New Kia Stinger 330S Review

I’ve been driving a Mercedes-Benz CLA-45 AMG for nearly 12 months now. When I bought it, I was ever so close to buying a Kia Stinger GT, but stayed with the European marque. Hi there. Bob Aldons, The Car Guy, with my review on the 2020 Kia Stinger 330S

And I’m still regretting not going with the Kia Stinger. So when Kia Motors Australia offered me the opportunity to test the Kia Stinger 330S for a week, I jumped at the chance and more so I could do a back to back comparison between the CLA-45 and this car.

So to start this comparison, I’m looking at the following

Mercedes CLA-45 AMG Kia Stinger 330S

Power Output 280kw 272kw

Engine 2.0 Litre Turbo 3.3 V6 Twin-Turbo

Overall Size 4669L 1778W 1415H 4830L 1870W 1400H

Features All Wheel Drive Rear Wheel Drive

Warranty 3 Years 7 Years

RRP Price $92,215 (plus on roads) $50,390 (plus on roads)

0-100kph 4.0 Seconds 4.9 Seconds

Service $$ (3-yrs) $2,880 $1,315

I love Exhaust Noise Interior Space

Fuel Premium Unleaded Regular Unleaded

What is it?

The Kia Stinger 330S is a V6 Twin Turbo sedan with a 8-speed automatic transmission. In a motoring world that is fast moving away from large cars, the introduction of the Kia Stinger reset the benchmark.

In overseas markets it’s also available as an All Wheel Drive, but in Australia we have the choice of two 4-cylinder and tow 6-cylinder rear wheel drive options and a few ‘limited edition’ versions from time to time.

Remember Ford Australia and General Motors Holden? As they were closing their plants, Kia Motors was launching this car.

How Much?

Kia Stinger starts off from $50,690 for the 4 cylinder model and goes to $53,690 for the Kia Stinger 330S. The GT version cost about $10,500 more. (Prices indicated are drive away in Queensland)

Comparison?

A very difficult question to answer as there’s no longer and other ‘price range’ vehicles in this category other than perhaps a Toyota Camry SX 3.5 Litre for $42072. More likely you’ll be comparing the kia Stinger to the likes of a C Series Mercedes-Benz, 5 Series BMW, Audi A5 and a Lexus GS300. All of these have number starting around $80,000 to well over $100,000 on the road.

On the road

Again with a comparison to my CLA-45, the Kia Stinger isn’t a sports car. Sure, you can take it to track days and have a great time, but the Stinger is more a Grand Tourer in its design and I like that. It’s smooth on the road with its 8-speed transmission and V6 twin-turbo engine and when asked to perform it does that with little fuss.

It has a comfort setting and a sports setting for a little bit more get up and go, but the CLA-45 has that raucous exhaust noise that can be dialled up to Track mode when the full orchestra comes to play.

If you’re a bit older and wiser, then the Kia Stinger does all that you need it to do. It’s a very comfortable 5-seater with plenty of room in the boot for carrying all sorts of gear – golf bags, prams, DIY material from Bunnings and more.

And if you needed any more reason to consider the Kia Stinger 330S, look no further than the Queensland Police Service. QPS has a number of the Stinger 330S vehicles on its fleet, particularly for highway pursuit vehicles.

“The Kia Stinger 330S goes hard, stops well and is a brilliant car handling wise” said an unnamed source from QPS.

The Stinger replaced various V8 Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores and that’s all that needs to be said.

Insurance

I use RACQ Online to provide an indicative comprehensive insurance cost for all my reviews. I use myself as the typical driver but you should know that different driver profiles will result in different outcomes

$524.27 with a $750 Excess effective 14^th May 2020

ANCAP Safety Rating

5 Stars tested in 2017, but I have no doubt that it would achieve the same ranking in 2020. After all it has all the safety gear that’s available on the market today.

Green Vehicle Guide

Combined City and Highway 10.2 Litres per 100klm

Highway 7.5 Litres per 100klm

City 4.9 Litres per 100klm

Annual Estimated Fuel Cost $2,600

Air Pollution Standard Euro 5

As for economy, I don’t think you could expect any better for the Kia Stinger. It has that wonderful twin-turbo V6 engine and on the highway it’s fairly idling to achieve 7.5 litres per 100 kilometres. Even in the city, there’s nothing wrong with 10.2 litres per 100klm and when you consider that it’s able to run on 91RON unleaded petrol that’s a significant saving.

Towing

So the Kia Stinger is never going to tow your 20’ caravan or boat, but it does an acceptable job for smaller items. It will certainly take your box trailer to the recycle station and up to 750kg without brake assistance. With electric brakes fitted, that capacity goes up to 1500kg but make sure that you know the tow ball download weight is maxxed out at 75kg.

Where do you get it?

Kia Motors Australia provided me with the Stinger 330S for evaluation. However, if you’d like to test drive one yourself, here are a few dealers to contact. It’s also a good idea to select dealers that rank well on Google My Business. I’ve taken the opportunity to show the Google Stars that these dealers have presently. The higher the star ranking the better.

Metro Kia Windsor 4 Stars

Cricks Highway Kia Springwood 3.8 Stars

Toowong Kia Toowong 4.6 Stars

Ipswich Kia Ipswich 4.3 Stars

Pacific Kia Maroochydore 5.0 Stars

Sunshine Kia Southport 4.5 Stars

Toowoomba Kia Toowoomba 3.9 Stars

Any New Car Cheaper

A part of my business since 2015 is Car Business. Car Business is professional full service new car broker based in Margate Qld, but working for customers anywhere in Australia.

I don’t advertise – a great majority of my customers are people I’ve met over the last 42 years in the industry. So whether you’re looking for a Kia Stinger like this one, a Mazda, Toyota, Hyundai, Volkswagen or any other new vehicle, let me know and I’ll see what I can do to get you that new car cheaper and without the fuss that new car dealers want to put you through. Better car deals is what I’m all about.

Summary

Do yourself a favour if you’re in the market for a larger vehicle, check out the Kia Stinger for size. You won’t be disappointed.

Phone: 0418 748 498

Email: [email protected]

Web: The Car Guy Car Business

Office: 2/265 Oxley Avenue (Corner Duffield Rd) Margate Q 4019

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