and thrilling driving dynamics, it's a fairly niche vehicle in a world that either prefers family-friendly crossovers or sedans that are more practical than the Stinger. Given customer tastes, it's unsurprising that the Stinger is the lowest-selling model in Kia's lineup. We think that if you're even thinking about adding a Stinger to your driveway, do it with a 2022 Kia Stinger soon. We don't think you'll have long before this high-octane Kia shuffles off this mortal coil.

Edmunds says

The Kia Stinger invigorates the midsize sedan segment with a pair of powerful engines and a rear-wheel-drive layout. If you're interested in the Stinger, buy it now. We have a feeling it won't be sticking around much longer.

Cost to Drive^{Cost to drive estimates for the 2023 Kia Stinger GT-Line 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 8A) and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $3.52 per gallon for premium unleaded in Texas.}

Monthly estimates based on costs in Texas

$166/mo

$140/mo

Avg. Midsize Car

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Kia Stinger Reviews

Owner Reviews

4.4

27 reviews

5(59%)

4(33%)

3(3%)

2(0%)

1(5%)

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Most Helpful Owner Reviews

Got myself a 2021 Stinger GT2!

Phil S. , 07/09/2021

2021 Kia Stinger GT2 4dr Sedan (3.3L 6cyl Turbo 8A)

I took a lot into consideration when deciding to buy a Stinger, but it ended up beating out other new Kia models, as well as the more expensive luxury sedans (I.e. Mercedes, audi, Lexus, etc.). The Stinger occupies a fairly niche class in the car market (Performance sedans from non-luxury brands), and actually shares the class with cars like the Dodge Charger. Despite being from a … "non-luxury" brand, the quality of the Stinger easily rivals that of typical luxury brands. All in all, I love my car. It's a blast to drive, the ride is incredibly smooth, and it has great all around performance. I passed up the typical "luxury" brands because of the increased costs, and because I have no interest in being associated with the Uber-bougie reputation those brands are associated with. As for what I think about the vehicle, I would agree with the "cons" described by Edmunds' professional reviewers in that it has pretty poor rear visibility due to its fastback design. It sits rather low as well and with the sloping roofline, it can be difficult to get in and out of. There is some slight jitteriness at times, but I feel this is minimal and isn't worrisome to me. Beyond the aforementioned styling issues, etc., I absolutely love the look and feel of the vehicle. The interior and exterior quality is outstanding for the class of vehicle the Stinger falls in. The interior is incredibly comfortable. While I missed out on the larger 10'' infotainment screen of the 2022, I feel the 8'' screen of the 2021 is plenty large enough. The UI took some getting used to as the car has a lot of available tech, but was easy to use once I spent some time with it. My only other [slight] complaint is the gas mileage. Though, this is somewhat relative, as depending on the vehicle you are coming from, fuel economy may be better or worse. For me the drop to 17/25/20 was an adjustment. That said, I would like to point out that when driven on the Eco setting and driving mildly, my MPG has been consistently higher than the EPA ratings above. When driving on a Highway with 60-70 MPH, the inertia of the car is enough to carry it over hills easily and I was able to get 29 MPG. My combined MPG is usually 21-23. Even though I'm driving on Eco, I feel very loss of performance. All-in-all, I love my new car, and I definitely don't regret my purchase. I love driving my Stinger, and I love seeing other Stingers on the road. I feel like I'm part of an underappreciated car club; especially since the roads in my area are dominated by Lexus, Mercedes, Audi, and BMW. When I see someone driving one of the typical "luxury" brands, I can't help but think that they got duped into paying a lot more for an insignia rather than actual value.

A well balanced high performance GT!

