Kia Stinger: ‘A secret weapon with the power to rebrand Kia’

Kia Stinger
Price £31,995
0-62mph 5.8 seconds
Top speed 149mph
MPG 35.8
CO2 181g/km

Meet the Stinger! Yes, really. For some, the name may conjure up images of Corvette’s mind-blowing Stingray, one of the most lusted-after performance cars of all time; for others it might be the surface-to-air missile used by US troops. But in the (admittedly lavatorial) Love household, a “stinger” can mean only one thing: the post-curry “after burn” following a good vindaloo.

The concept car, originally unveiled in 2011, was called the GT – dull, yes, but at least it wasn’t eye-watering. I asked Kia why they’d decided to switch and was told: “Everyone felt GT was just too bland. But we think Stinger perfectly describes the style, character and intent of our new gran turismo.”

Name aside, everything about the Stinger is, in fact, pitch perfect. It’s Kia’s new flagship: a lovely, long, low, elegant car which harks back to the golden age of fastback tourers. It’s not hard-edged; it’s a speedy cruiser designed to whisk you to St Tropez and back with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of pleasure.

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It’s an important car for Kia. When it comes to building useful and affordable hatchbacks and crossovers, the Korean firm is a global player. But the Stinger shows what else they can do. It’s as if they wanted to flex their muscles and say: “Look at us! We’re cool and we can make sassy cars that will make you drool!” And that’s exactly what they’ve done. The stinger is a coupé-sized, five-door, five seater. And it really is lovely, both to drive, to look at and to travel in. It’s also the first rear-wheel-drive car the company has sold in Europe and in range-topping twin-turbo V6 mode, it is the fastest car they’ve ever made, bowling you from 0-60mph in just 4.7 seconds.

The problem is that most people associate Kia with value, not vanity. Spending more than £30,000, most would get a bad case of badge envy and hope to step up to a BMW or an Audi (it already has more than a passing resemblance to the A5 Sportback). To counter this the Stinger comes with a massively generous equipment checklist, so that rather than feeling expensive the car begins to feel like great value – especially when you throw in its seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty. The amount of kit that Kia has managed to fit into the Stinger to keep you safe and entertains is remarkable.

There are five versions of the car available, all with turbocharged direct-injection engines and an eight-speed automatic gearbox, and all with state-of-the-art electronic driver aids and connectivity systems. Most buyers will avoid the diesel offerings and go for either the 2-litre or 3.3-litre petrol. I drove the smaller of the two. It was relentless, solid and fast – and yet still gazelle-light in terms of its handling. The car has been vigorously tested, prototypes covered 10,000km on the infamous Nürburgring in the Eifel mountains in Germany. It contains 73 challenging corners and is known as the Green Hell. It’s a brute camp for cars which can cruelly expose their shortcomings. But the Stinger totally burnt the ring (groan)!

So much for the tough stuff. What about the mollycoddling? It’s luxurious, in a roomy and leathery way, and it’s a very pleasant place to while away the miles. The wing-shaped dashboard – also covered in leather – sweeps over the 8in touchscreen. Controls are clear and intuitive. All models have satnav and head-up display, plus DAB radio with Bluetooth and music streaming. It’s splendiferous! The Stinger is a secret weapon – with the power to rebrand Kia.

Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @MartinLove166