How do you improve the Kia Stinger?
After journalists — TFL included — and the general public heaped praise upon the new Kia Stinger, that left the company with a bit of a pickle. What’s next? Apparently that question was thrown in R&D head Albert Biermann’s direction, and his team came up with an answer: Give the Kia Stinger a drift mode. It’s obvious, really.
The 2019 Kia Stinger GTS just revealed itself at the New York Auto Show, complete with bright orange paint and some tricks up its sleeve. Now, this special edition is limited to just 800 units, so don’t expect to see them everywhere. That said, Kia worked to build upon the Stinger’s agile handling with a new dynamic all-wheel drive system, called D-AWD.
That system adds a mechanical limited slip differential to the equation. That should help balance the power between the rear wheels more effectively. There’s also new control logic for the slip control, transmission and stability control systems. The cherry on top, however, are the drive modes.
When it’s in Comfort mode, the 2019 Kia Stinger GTS will take on a slight rear bias. It will send 60 percent of the power to the rear axle, while keeping 40 percent up front. Sport mode will shift that balance again, sending 80 percent of the power to the rear wheels. Then there’s Drift mode. If you ever wanted to hang the tail end out in your Stinger, this button should help to the trick, while keeping the security of an all-wheel drive system when you need it. Put it in Drift mode, and all the power will be sent to the rear wheels. It will also hold the car in lower gears and prevent it from upshifting at the wrong time.
Under the hood, you still get the same engine as before. A 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6 manages 365 horsepower and 376 lb-ft of torque. It comes mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission.
Other updates
So there you have it. Of course, there are a few other changes the 2019 Kia Stinger GTS has from the standard GT model. Here, you get the exclusive “Federation” orange paint scheme, as well as genuine carbon fiber for the outline of the grille, side mirror caps and side vents. Around the back, you get a special GTS badge and a Stinger badge on the trunk lid.
Inside, the 2019 Kia Stinger GTS has an Alcantara steering wheel, as well as a suede-like headliner. This limited edition gets standard equipment from the GT1-trimmed Stinger, including a sunroof, a 720-watt Harman/Kardon stereo system and wireless phone charging.
The Kia Stinger GTS will go on sale in Spring 2019. Prices for the 800-unit production run start at $44,000 for a rear-wheel drive model, or $46,500 for an all-wheel drive version (excluding destination charges). Stay tuned for more updates from the 2019 New York Auto Show!
