Kia Stinger GT 2020 Review (With Bi-Modal Exhaust!) // Ultimate In-Depth REVIEW! 

Easily the stinger, nothing particularly wrong with the m340i but the Stinger GT is a nice looking car.

Well said!

Stinger GT

Stinger! We bought a stinger over the 435 GC that we were initially going to get. It helped we got a kinda special indigo edition that has the gts drivetrain. Awd with d-awd with LSD .

Stinger

Great choice! I'd love it to bits too 😁

Thanks for the great read! Glad you like yours, it is a fantastic car :)

_the heart knows what it wants_

then get the stinger, because it actually 100% for real works great as a family car. Like if you're thinking of a Subaru Outback, the Stinger is 80% as good utility-wise and better at EVERYTHING else. I replaced my Subaru Outback limited with the Stinger. I'm able to do pretty much all the same exact stuff without issue. Family of 4 with my 85lb dog can go on weekend trips.

Genesis GV70?

Thanks Sam, great insight! I have heard the 4cyl is a great little engine too, so don't feel a need to justify your purchase - they're a very cool car 😀

Great way to put it! What's your favourite thing about yours? 😊

Agree Ross. It is a great car to drive daily and a fantastic car on a long trip. I have done the Melbourne - Sydney trip countless times in ll my cars over the years, and I have had some rippers, but nothing comes close to the Stinger on a long trip. Superbly comfortable and supreme power when you need it. An absolute pleasure to drive. It really is a Grand Tourer at its best

Kia could double sales if they better market the versatility. Perhaps they could give a roof rack option and a 'family' interior package with tougher mats and material in the back seats. Then target dads saying 'think you need a boring CUV on stilts to get the family around...think again.

Might not be a bad idea, it should be out within 12 months :)

Revamped will be mostly very light cosmetic changes to headlights and tail lights. You should be able to get great deals on unsold 2020 very soon. I saved quite a lot of money by waiting a year before buying my slightly used (20 000 km) 2018 Stinger GT Limited back in August of 2019 from a local Kia dealer. Doug DeMuro did the same recently, but he got even luckier than me, he found a brand new unsold 2018 for a bargain price! Shop around!

See the upcoming changes on the Korean channels. Bigger entertainment screen, bigger IP LCD w/lane change cameras, ambient lighting, new 2.5 liter engine, quilted Napa leather, etc.

@@havok3344 Not sure if the 2.5l will not be available in all markets. Pity because that would have been a tough call as to whether to go for that instead of the 3.3l. There seems to be some indication that it might be in Korean and US (maybe North American) markets but its not necessarily going to be sold in European/UK (where I'm based. If some or all of the new items mentioned above find their way to the UK market I'm very interested, however the depreciation on preowned, nearly new models is equally appealing. I have time to make a decision. I also understand it might be the intention of Kia to supply some option packs. Have to wait and see what they are for my market I guess, or until their officially announced. Hoping the lane changing cameras come to our market - definitely a really cool gadget and useful for safety. The 10.25inch infotainment screen was a nice addition. Also interested to see what the exhaust changes have been made, or sound like. I probably wouldn't have bothered with an after-market but if its an option on the 3.3l or standard (even better) it's very tempting. :D Wheel alloys have changed too, but I didn't mind the original, they looked OK to me. Also heard that the Brembos may also now be an item in the option packs. Also heard in the Korean market that the base 3.3l price is slight decreased which I guess offsets some of the cost of the add-on packs. Just have to wait for the official offerings for the respective markets (outside of Korea) to be confirmed along with availability dates.

We foolishly decided to get a 2020 GT, in Orange. Foolish because we did it without looking into when the facelifted model was coming out. I regret it now seeing that updated instrument cluster, and the bigger infotainment screen. 🥺

Thanks MaN! That is one of the only reasons why people wont buy this car, tragedy :(

Completely agree about badge snobbery. I looked at a BM, Audi and Merc and compared performance and standard features and price and the Stinger wins by the length of the Flemington straight. I bought a Cerato GT last year and was thrilled with it. Even more enamoured with my Stinger. A chap who owns a Porsche looked at mine and could not believe the high quality of it compared to his Porsche.

Thank you, I really appreciate it! Glad to have you around the channel :)

Thanks Wendy! What colour did you choose for yours?!

@@CarSauce I bought a red GT Line a year ago. My first "real" car was a Mazda 323 GT, so maybe I was destined to buy a Stinger. And I did see the personalised Stinger Kia did for Rafa Nadal at the Australian Open in Melbourne in January 2018. It was red too.

