Stinger update reveal leaves question mark

A mid-life facelift gives the Stinger a racier look. But does it step up to an engine that delivers extra performance punch?

SUBLTE exterior styling tweaks, specification improvements but will there be an engine change?

Kia is still sparing its Stinger audience core detail about what changes, if any, have occurred under the bonnet in divulging a mid-live revision of the rear-drive sports fastback after three years on the road.

Information and images have been sent out from Seoul today, but there’s no word yet about specific local market plans for the car, whose availability to international markets is expected to begin from year-end.

Changes to the front end are limited to revised headlights, with completely redesigned internals and LED signatures and the rear’s LED signature now lights up across the width of the boot lid. Plus the indicators comprise a collection of 10 individual LED units each, arranged in a grid pattern to mimic the appearance of a chequered flag used in motorsport to signal the end of a race.

A slightly updated bumper design can also be seen at the rear, along with larger exhaust tips that will hopefully result in a more resonant exhaust note.

As for talk of it moving to Hyundai group's new and more powerful 279kW and 530Nm 3.5-litre twin turbo V6 in place of the current 272kW and 510Nm 3.3-litre turbo six?

Kia’s response to that conjecture is to feed the speculation machine all the more.

It simply says it will “reveal more details … including its new powertrain lineup and technologies” at a time closer to when it hits the road in South Korea. In respect that, it offers only that this will be a third quarter introduction. 

The brand says changes to the extertior appearance are to amplify its gran turismo character and add a new touch of drama. The intent is also to give buyers more options for customisation.

Two new 18-inch and 19-inch aluminium alloy wheels are also introduced with intricate, geometric designs which enhance the sporty, grand tourer nature of the car.

Inside? While the basic cabin architecture remains unchanged, there are visual and material upgrades to create a more luxurious ambience. 

The lower section of the steering wheel features a new metallic finish, matching the chrome bezel that now surrounds the 7.0-inch fully-digital instrument cluster. The latter is designed to provide crystal clear information to drivers via its high-definition display. The rear-view mirror is now frameless.

Depending on specification, the dashboard and doors are finished with new contrast stitching while the centre console is available with aluminium or carbon fibre-style trim. 

Sitting atop the dash is Kia’s upgraded 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment and navigation system, accented by a new glossy black finish along the front of the dash. The cabin also features a new mood lighting system, allowing drivers to select one of 64 colours to subtly alter the character of the cabin.

Interior trims also alter. For Kia’s global markets, new choices include Nappa leather upholstery finished in Saturn Black, Red or Beige, alongside existing leather and synthetic leather options. A new Saturn Black option finishes the seats in black suede with contrasting red stitching in a ‘chain’ pattern designed to mimic the links in a watch strap.

Exterior packages have also been announced. For high-performance variants in many markets worldwide, a new ‘Dark Package’ brings with it a gloss black diffuser surround and black wide-bore muffler tips. The Stinger emblem on the tailgate is also finished in black.

Sadly, only North America achieves a ‘Black Package’ that includes new 19-inch matte black lightweight wheels, a new rear wing for the boot lid, and blacked out mirror caps and side fender trim.

The bigger question aboiut Stinger is this: Will it last beyond this current generation?

There’s no doubt that, for all the halo effect it’s had on the Kia brand image, the car itself has done nothing much to support ‘build it and they will’ come thought in respect to their being a healthy market for reasonably priced rear-drive six-cylinder sports sedans. Frankly, that hasn’t happened: In many markets, where volumes have likely failed to hit prediction. NZ likely stands as the only place where it has achieved about expectation.

Kia’s concern about this has been long-standing. It obviously feels it has to stay the course with the current car and why not? The big investments have been made. The cost of building it are relatively minor by comparison to those that went into its creation.

However, don’t imagine they’ll simply laugh it off. At last year’s Frankfurt auto show, Gregory Guillaume, VP and head designer for Kia in Germany and one of the designers, acknowledged that global sales have not met expectations at the automaker, and that the North American market has proven to be particularly disappointing.

“We did want to be successful at least in America, the market where we thought there is a chance that it works.”

Stonic sizing up for NZ?

A mid-life refresh has seen Kia make its cheerful sub-Seltos crossover available to more markets.

WITH the Seltos setting the compact crossover sector alight, will Kia here try its luck with an even smaller offer? 

The question arises with the brand have determined to allow its Stonic baby into this part of the world.

