Photo: Kia
The Stinger is many things to many people, but looking at the bigger picture, it’s the most interesting mid-size sedan available at an affordable price. Better still, Kia has snatched another 2019 Top Safety Pick+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
“The new paradigm of grand turismo, delivering high performance and supreme comfort on the open road.” That’s how Kia describes the Stinger, and the starting price is $32,990 for rear-wheel drive, 255 horsepower from a 2.0-liter turbo, and an eight-speed automatic transmission. As standard, customers are treated to heated front seats, leather upholstery, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, as well as Smart Key with Push-Button Start.
All-wheel drive adds $2,200 to the price while the 3.3-liter V6 with a twin-turbo setup and 365 horsepower commands a retail price of $39,300 excluding destination. All things considered, the Stinger offers a lot of bang for the buck in comparison to other mid-size sedans, including those from premium automakers such as BMW.
The Stinger joins the Forte sedan, Niro hybrid and plug-in hybrid, Optima, and Sorento in the 2019 Top Safety Pick+ club, achieving “good” ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraint tests. The Stinger also received a “superior” rating in terms of front crash prevention as well as “good” for headlight performance.
Bear in mind, however, that the entry-level trim doesn’t qualify for TSP+ without options. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety highlights that the award is possible provided that the Stinger is equipped with front crash prevention and one of the two available good-rated headlight systems. The standard headlights – coming in the guise of halogen projectors – rate “poor” like most in the automotive industry in this day and age.
On the same platform as the Stinger, the Genesis G70 has also been awarded the 2019 Top Safety Pick+ by the IIHS. Over in the United States, the compact executive sedan from Hyundai’s premium division has been named 2019 North American Car of the Year.
All-wheel drive adds $2,200 to the price while the 3.3-liter V6 with a twin-turbo setup and 365 horsepower commands a retail price of $39,300 excluding destination. All things considered, the Stinger offers a lot of bang for the buck in comparison to other mid-size sedans, including those from premium automakers such as BMW.
The Stinger joins the Forte sedan, Niro hybrid and plug-in hybrid, Optima, and Sorento in the 2019 Top Safety Pick+ club, achieving “good” ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraint tests. The Stinger also received a “superior” rating in terms of front crash prevention as well as “good” for headlight performance.
Bear in mind, however, that the entry-level trim doesn’t qualify for TSP+ without options. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety highlights that the award is possible provided that the Stinger is equipped with front crash prevention and one of the two available good-rated headlight systems. The standard headlights – coming in the guise of halogen projectors – rate “poor” like most in the automotive industry in this day and age.
On the same platform as the Stinger, the Genesis G70 has also been awarded the 2019 Top Safety Pick+ by the IIHS. Over in the United States, the compact executive sedan from Hyundai’s premium division has been named 2019 North American Car of the Year.
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