I can see that! Just wish it sounded a little better, though that's an easy exhaust fix 😉

@@CarSauce I don't actually mind it the way it is with the bimodal exhaust system. It growls when you accelerate yet it quietens down when in gear. The noise reduction is great on a long trip from Melbourne to Sydney

Thanks Alex! I really liked the colour too but it became a little dirty very quickly - I'd probably prefer the black 😉 What's your favourite thing about yours?

@@CarSauce We'll i have just a base GT, i love the design of the car, and the power, i don't like the fact that some things reset after i shut it off, for example. It goes back to comfort mode, i also don't like the gas saving feature that shuts off the engine at a red light or when u come to a complete stop.. again that's also a feature that resets after shutting down. Can't wait for the 2021 model hopefully we get a power increase 🙂.. Thanks so much for uploading the video.. Blessings ❤ be safe..

@@CarSauce I wanted to get the exact car you drove in this review. My wife wanted the black one. We compromised and got the black one. I love black cars as I think they look sporty and also classy. The only thing is they do get dirty so constantly have to wash them. I enjoy doing it so it is no real problem

@@belvederedog3015 ‘we compromised’ LOL Aka: you caved 🤣

Congratulations Andre! What colour did you choose 😀

Absolutely Ash, I think it's fantastic - really opened my eyes driving it for the week 😊

Thanks for the kind words! Id be honoured 😉

Thank you!

Thanks John! Yes... A lot of "fun", let's leave it at that 😜

John Doherty ....I get 7.4 through 8.6 litres per hundred out of mine....but then I do some long commutes in it....

Thank you!

I'm very jealous! I really can't wait to get behind the wheel of the facelift 🙂

@@CarSauce I really like the new infotainment screen in the facelift. The rest i can live without. Mines a 2018 and it was a fantastic used buy with only 9,000 on the clock. Not a demo either. Great review btw!

Thanks Leon! Truly a beautiful, unique design 😀

Take the badges off and have an Audi A5 liftback next to it and people would get confused as to which is which. The tiger nose will become as famous as the kidney grill in time as more people discover Kias.

Thanks mate, I appreciate it! The SSV would have been a lot of fun, but honestly you'll get the same enjoyment and more luxury out of the Stinger (as much as I love VF Commies 😜) See you around the channel!

My 2020 DCBlue GT (red leather, obviously!) arrives in 5 days time. God damn it it's like Christmas as a kid all over again. Make it five days time, now!

@@Forscythe80 haha congratulations mate! It's a great car 😀

The DC blue is fantastic and the light grey interior in the Nightsky edition is superb. Seriously thought about it before getting my black one. How often do they have meets and where? Can't find any here in Sydney unfortunately so look forward to your reply. Enjoy your stinger as I do mine

Thanks Paul! I appreciate it 😊

@@CarSauce Agreed about the review - excellent and down to earth and simple. As an ex Melbournian, did enjoy seeing some of the familiar roads. Go Pies !

Have you done the air intakes upgrade?

Thanks Claudia, you're my favourite new fan! And me too, I think about it _daily_ 😅

@@CarSauce Thanks Matt! Will keep tuning in!

Thanks Eric, very glad to have you around! And yes, I want one too 😀

Thank you, and congratulations! What spec did you get 😀

@@CarSauce Thanks!!nDeep blue GT with red interior.

With the bi modal exhaust too. :)

Thank you 😉

Interested to see what the genesis wheels look like! Thanks for the kind words 😀 What's your favourite thing about yours?

MattBrandCars my favorite thing about the Stinger is that when I am just cruising down the highway I can average almost 34 mpg for fuel economy. However, with two quick clicks of the dial I can drop it into sport mode and have all the fun I want in it. The ECO mode in the US actually has a little known feature called “Coasting”. It is OFF by default so most people don’t know about it. However, this feature disconnects the transmission when coasting. That improves fuel economy noticeably especially when coasting down hills. I love how versatile the Stinger is. It is a great daily driver but it also is a great sports sedan.

@@LearningFast That feature is also available on the Australian models. The salesman alerted me to that little known feature when I bought my Nightsky in March. Agree with you that the Stinger is an absolute joy to own and drive. Value for money is unbeatable

@@LearningFast in the “old days” that was referred to as “overdrive”.

Thank you! And yes, totally agree its a great value proposition :)

Thank you I really appreciate it! And great colour choice too 🙂 What's you're favourite thing about it?

@@CarSauce my favourite things about the Stinger are the effortless performance and the quality of the audio system.

Yep probably my two favourite things too haha, great choice

Thanks mate, really appreciate it 😊

Thanks Nawaf! Man, totally different cars! For the fun, I would get the Stinger - but the Bronco is beautiful 😁

Here in Australia, the M340i is at least $40k AUD more expensive and comes with less standard equipment! You made a great choice 😊 What do you like most about your Stinger?