Armtek, 04/22/2021

2021 Kia Stinger GT2 4dr Sedan AWD (3.3L 6cyl Turbo 8A)

UPDATE: No major issues approaching 40k miles. Had drivers side rear window die but covered under warranty. Still a hoot to drive! We had been looking at the Stinger since its release and finally got around to buying one. It was our sixth new Kia from Peak Kia in Littleton, CO and 8th overall, so it's safe to say we're Kia fans. I've always been a big fan of Kia's return on investment, … and the 2021 Stinger GT2 AWD is the best example of that. It's very well designed, You can have a leisurely commute and then jump into a high performance bit and always be in control. It has enough power to get you into trouble, but enough features and tech to keep you out of it. This car is certainly a 'halo' car for the brand, and has been useful in shaking out some of the newer tech that's filtered down into the rest of the lineup this year. I take the head-up display HUD for granted a lot and really would like to see it standard on more cars because it really keeps your focus on the road and not looking down at the instrument panel. Especially useful on a commute as you can see the blind spot indicators on the HUD without even turning your head. The 360 camera is also great. Moving the ride mode to 'Sport' mode is really great as the driver seat bolsters move in to 'hug' you, just to let you know that you may be in for some g-forces (which you can call up on a gauge, by the way. The only 'complaint' is that the Apple CarPlay version in the 2021 requires a charging cable connected to it for communication, but the vehicle also has wireless charging and bluetooth which is inconvenient, and when you have a large phone like an iPhone 12 pro max it barely fits to begin with (once you trim the rubber pad on the charger. Wireless connections would be appreciated here. 17k miles later: We went on vacation from Colorado to Illinois/Michigan and back the summer of 2021 and long runs are definitely a pleasure in the Stinger. The 'tech' saved our butt when we had a torrential downpour and the radar speed control and lane detection still worked, keeping us alerted to anything ahead and making sue we stayed in the lane. Later through the winter, absolutely no problem in getting anywhere. We moved to Greeley, so my commute went from 20 minutes to 51 minutes, and wouldn't consider the longer commute with anything but the Stinger. It's not all perfect world, though. Intermittent issues with backup camera (blue screen), occasional interruption of downward pointing side mirrors when in reverse, and resetting HUD height occasionally back to default.

Can’t beat the perfomance

CrawdadE, 10/05/2021

2022 Kia Stinger GT1 4dr Sedan (3.3L 6cyl Turbo 8A)

The Stinger GT is a joy to drive. There have been a lot of rattles coming from the drivers side door and sunroof. The biggest issue is the paint chipping from day one of buying the car. Still working out that with Kia consumer affairs. As of a month of trying to get resolved, still no luck. You get a lot of performance for the money, but you will be irritated by the little things that …

Almost Perfect

Kyle H., 01/17/2021

2021 Kia Stinger GT-Line 4dr Sedan (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8A)

The overall appeal and feel of this vehicle is great! I went with the 2021 Kia stinger GT line. It's the 2 l turbo, now this thing absolutely does not have a bunch of power initially but it's got a bunch of potential. The overall feeling and handling of it is almost perfect I believe the sway bar is definitely need upgraded to give it a little bit more less of a flex around turns but the …

We have a limited number of reviews for the 2023 Kia Stinger, so we've included reviews for other years of the Stinger since its last redesign.

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2023 Stinger Highlights

Trim:

GT-Line

Base MSRP Excludes Destination Fee	$36,690
Engine Type	Gas
Combined MPG	25 MPG
Cost to Drive	$166/month
Seating	5 seats
Cargo Capacity All Seats In Place	23.3 cu.ft.
Drivetrain	rear wheel drive
Warranty	5 years / 60,000 miles

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Safety

Our experts like the Stinger models:

Forward Collision-Avoidance Assistance: Alerts you if a front impact is imminent and applies the brakes if you don't react in time.
Lane Keep Assist: Warns if you are drifting out of your lane and gently nudges you back.
Blind-Spot Collision Warning System: Illuminates a warning light if a car is in your blind spot and beeps if you activate your turn signal in that direction.

NHTSA Overall Rating

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration offers independent analysis.

Frontal Barrier Crash Rating
Overall4 / 5
Driver5 / 5
Passenger4 / 5
Side Crash Rating
Overall5 / 5
Side Barrier Rating
Overall5 / 5
Driver5 / 5
Passenger5 / 5
Combined Side Barrier & Pole Ratings
Front Seat5 / 5
Back Seat5 / 5
Rollover
Rollover5 / 5
Dynamic Test ResultNo Tip
Risk Of Rollover8.7%

IIHS Rating

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety uses extensive crash tests to determine car safety.

Small Overlap Front Driver-Side Test
Good
Small Overlap Front Passenger-Side Test
Good
Moderate Overlap Front Test – Original
Good
Moderate Overlap Front Test – Updated
Not Tested
Side Impact Test – Original
Good
Side Impact Test – Updated
Not Tested
Roof Strength Test
Good
Rear Crash Protection / Head Restraint
Good

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2023 Kia Stinger Review

Price & Payment

2023 Kia Stinger Video Shorts