Used Kia Stinger for Sale near Washington, DC

About the Kia Stinger

The Kia Stinger was a breakthrough for the South Korean automaker. Before the Stinger’s 2018 debut, Kia had a reputation for vehicles that scored high in affordability, practicality, safety, and design. And it was a hard-earned and long-fought journey for Kia to evolve from being known for cheap cars to a lineup of credible competitors.

But that wasn’t enough. The brand had no dedicated performance car. With the former boss of BMW M now at the helm of Kia R&D, the Stinger was born. And despite its Korean name and Italian design, the Kia Stinger has the heart and soul of a German-bred sports sedan.

What are the advantages of the Kia Stinger?

Where to start? The Stinger offers a high level of style, comfort, technology, dynamics, and performance. As if those premium features weren’t enough, the Stinger starting price undercuts luxury cars with similar amenities, and Kia has one of the longest warranties in the industry.

What is the best Kia Stinger model year?

Despite its winning formula on paper and in practice, the Stinger’s specs didn’t translate into sales, and Kia discontinued the vehicle after the 2023 model year. Sold globally, the Stinger’s best sales year was 2018 when nearly 17,000 units were sold in the U.S. Sales steadily declined to less than half of that by its final year in production.

Overall, the Kia Stinger was mechanically sound and the top model didn’t see many changes, especially in performance, throughout its short lifetime. The vehicle suffered only a handful of NHTSA recalls, and consumer complaints were largely associated with the debut model for issues such as paint, rattles, and engine performance. The 2022 Stinger, specifically, had zero recalls to its name.

What are the disadvantages of the Kia Stinger?

Any vehicle with a fastback or sportback design invariably offers less rear headroom and cargo space than a traditional sedan or hatchback. But if you’re going to be spouting 365 horsepower through a twin-turbo V6, might as well do it in style. Unfortunately, style didn’t include a manual transmission, and the Stinger's fuel economy was poor. Also, what made the Stinger such a surprise was also its downfall. The Kia brand was not synonymous with high-performance products, which made consumer brand recognition a steep uphill climb.

Comparison: Is the Kia Stinger better than the Audi S5?

The Kia Stinger and Audi S5 (Sportback) are similar in size, specs, and tech. When comparing the top-of-the-line models, the Stinger GT2 and S5 Premium Plus are both equipped with turbocharged V6 engines, 8-speed automatics, all-wheel drive (AWD), and German-developed dynamics.

The Stinger tops the S5 in power (368 hp versus 349 hp) but also in weight (by about 100 pounds). The Audi beats the Kia in combined fuel economy (24 mpg versus 20 mpg) but costs several thousand dollars more. It’s a legitimate comparison between two legitimate sports sedan flavors, like Coca-Cola versus Pepsi. The key sticking point would be brand recognition and for some, Audi's four rings may be worth the extra cash.

Is the Kia Stinger a reliable car?

With minimal reported issues to its name, the Kia Stinger has an above-average score in predicted reliability and cost-to-own expenses. Additionally, as proof of Kia’s faith in its products, every vehicle comes with a 5-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty plus a 10-year/10,000-mile one for the powertrain. Not only industry-leading, these factory warranties are longer than most leases.

How fast is the Kia Stinger?

According to Kia, the base 2.0-liter, turbo-four Stinger RWD will reach 60 mph in 5.9 seconds. When upgraded with the optional 3.3-liter turbo-six and summer performance tires, the Stinger GT2 AWD 0-60 mph time is 4.7 seconds.