@@CarSauce Number one that hit me was the design and then the price-to-features balance. Frankly, I was looking towards either XE R-Type or 330i xDrive and then Stinger came. All packed with great design and unbeatable price ... I saved quite a few bucks. Plus, a truly a good family ride as well, enough leg room unless you are behemoth. Dislikes - little/subtle noises in the cabin, paint quality not on par with others; basically quality control. Maybe infotainment could have been better, coming from Asia. 😎 No regret, enjoying!

The design is stunning and has to be one of the best value new cars on the market to date, I think you made a great choice 😉

I agree! Should be getting a 4 pot and the new V6 soon 🙂

Thanks Ray! Really appreciate it 🙂

Thanks for the detailed comment! Glad to hear you love your car 😜 If you had to choose one thing you love most, what would it be?

@@CarSauce My wife being in the passengers seat. Nothing like a stunning red head in a beautiful black car. I'm lucky I guess. LOL On a serious note, walking up to it, looking at it, knowing it is mine, and then getting into it is all part of the complete package. I know that is more than one thing. Narrowed down to one thing, the driving experience - it is that good a drive.

Yeah having it for the week I think it would be wrong of me not to floor it! 😜 What colour did you choose?

MattBrandCars the best colour, Neon Orange! Very very happy owner

Honestly you're better off changing the exhaust yourself, you'll get far better results! 😀

Thanks David! I appreciate it 😊

MattBrandCars anytime👍🏻 Correct me if I’m wrong you can get a semi-panoramic roof in them can’t you? And if so, does it come in the Night Sky model ? Cheers

@@davidpaddock362 Better late then never. Yes there is a sunroof in them and the Night Sky edition has them as standard along with the bimodal exhaust. I have a black one.

Yes I realised after sadly, but thanks for pointing it out! Damn, that sounds very annoying! I could see myself swapping that part out with polished carbon fibre though, would look very nice 😊

Hi Alain, it does have directional headlights and it also has auto dimming headlights when on high beam. It senses oncoming headlights and automatically dims the lights. Great on country roads when natural light is dark. It also has self levelling headlights. My GT does not have the auto start / stop feature. Just wish it had fog lights like the Cerato GT, Forte in your country. Like you, I love my Stinger and could not care less about what people think of the badge. It is amazing how many people have a walk around it when I am parked and come up and chat about it.

Not sure about the headlights, and no auto stop start which is a little odd! 😊

@@CarSauce My GT Limited has every single feature available, including 3D camera view. I even have the smartphone UVO remote starter app working free of charge for 5 years, which is not even available in all countries I believe. Not sure why Stingers in different countries have different features? It might be in part relative to market studies conducted prior to bringing the car to market. but I suspect government regulations might play a big role also. Here in Canada, auto start/stop supposedly helps with fuel economy (although it has been proven that it doesn't really make a difference), and that feature is annoying as hell because it's too eager to shut the engine off at a red light. It should wait a few seconds more before committing to turning off the engine. Fortunately, it can be disabled, but alas not permanently. You have to remember to press a button each time you get in, to turn it off. The only things that don't work that well are the auto rain-sensing wipers and the Lane Keep Assist which are both a little slow to react.

@@CarSauce Definitely do have them Matt. My Merc had a similar system.

Haha lol why a Boston accent? 😀 And thank you!

@@CarSauce I think it's the way you say KA! Keep up the hard work, great channel.

@@gratefuldean69 Ah haha okay gotcha, unfortunately i can see that now too 😜

Hopefully it is still around! I love the Stinger, can't wait to review the new facelift!

Haha David, me too!

Great tip! I didn't try it but I'll take your word for it 😉

Oh man I love the Sonata! Such a cool car too 😁

Congratulations! I'm very jealous!

I wanted a TLX but the price when they announced it turned me off. I am glad that it did so it put me on this vehicle and I purchased one just recently. Still in the adjustment period coming from a Corolla. But love it so far

@@B1ackAlloy1992 RIGHT!! I was using acura for a while, tsx, rsx, and I decided to check out the Aspec tlx and they wanted $47k and it's just a 4cylindef fwd with a turbo, then they charge $2k extra for the awd.

@@ifearedfate9787 Thats what makes it so crazy. Yes the car looks good but there was just toooooo many features missing if you are going to charge 49k. I live in California so calculate sales tax and fees it would be damn near 52k out the door. I already know Acura is going to go crazy with the price of the Type S but even then that car will lose features. Im sure Type S will hover close or exactly at 60k. I know Acura has lost a bit of fans after the announcement of the TLX.