Kia in Australia, which often works in conjunction with the brand’s New Zealand operation to secure specific models, has already confirmed it’s having a punt with the model.

Release across the Tasman is timed for late year, with detail about price and specification has yet to be revealed.

Designed to take on the Mazda CX-3, Nissan Juke, and Hyundai Venue and based on a platform shared by the Rio small hatch, Stonic has been in production out of South Korea since 2017, but to date has been restricted its home market, China, plus western Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

However, the release of a mid-life update has also determined Kia to allow it to roam into new territories and, though the local distributor’s comments’ provider says it is unable to offer thought, conceivably New Zealand could be on the touring agenda.

Certainly, the car could be seen as a valuable asset to provide as permanent fill-in within the sub-$30,000 zone, which Kia knows is a sweet spot to pull first-time crossover buyers. That’s exactly where the Seltos was aimed on launch last November, with a limited-time introduction that allowed the entry LX to be offered for $26,990 – so, $4000 below the full list price is now carries. This strategy delivered a great start for the car – with 1000 sales within three months – and created a waiting list that took months to clear.

The Stonic’s update would surely be tasty to Kiwis as it brings an extensive rework in looks, technology and safety equipment for the street-sharp five seater. 

Safety credentials include autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, and automatic high beams and wipers.

An 8.0-inch infotainment system hosts Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The facelift introduces a new 1.0-litre turbo petrol mild hybrid, augmented by a 48volt integrated belt-driven starter generator and a small lithium-ion battery. The output varies, with the seven-speed DCT auto producing 88kW and 200Nm, and the manual developing 74kW and 168Nm. By comparision the Seltos runs a four-cylinder 2.0-litre petrol making 110kW and 180Nm in marriage to an eight-stage transmission.

The latter transmission is Kia’s bespoke iMT ‘box which uses ‘drive-by-wire’ to electronically manage the clutch operation.

Stonic’s primary role in the UK and Europe has been to conquer customers who remain stubbornly loyal to European volume brands.

Kia identified the subcompact SUV/crossover segment as a niche market that had become Europe's fastest-growing sector, accounting for seven percent of the total SUV and crossover market and also displaying the lowest brand loyalty, with customers open to change and with no tradition or history.

Design has been the main purchasing driver in the sector, Kia says, and effort has been made to make this model stand out. Hence, for instance, why it has the highest customisation options of any Kia with 20 two-tone body colour combinations in nine body colours and five roof colours. 

Although Kia calls the Stonic an SUV, it lacks four-wheel-drive. And hasn’t suffered for it. Uptake of four-wheel-drive models was less than 10 percent in the subcompact market three years ago and it has since fallen further.

And if you’re wondering about the etymology of the name? According to Kia it’s a name is a portmanteau of ‘speedy’ and ‘tonic.’ The first apparently refers to the car’s small size and agility. Meanwhile, the tonic is referenced here is the first or primary note in a diatonic musical scale, not the stuff that works with gin.

Diesel only for Sorento’s start

Kindred Koreans the Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe remain in a race to reach New Zealand. Which will be first with a breakthrough hybrid drivetrain?

Europe has first dibs on these Kia Sorento hybrids heading down the production line.

FACTORY determination to give Europe priority means headline-making high-tech hybrid petrol drivetrains will not include on the launch menu for Kia’s Sorento here.

This has been made clear in additional information provisioned in the wake of a recent media update about the car from the New Zealand distributor.

The extra comment confirms the model’s local release is running late, as result of the factory having retuned production to favour larger more important, left-hand-drive markets, but also reiterates the model will be here before year-end, though in respect to actual timing the only comment is “fourth quarter.”

Nonetheless, Kia NZ opened the order book on August 3 and has advised potential customers to lodge their interest on a dedicated web channel. 

The Auckland-sited make has not discounted getting the hybrid powertrains, according to the information received, but when is not clear. 

“The hybrid only just went into production recently in Korea and Europe has first dibs of initial supplies.”

The petrol-electric units format in mild and plug-in recharged formats and marry to a 1.6-litre petrol engine, and Hyundai New Zealand is also chasing them for Sorento’s sister ship, the Santa Fe, which is also arriving here soon in an altered 2021 guise.

the updated Sorento (above) and Sante Fe (below) move to a new platform and adopt fresh technologies.

