Kia To Get Extra Sting?
It’s not confirmed for Australia however Kia has appeared to confirm their ballsy Stinger sedan/five door coupe is to get more mumbo. Currently packing a 2.0L turbo four or the punch you in the guts 272kW/510Nm 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 engine, it’s being spoken that the car will receive the bigger 3.5L V6 as found in siblings Hyundai and Genesis.
Inside the Genesis G80, this mill produces 279kW and 530Nm. The turbo four may also be given some fettling, with a 2.4L version said to offer 223kW and over 420Nm. That’s in comparison to the current 182kW and 353Nm. There is also a milf facelift to the exterior and it’s as yet unconfirmed if much will be done to the interior, although it’s likely there will be.
Kia Australia, however, currently have a different perspective, with the head of PR, Kevin Hepworth, being quoted as saying: “”We are not anticipating any engine changes”. In this context, an extra 200cc offering just 7kW and 20Nm means most buyers would be highly unlikely to tell the difference. Considering that the sedan market is shriveling slowly (although in Europe it is regaining ground under the onslaught of SUVs), should Kia go ahead with that and make that the only powerplant choice, it leaves Kia Australia with either onselling the Stinger with the slightly bigger engine, having Kia pare back the outputs, or, and more unlikely, have Aussie spec Stingers come here with the 3.3L and 2.0L.
Sales figures for the Stinger indicate the V6 is the preferred engine, with around 98% of the 150 to 200 Stingers moved per month being powered by that, and of those a huge 81% are for the top of the range GT. The other factor coming into play is the Australian dollar exchange rate. It’s highly likely that the 2.0L four would be dropped and the 2.4L, if offered, would not be taken up on a cost basis reason.
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