2023 Kia Stinger Tribute Edition
Price: $56,495 CAD
Colour: Matte Grey
True blue GT cars are rapidly becoming the preserve of the fabulous exotica that typically comes from Europe. Plenty of ordinary cars have “Touring” somewhere in their nomenclature but few of those really offer what I would define as a true “grand tourer” experience. If you’re going to set off across Europe with your girlfriend while your wife stays home with the kids, a proper GT car is your vehicle of choice. As is their way in recent years, Kia has stepped forward to offer an alternative to the usual Euro options in this segment. The Stinger is a proper four-door Grand Tourer. It will take you to your rendezvous in Switzerland as well as any of its higher priced rivals. It’s time to go find a girlfriend… and move to Europe.
A good GT car is defined by two things – power and comfort. On the power side of things, we get a 3.3L twin turbo V6 in the Stinger. It delivers 368 hp and 376 lb/ft of torque. This is a perfect amount of power. I think it’s worth a few words to differentiate between a GT and a sports car. The Stinger is not a sports car. It doesn’t get off the line anywhere near fast enough, it’s too heavy and just isn’t set up for pure sportiness. What it is designed to do is deliver oodles of power while you’re pounding down the highway. That’s where this power plant shines. The turbo lag negates off the line grunt but when it’s spooling on the highway it delivers everything you need to slam past losers who don’t have a proper GT car nor girlfriend.
Comfort is the other side of the GT coin. The Stinger is very comfortable. I didn’t hurt myself getting in and out of it and the seats cupped me gently as I cruised around town. If you can’t sit in this thing for 8 hours without wanting to slit your wrists, it’s no good. Fortunately, the Stinger shines brightly here.
I respond viscerally and instinctively to the way a car looks. It’s a pure love and hate thing for me. I love the way the Stinger looks. It’s a handsome 4-door sedan that embodies flowing lines and doesn’t overload us with “sporty” tinsel that some other cars of this ilk are prone to do. This is another good-looking car from Kia which is a company that clearly understands how important appearance of a vehicle is.
If you’re going to thrash your way across states, countries or continents in a car it has to provide you with the features needed to be comfortable. The 2023 Kia Stinger gives you very comfortable seats that are both heated and ventilated, a modern technology suite that allows you to dodge calls from your wife during the trip. The Stinger also has a great layout and features high quality materials that are all screwed together quite well.
The Stinger starts in the mid 50’s CAD and tops out with this Tribute model at just under 58. That’s good value given what you get. I’m amazed this car isn’t well north of 60k as that is what we’ve come to expect from cars like this.
I can’t say whether or not I’ll be successful in wooing a beautiful Italian lady to go galivanting with, but it gives me heart to know that if I do, I’ll be able to buy a car that will take us to where we need to go while still leaving me with enough money to treat her as she deserves to be treated. The 2023 Kia Stinger is a wonderful car built to a very specific purpose. While I know cars like this aren’t long for the world and will, sadly, be replaced by yet another bland and boring SUV, I’m enjoying it while it’s here.
