2021 Kia Stinger GT track test and performance review

CarExpert

Chris Atkinson loves driving cars at the track, but loves them even more when they're turbocharged rear-wheel drive sedans! Chris gets behind the wheel of the 2021 Kia Stinger GT to set a lap time at the track and figure out whether the Stinger is as quick in a straight line as it is around a track.  More Kia content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/kia More Kia Stinger content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/kia/stinger  Lap time leaderboard: https://www.carexpert.com.au/lap-times/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=review&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=other-video  Skip Ahead: Intro: 00:00 Driving position: 00:36 Powertrain: 01:36 0-100km/h: 02:56 Handling and chassis: 03:11 Hot lap: 05:11 Final thoughts: 06:20  We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.  Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.  Subscribe to Car Expert: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7DvMhvy3H7ntEgn9n3xQcQ?sub_confirmation=1  You'll find us dropping new video content three times a week. If you'd like to ask a question about one of our videos, simply leave us a comment. If you'd like to give us any feedback on our content, feel free to email us, or alternatively, hit us up on social media.  Finally, we want this channel to grow with your support and feedback. If there's anything you don't like or would like to see us change, we'd love to hear from you!  Follow us on social media to see what we're up to and to ask any questions!  CarExpert: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarExpertAus Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/CarExpertAus Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carexpert.com.au  Paul Maric: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulMaric Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/PaulMaric Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PaulMaric  #kia #stinger #review @KiaAustralia

Transcript

00:00 Hey guys, Atco here and we're back at Queensland Raceway, our test track, and as you might

00:09 be able to tell, we're in a real drive car today, the Kia Stinger GT.

00:12 A pretty strong engine up front, twin turbo V6, 274 kilowatts and 510 newton metres of

00:18 torque.

00:19 It's my first time in this car actually, so it's a pretty exciting day, because I've heard

00:23 some really good things about this car, and it seems like a lot of fun, but can it do

00:28 a lap time?

00:29 Can't wait to see how it stacks up on the track compared to the other cars, because

00:32 it's got some pretty good potential.

00:35 Alright, let's talk about driving position and the cockpit.

00:40 Initial impressions are pretty good.

00:42 The seat at first felt a bit lazy, but as soon as I put it in sport mode, the side bolsters

00:47 came in and hugged me a lot tighter, and it actually feels really good, really supportive

00:51 without being a crazy deep bucket seat, so for everyday driving, great.

00:55 Visibility is awesome.

00:56 It actually feels like you're in a much smaller car than the Kia actually is, so perspective-wise,

01:02 you're right on top of the car, you can really attack, you can feel like you can place the

01:06 car exactly where you want it, which is pretty critical on the track.

01:10 Coming inside, the steering wheel, good size and shape, love the flat bottom.

01:14 I would have liked an Alcantara finish, just for a bit more grip and sweaty palms, just

01:19 to take that away, but apart from that, really good effort there.

01:23 Pedal shift, but it is an 8-speed auto, so I will use the pedal shifts, but I'll be interested

01:27 to see whether it stays in gear or actually you have to use it like a proper manual.

01:32 Apart from that, I can't really complain about the interior.

01:35 It all stacks up and looks pretty good.

01:37 Alright, so let's talk powertrain.

01:40 Generally, I'm pretty impressed, like the engine just seems always there, I can pick

01:45 up the throttle nicely, and if anything, it's more a game of traction control with my foot,

01:51 so I can't get completely on it, there's more than enough torque, 510Nm and the power

01:56 at 274kW, it's pretty solid.

01:59 And as you'd expect from a twin-turbo V6, like the power band's reasonably wide as well,

02:03 and I think it starts at 1300rpm and all the way up to 4500, the torque curve, so really

02:10 you can be in the wrong gear and it doesn't really matter, it just seems to pull out.

02:14 So that's super positive and great for on-road driving as well, because it's just flexible,

02:18 it doesn't really matter what gear I'm in, I get on the throttle and she goes, so that's

02:23 great.

