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2021 Kia Stinger Facelift Packs Some Discreet Changes

Here is the thing, ladies and gents from the design department of Kia Motors Corporation: we are now used to seeing spectacular entries from your company. The K5 is setting new styling benchmarks in the ailing sedan segment. In Europe, the Ceed family is inching closer and closer to premium territory. And the Telluride is selling like hotcakes. So why are you producing a lazy German-style “do-not-change-that-much” facelift for the sporty Stinger?!
2021 Kia Stinger 6 photos
Photo: Kia Motors Corporation
2021 Kia Stinger2021 Kia Stinger2021 Kia Stinger2021 Kia Stinger2021 Kia Stinger
Yes, we know the “if it isn't broke” argument is holding very well here. The Stinger is still a shiny spot in the South Korean automaker’s ever brighter model range star map. And, begrudgingly or not, we have to accept the natural order of things.

Thus, Kia announced first details on the updated version of its “gran turismo fastback sports sedan,” revealing it will arrive on a global level starting this year’s third quarter with a revised exterior and interior styling, alongside higher quality interior materials and a host of new infotainment technologies.

Up front, the 2021 Stinger will boast new LED headlamps and LED DRLs (daylight running lights). The rear is home to easier to spot changes – Kia also applied a new lighting signature which extends across the entire width of the trunk and features 10-LED units for each turn signal. Just like the DRLs up front the latter are also mimicking a checkered flag motif.

The Stingers featuring a higher pony count than stock will be graced with newly optional wide-bore bright silver exhaust tips plastered inside a sportier rear diffuser. Exterior changes would not be complete if a facelift does not check the alloy wheel option – so the 2021 Stinger features two new 18- and 19-inch models.

Also, the company is introducing a new exterior color in some regions as well as a couple of market-dependent new exterior packages. The higher-performance grades can be specified with a “Dark Package” introducing a black rear Stinger badge and a gloss black surround for the diffuser along with black exhaust finishers.

Clients in North America will receive the “Black Package” equipping the Stinger with new matte black 19-inch alloys, a sportier trunk lid rear wing along with other blacked-out body elements such as the mirror caps or the side fender trim.

Kia promises a new powertrain range and enhanced technologies, but details will be revealed closer to the market introduction. For now, the company is only sharing the changelog for the exterior and interior revisions. The latter has been enhanced just as subtly as the outside.

The layout stays virtually unchanged, but the designers are refining the atmosphere with a few new details – a new finish for the steering wheel, a chrome trim surround for the seven-inch digital instrument cluster and a frameless rear-view mirror are the most visible ones.

According to the selected grade there is new contrast stitching, an aluminum or carbon fiber-style center console and the dashboard has received a glossy black finish along with a reworked ambient light system now featuring 64 shades to choose from.

Every market will get the updated 10.25-inch central touchscreen, but only South Korean fans can select the new “Dark Brown” ambiance in conjunction with diamond quilted Nappa leather seats. Alternatively, the automaker’s global markets have other upholstery choices: Nappa leather in Saturn Black, Red or Beige and a Saturn Black wrap for the suede fabric that also includes chain-patterned red contrast stitching.
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About the author: Aurel Niculescu
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Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution.
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