The updated 2021 Kia Stinger has been now revealed. This high-performance sports sedan now comes with some really interesting upgrades, which support its gran turismo character. Apart from a refreshed design, this enhanced Kia Stinger comes with Kia’s latest driver assist and safety features, as well as improved interior packaging for greater space and comfort. Also, for North American customers, the upgraded model is now also offered with a powerful new ‘Smart-stream’ 2.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine.
The new Kia Stinger will go on sale in Korea during the third quarter of 2020, with sales due to commence in many of Kia’s global markets later in the year. The 2021 Stinger comes with a range of three powerful turbocharged gasoline engines, in line with its reputation as the most performance-focused car that Kia makes. Each engine promises swift acceleration and rapid responses to driver input while offering a refined grand touring experience for steady cruises.
A new engine has been added to the Stinger line-up exclusively for North American customers. The new ‘Smart-stream’ 2.5-liter T-GDi (turbocharged gasoline direct injection) engine, producing 300 bhp of power at 5,800 rpm and a maximum torque of 422 Nm, which comes in action from 1,650 to 4,000 rpm, making it easy for drivers to build and maintain speed in almost all conditions.
The most powerful engine in the Stinger line-up, is a twin-turbo 3.3-liter T-GDi V6 from Kia’s ‘Lambda’ engine, which remains unchanged, along with an Electronic Variable Exhaust Valve system. This features a small butterfly valve in the exhaust which opens and closes, producing a more prominent, deeper exhaust note in Sport driving modes, or a quieter, more subdued exhaust note in Eco or Comfort mode. As well as enhancing the sound quality, the revised exhaust flow path helps to liberate an extra 3 bhp from the engine for a total of 368 bhp at 6,000 rpm and 510 Nm of torque, accessible from 1,300 to 4,500 rpm, giving the Stinger effortless performance everywhere.
Lastly, the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder ‘Theta’ engine, also available since the car’s launch in 2017, is also unchanged, producing 252 bhp at 6,200 rpm and 353 Nm of torque from 1,400 to 4,000 rpm. All three engines are paired with a smooth-shifting eight-speed automatic transmission, matching the car’s long-legged gran turismo personality.
Everything About The Features
Depending on market and specification, the upgraded Stinger is now available with an optional new 10.25-inch touchscreen display. Bluetooth multi-connection enables users to connect up to two mobile devices at the same time – one for hands-free phone and multimedia use; the other for media use only. The 10.25-inch system offers Apple Car-play and Android Auto as standard, with a voice control system for many of the car’s features, such as heating and ventilation, audio and navigation. The other option available is a new 8.0-inch touchscreen display with a narrow-bezel design, replacing the previous 7.0-inch system. Depending on market, the larger display also offers wireless Android Auto and Apple Car-play connectivity.
Drivers have a choice of two instrument cluster displays, based on vehicle specification. The standard 3.5-inch mono-TFT cluster is now replaced with a larger 4.2-inch color-TFT LCD cluster, delivering improved visibility and displaying a wider range of information to the driver. In addition, a fully-digital, high-resolution 7.0-inch ‘Supervision’ cluster is also available, which features full-color display with vivid graphics for different driving modes, delivering crystal-clear information to the driver.
The upgraded Stinger features a series of new ‘connected car’ features as well, to improve convenience for owners in many countries. Depending on market and vehicle specification, among these technologies is a Remote Engine Start system,Kia’s UVO App, which can be used to pre-activate the Stinger’s seat heating and ventilation functions remotely, creating a comfortable temperature before entering the car and avoiding the inconvenience of sitting on a hot or cold seat.
The upgraded Kia Stinger carries over the same Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) that were offered previously, as well as a series of new features and updates to provide even better protection for the driver, their passengers and other road users, especially with such high performance engines.
Depending on market and vehicle specification, the ADAS range in the Stinger is comprehensive, with many of the existing systems newly updated features such as, forward collision-avoidance assist (FCA), which now offers protection when turning across the road into a junction by identifying oncoming traffic on the other side of the road. Furthermore, it offers increased activation range when detecting a vehicle, pedestrian or cyclist. Lane keeping assist (LKA) is now able to detect the edge of a road, Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist (BCA) provides an enhancement over the existing Blind-Spot Collision Warning (BCW). Instead of simply warning drivers of cars in adjacent lanes on the highway, BCA helps drivers avoid a potential collision by applying differential braking
The car also comes equipped with several drive oriented features, like, Driver Attention Warning (DAW), navigation-based Smart cruise control (NSCC) helps drive around curved sections of a highway, automatically reducing the vehicle’s speed to an appropriate level before entering the curve.
The following new ADAS technologies and convenience features have been added to the Stinger for the first time:
· Safe Exit Warning (SEW) detects vehicles coming up from behind on either side of the Stinger when parked and stopped, alerting occupants with a sound and visual warning if they attempt to open the door into oncoming traffic
· Rear Occupant Alert (ROA) provides a warning to the driver if they leave behind any pets or children when they exit the car
Engine options and specs for the Stinger, will vary for different regions, but, currently, Kia India has not announced any plans to introduce the Stinger in the Indian market. At the moment, the Kia is focused on introducing the Sonet, and the company in its recent statement said that its focus would primarily be on compact and full sized SUVs for the India market.