02:24 Transmission feels alright, the differential's working, I've had a few slides already and

02:29 it seems pretty reactive to my requests, which is always nice, sometimes you can pull a paddle

02:35 and nothing happens, but here it seems pretty reactive, good upshifts, so no complaints

02:42 there at all.

02:43 I did the 0-100km/h time, I got 5.2, I just gave it a couple of cracks and that's not

02:46 far off the claimed 4.9, we've got a full tank of fuel, it's not really a focus today

02:51 and the fact that I'm within a couple of tenths is pretty impressive and the way the launch

02:56 control system works is super easy, put it in sport mode, traction control off, off the

03:02 brake pedal and bang, a 5.0-100km/h, so that's pretty impressive, especially in a rear-wheel

03:07 drive car, it's always hard to get the traction down and it had no issue at all, it really

03:10 controlled it well.

03:14 So now let's talk about handling and this is going to be the critical part of a lap

03:18 time.

03:20 Suspension feels pretty good, but maybe just a touch firm in certain areas.

03:30 Steering is good, the cool thing is, okay I've got a bit of understeer there, but I

03:34 can also make it oversteer, so the chassis seems nicely balanced, I can control it, go

03:39 in with a bit of understeer, a bit of throttle and slide out of it, no problem.

03:45 So for me, the chassis is feeling really good, I think the tyres hurt it a little bit, they're

03:54 just the standard Michelin Pilot 4s, not the S version which are a bit better and obviously

03:59 the Cup 2s which would be amazing, so it's a good compromised tyre, it's not going to

04:04 be amazing on the track, but generally they feel okay, they haven't dropped away yet,

04:10 but it is an issue you can have with road tyres that pretty soon after the first lap

04:16 they start to drop away, so that can be a problem.

04:20 Finally the brake pedal feels decent, but there is just a little bit of lack of control

04:26 there, a couple of times it had it go firm on me and a couple of other times not, and

04:32 the problem with that is the inconsistency, it's hard to fully commit on the track not

04:36 knowing how it's going to react.

04:38 The smoother you are with the application, then the better the control, if you jump on

04:44 it quickly it probably thinks you're in an emergency stop and it tries to react and brings

04:48 the ABS in a bit quicker.

04:50 Alright, so now let's get a hot lap started, I've messed around with the settings and tried

04:54 a few different things, for me the best setting is basically sports mode, differential, engine,

04:59 suspension, everything in sport, traction control off and ESC off, the only thing with

05:03 that is that you've got to really watch the throttle pedal, I've got to really manage

05:07 the power going onto the straight, but if I can do that well I think I can do a pretty

05:11 good lap time.

05:12 Alright, so that's the first lap, I've got the ABS on, I've got the clutch on, I've got

05:19 the brakes on, I've got the brakes on, I've got the clutch on, I've got the brakes on,

05:26 I've got the clutch on.

05:34 Alright, so that's the first lap, I've got the ABS on, I've got the clutch on, I've got

05:42 the brakes on.

05:50 Alright, so that's the first lap.

05:57 There you go guys, a pretty solid time, 60.64 seconds.

06:26 So just over the minute mark, but I think that's a solid effort by the Stinger, it puts

06:32 us just between the Audi S4 and the Lexus LC500, but for me the real comparison is with

06:39 the RC F Lexus which did a pretty good time at 59.3, the difference is just 1.3 seconds

06:46 and under half the price, so a pretty solid job by the Stinger.

06:50 For me, what blew me away with this car was not the engine or the rear wheel drive or

06:56 all that, I was amazed by the chassis, this thing handles well and I didn't expect that

07:00 coming to the track, it's more of a touring car but it's great to have that information

07:05 for you guys, it's unbelievable, you can make it understeer, you can make it oversteer,

07:09 you can do what you basically want with it and for a driver, that's all part of the fun.

07:16 So I hope you guys enjoyed this video as much as I did, if you did, hit the like button

07:20 and don't forget to subscribe to the channel, plenty more content to come and we'll catch

07:24 you guys again soon.

07:25 Thanks for watching.

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