With all the back and forth, anti and pro-emotions about a car that nobody that I've heard of, has actually driven on, I decided to take one for the team, and spent 45 minutes behind the wheel of a Kia Stinger GT2. Having test driven the maxima, Q50s and Q60 red sport. I thought it be only right to give this Kia the respect of a test drive n not just be happy Hyundai is making something people want. Ok down to the Nitty Gritty.
Upfront exterior styling... I think it's a very nice car with a good attention to detail. The design lines obviously aren't overly swoopy or dramatic. But I would say it's a combination of Bold and smooth. The exterior paint is top notch and honestly. Higher end cars could take notes on kia' s color palette. The dealership was bright colorful and exciting with a whole row of stingers in a bunch of cool colors. A great departure from the "50 shades of grey" at the Infiniti dealership
The taillights are striking and the power litigate opens with authority and what you'd expect from BMW etc.. The grille is plastic, but the did such a good job you really don't know till you touch it. And you gotta stay feeling it to know because it has like a metallic dotting that feels like metal at first.
Interior. VERY NICE! At 44k which means you lose the power liftgate, some safety features and some tech. You pay $46k to add the tech pkg. It's still very much loaded. I was amazed at how well the seats hugged you. I liked the feel of the seats a tiny bit better than the Q60 as the Kia hugged me tighter and I felt slightly more planted in my seat. But the Q60 does not disappoint at all and are also amazing seats. I have to compare it to the 60 and not the 50 because, the Stinger keeps you nice and low in the car. The q50 keeps you more upright in your driving position. So, in my opinion. 50 to Kia, Stinger is better. 60 to Stinger, they are basically tied. The quality is strong in both cars though. The Infiniti has nicer twists and shapes in the door design. But the center console in the Kia blows the infiniti out the water. Stereo sound is comparable but a bit better in the Infiniti.The Maxima can play in the same realm with the interior. But the Kia is cleaner and more ergonomic than the max. The console in the Stinger is what i expected from a 50 but didn't get. The buttons feel and look like a German car. No lie. The doors... the open and close very solid with a good balance of weight and they have a low impact inertia so they close effortlessly and luxuriously. That impressed me. Too many doors sound hollow and tinny. It's understandable why it weighs 3900lbs.
The DRIVE
Well, for my tastes, the steering is too light. But I like heavy steering wheels. My camaro is programmed to track mode on the steering, which means. I get a Schwarzenegger workout making right turns. Lol.
But I would say the steering is comparable to the q60 but you get the feedback the q60 doesn't give you so steering feel goes to kia and responsiveness is tied. (Comparing to non DAS). Feedback wins
The power... This car feels every bit as fast as the red sport. The difference is. The Red Sport has an instant push you in the back of your seat torque. The Kia is more of a progressive torque like the 370z. It literally feels like a 370z. The torque response is slightly stronger than the 370 when the turbos are in full spool but... they feel VERY CLOSE, but you get that red sport speed.
The chassis is wayyyyyy more solid in the Kia. The Kia chassis is everything that the Infiniti isn't. The exhaust is quiet bit a muffler delete sounds amazing. There was a guy there with a white one with the delete. Some downpies would make it sound tough.
The transmission was uber quick and responsive. Again, demolishing infiniti. I don't understand why the 370z transmission is so goid n the Infiniti so bad when it's essentially the same. You have to wait 2 seconds for the Infiniti to shift. The Q50/60 says to u. "Oh you want me to shift"?
The Kia Stinger is comparable to Mini coppers JEW 8 speed auto in performance. If any of y'all driven one? So big props to the kia on transmission response. The max, is CVT so im not even gonna get started there. No comparison.
All this said... The Infiniti is a very good car. It offers a specific styling for specific tastes as does the Kia. Neither is as universal in style as Audi or BMW. So I think while they are very comparable. They can both exist without eating each other on a competitive level
But... if the Genesis G70 is a step up from the Kia? Is expected to be lighter and faster? I think the Genesis G70 is going to give Infiniti a real problem from a performance to price standpoint. Especially if Genesis makes their version of a red sport? Only because I would near tie the Kia and Infiniti interior. But the Genesis will be a step up from the Kia. We'll have to see? But no matter how good the Genesis will be? There will be plenty of people beating that 10 year old dead horse saying. Hyundai sucks.
