2021 Kia Stinger GT track test and performance review
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TechTranscript
00:00Hey guys, Atko here and we're back at Queensland Raceway, our test track, and as you might
00:09be able to tell, we're in a real drive car today, the Kia Stinger GT, a pretty strong
00:14engine up front, twin turbo V6, 274kW and 510Nm of torque, it's my first time in this
00:21car actually, so it's a pretty exciting day, because I've heard some really good things
00:24about this car, and it seems like a lot of fun, but can it do a lap time, can't wait
00:30to see how it stacks up on the track compared to the other cars, because it's got some pretty
00:33good potential.
00:35Alright, let's talk about driving position and the cockpit, initial impressions are pretty
00:41good, the seat at first felt a bit lazy, but as soon as I put it in sport mode, the side
00:46bolsters came in and hugged me a lot tighter, and it actually feels really good, really
00:51supportive without being a crazy deep bucket seat, so for everyday driving, great, visibility
00:56is awesome, it actually feels like you're in a much smaller car than the Kia actually
01:00is, so perspective wise, you're right on top of the car, you can really attack, you can
01:05feel like you can place the car exactly where you want it, which is pretty critical on the
01:09track.
01:10Coming inside, the steering wheel, good size and shape, love the flat bottom, I would have
01:15liked an Alcantara finish, just for a bit more grip and sweaty palms, just to take that
01:20away, but apart from that, really good effort there.
01:23Pedal shift, but it is an 8-speed auto, so I will use the pedal shifts, but I'll be interested
01:28to see whether it stays in gear or actually you have to use it like a proper manual.
01:33Apart from that, I can't really complain about the interior, it all stacks up and looks pretty
01:36good.
01:37Alright, so let's talk powertrain, generally I'm pretty impressed, like the engine just
01:44seems always there, I can pick up the throttle nicely, and if anything, it's more a game
01:49of traction control with my foot, so I can't get completely on it, there's more than enough
01:53torque, 510Nm and the power, 274kW, it's pretty solid.
01:59And as you'd expect from a twin-turbo V6, like the power band's reasonably wide as well,
02:04and I think it starts at 1300rpm and all the way up to 4500, the torque curve, so really
02:10you can be in the wrong gear and it doesn't really matter, it just seems to pull out,
02:14so that's super positive and great for on-road driving as well, because it's just flexible,
02:18it doesn't really matter what gear I'm in, I get on the throttle, and she goes, so that's
02:24great.
02:25Transmission feels alright, the differential's working, I've had a few slides already, and
02:30it seems pretty reactive to my requests, which is always nice, sometimes you can pull a paddle
02:35and nothing happens, but here it seems pretty reactive, good upshifts, so no complaints
02:42there at all.
02:43I did the 0-100km time, I got 5.2, I just gave it a couple of cracks, and that's not
02:47far off the claimed 4.9, we've got a full tank of fuel, it's not really a focus today,
02:51and the fact that I'm within a couple of tenths is pretty impressive, and the way the launch
02:57control system works is super easy, put it in sport mode, traction control off, off the
03:02brake pedal, and bang, a 5.0-100km, so that's pretty impressive, especially in a rear-wheel
03:07drive car, it's always hard to get the traction down, and it had no issue at all, it really
03:11controlled it well.
03:15So now let's talk about handling, and this is going to be the critical part of a lap
03:18time, suspension feels pretty good, but maybe just a touch firm in certain areas, steering
03:30is good, the cool thing is, okay I've got a bit of understeer there, but I can also
03:35make it oversteer, so the chassis seems nicely balanced, I can control it, go in with a bit
03:40of understeer, a bit of throttle, and slide out of it no problem, so for me the chassis
03:49is feeling really good, I think the tyres hurt it a little bit, they're just the standard
03:55Michelin Pilot 4s, not the S versions which are a bit better, and obviously the Cup 2s
04:01which would be amazing, so it's a good compromised tyre, it's not going to be amazing on the
04:05track, but generally they feel okay, they haven't dropped away yet, but it is an issue
04:12you can have with road tyres that pretty soon after the first lap they start to drop away,
04:17so that can be a problem.
04:20Finally the brake pedal feels decent, but there is just a little bit of lack of control
04:27there, a couple of times it had it go firm on me, and a couple of other times not, and
04:32the problem with that is the inconsistency, it's hard to fully commit on the track not
04:37knowing how it's going to react.
04:38The smoother you are with the application, then the better the control, if you jump on
04:44it quickly it probably thinks you're in an emergency stop, and it tries to react and
04:48brings the ABS in a bit quicker.
04:50Alright, so now let's get a hot lap started, I've messed around with the settings and tried
04:54a few different things, for me the best setting is basically sports mode, differential, engine,
04:59suspension, everything in sport, traction control off and ESC off, the only thing with
05:04that is that you've got to really watch the throttle pedal, I've got to really manage
05:07the power going under the straight, but if I can do that well I think I can do a pretty
05:11good lap time.
05:59There you go guys, a pretty solid time, 60.64, so just over the minute mark, but I think
06:30that's a solid effort by the Stinger, it puts us just between the Audi S4 and the Lexus
06:35LC 500, but for me the real comparison is with the RC F Lexus which did a pretty good
06:42time at 59.3, the difference is just 1.3 seconds and under half the price, so a pretty solid
06:49job by the Stinger.
06:51For me, what blew me away with this car was not the engine or the rear wheel drive or
06:55all that, I was amazed by the chassis, this thing handles well and I didn't expect that
07:00coming to the track, it's more of a touring car but it's great to have that information
07:05for you guys, it is unbelievable, you can make it understeer, you can make it oversteer,
07:09you can do what you basically want with it and for a driver, that's all part of the fun.
07:16So I hope you guys enjoyed this video as much as I did, if you did hit the like button and
07:21don't forget to subscribe to the channel, plenty more content to come and we'll catch
07:24you guys again soon.