@@B1ackAlloy1992 yeah I'm in California too, I went to Acura in cerritos and their argument for the price was 1) we're honda, our engines last 2)it has a turbo 3) we've been around for years we know what our cars are worth. It was just pathetic. When I talked about other options the sales manager got mad and said "I'm not here to compare brands, you either want this car or not, I have customers who are willing to pay $3k extra".And yeah the price totaled $50-53k cus of the taxes, unfortunately my area has a 10.25% tax rate.

Fingers crossed! The metallic blue is one of the nicest I've seen in person for sure :)

Yes I’m pretty sure the blue is available on the2021 stinger I have heard there is also anew metallic green option which sounds interesting I am from New Zealand and have just paid a deposit on a2021 stinger (blue) They say it will arrive in January 2021 so happy to wait and so excited

@@rogermorrison6524 Wow, I'm sure that green is also going to be a beauty! Excited to see it. Are options on cars in NZ and the US generally the same? Congrats on putting your money down for this fine piece of machinery! Can you please e-mail me pics of your car once you get it? I'd love to get a sneak peek! brian.dorner@gmail.com. Thanks!

@@briandorner7736 Hi Brian In NZ we just get the black leather upholstery and the rear wheel drive version (it would be nice to have the AWD version here as well) Sure I email you pics when I have the car - I have diarized it for January - will also have black wheels and full tints

Haha I would worry, you can still get them pretty cheap 😁

Yes it's awesome, loving pretty much all their cars! Which do you drive?

@@CarSauce preface Picanto GT turbo with Bluespark 130bhp tuning box. The car is transformed

I'm trying! I've bugged Toyota about it, hopefully they invite me to the launch 😀

@@CarSauce sweet

Good point!

Not as good as the 3 series, about on par with the m235i I reviewed. It just doesn't hook you up as much in lane. Actually, the 3 series is pretty much capable of autonomous driving it's just not allowed. Most of the infrastructure is sitting in the background, waiting to be unlocked! And I think a few people have managed to do so.

Stay tuned 😉

MattBrandCars I have one, I love it, I hope you find the same for this price point. Also the upgrade is the Stinger when the new one comes out....!!

Great taxi colour! Probably stops you from loving it as much 😉

That's kind of funny, considering it's a Korean car😁😂🤣😄

The PERFECT car to do it in :P

Yeah it's certainly not the greatest! Should be a good improvement coming with the new facelift 🤞

So then why does it fart on upshift? Even a Bentley will crackle and pop if you want it too, and that's about as GT as you can get. Apparently pops and crackles will be coming to the 2021 🤞

@@CarSauce Yes, probably a good idea. I think they are realising that it is not selling as well as they hoped as a GT car because that sort of buyer is too badge conscious, so it might be a good idea to pitch it more at the sports buyer who are more concerned with performance (and crackles and pops).

Whatever it was, I think about it a lot 😅

I mean, that was never in doubt haha

Petition for an 'LFA' style Kia NOW 😀

I bought one. Have zero regrets and far from having to justify my 67k spend including Bi-modal, tow bar (which I use for a boat) and a few other accessories, regularly have people ask me what it is, how I find it and where they can get one from. Maybe I am just not a brand snob.

In the UK every car is looked down upon if it isn't German, even brands like Lexus, we don't have Genesis here but that would do bad to. I think Kia wanted people to know it is a Kia to show what they can do, but a new brand probably would of done well with that car.

@@johndoherty2864 Hi John, totally agree with you about brand snobbery. I love my Stinger and would happily buy another without question. I would also buy the equivalent Genesis without a thought as it is affectively the same car. Keep enjoying the Stinger as I do each time I walk up to it to drive it.

I own a Genesis G70. Coworkers have asked me how much I paid for it. My response is a simple, "it's personal " No one needs to know what I paid for my vehicle. I personally recent anyone asking such a personal question. People are nosey. One of my coworkers got mad because I wouldn't tell him "I'll just look it up on the internet " Fine with me. But he still won't know what I paid for it. Never be ashamed of the vehicle that you chose for yourself. You have to pay for it, not them, and it's none of their business.

It's such a hard choice, but the 2021 G70 does look better than the 2021 Stinger in my opinion!

Only until my private race track is built 🙌

Good to know! I know the G70 has real aluminium (though more of a thin sheet than anything else) so not totally surprising 😊

True, along with the real Alcantara on the roof and interior

Have you ever measured the thickness of the aluminum in German cars?

Thanks for subscribing! You and I both hope that 😁

I said i had been flooring it (odd that you would drive to save economy if you had one for a week!). Bimodal exhaust is very average (as I said in my video) but listen to the G70 exhaust in my next review if you want to hear how bad it is without it. I think an aftermarket exhaust is the way to go. Not sure why you argue with me on that point considering I agree lol. I had no issues with the hands-free so completely disagree. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I love the blue. What colour is yours?