The hybrids give the brands opportunity to retire the long-serving 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine but the cars still configure with a 3.5-litre V6 engine, though the latter has not featured in the NZ spec for some time.

The conjoined brands international view is that the hybrid units have potential to ultimately become the key choice for the seven-seater sports utilities, on strength of their performance and efficiency.

In June Hyundai New Zealand’s boss, Andy Sinclair, expressed particular enthusiasm for the powertrains, seeing them as a key factor in elevating Santa Fe’s status, particularly as a foil for the Toyota Highlander, which will become a hybrid model when it arrives in a new generation next year.

“We’d definitely take hybrid. I think it is very important to give our customers a choice,” Sinclair said at the time.

 The Sorento and Santa Fe still continue with the 2.2-litre turbodiesel that’s been the core choice for the past three generations of both lines. It has a new fuel injection system and improved internal components, which help to reduce the engine’s friction and improve fuel economy. Power is 148kW and torque stands at 440Nm.

It mates to a new eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, called Smartstream. A video about how this operates is attached today. 

The information relating to Kia’s strategy also says it has been affected by supply constraints from the ongoing effects of Covid19 that are being shaken out. 

“So shortages of some models are inevitable, but Kia is working hard to smooth these out.

“The run-out of current Sorento is going well and should be pretty well exhausted as the new model arrives, so timing shouldn’t be too much of an issue there. Always a bit of a balancing act, regardless of the market conditions.”

The new Sorento marketing programme that started on Monday is to build awareness of the new model ahead of its arrival and elicit forward orders, much like Kia did very successfully with the Seltos last year, the information states. 

the hybrid drivetrain, seen here in a Sorento, is a big pitch by the conjoined Korean makes.

The 1.6-litre is the smallest-capacity engine yet for the Santa Fe and Sorento yet is hardly a weakling, being turbocharged. Though efficiency data has yet to be released, its maker – Hyundai, of course - has indicated a huge improvement in respect to economy and emissions. 

The unit has been designed expressly to work in a hybrid setting and initially comes in a ‘mild’ format, outputting 169kW. The plug-in rechargeable format has even more oomph. It swaps out the 1.49kWh lithium ion battery for a 13.9kWh unit that can be replenished off household mains or a fast charger.

The PHEV model’s electric motor makes 97kW in isolation, but the drivetrain’s combined maximum output is 194kW and 350Nm of torque.

Both hybrid powertrains are hitched to a newly developed six-speed automatic transmission.

They feature a new low-pressure exhaust gas recirculation system and continuously variable valve timing, which Hyundai claims improves fuel efficiency by five percent and decreases emissions by 12 percent in its own right.

The hybrids also have the same four-wheel-drive system as the diesel, but are also being built in front-drive format.

The models’ all-wheel drive now takes a terrain mode selector, which offers specific setups for snow, gravel and mud. The drivetrain also comes with three driving modes – Eco, Comfort and Sport – which can deactivate drive to the rear axle to improve fuel efficiency or distribute the engine’s torque across the  axles for extra stability, sending either 35 percent or 50 percent of the engine’s power to the rear wheels.

kia sorento (above) and Hyundai Santa Fe (below). Which do you prefer?

The new models are easily picked in the streetscape, with much updated styling for each. What is not so obvious is that they have switched to a completely different platform to that underpinning the outgoing cars, this being a platform developed for a Hyundai Sonata sedan sold in the United States and China. The footprint has grown slightly, but more importantly the change unlocks additional interior room.

The national distributors have yet to provision specification details however some inkling about what’s coming, at least for Sorento, can likely be gleaned from detail shared out of Australia, where the car is launching in a couple of weeks.

The line there spans four derivatives. Standard fare includes a “segment-first” front centre side airbag, between driver and passenger. A 10.25 inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Multi Connection Bluetooth also configures. Australia’s flagship, called GT-Line, represents with a 12.3 inch digital instrument cluster, Blind Spot View Monitor, a shift-by-wire dial instead of a gear lever and remote smart parking assist.

Special K entering the EV-sphere?

Kia building a Porsche Taycan competitor? Imagine.

SHOCK news for anyone imagining Kia’s electric vehicle aspiration settles where it presently plugs, with the compact Niro.

 Latest from the Hyundai sub-brand is that while it still stick true to running the battery assault primarily with crossovers, the future fare will be much more adventurous – in shape and technology.

 Particularly exciting is talk about a product coming out next year; a high-riding luxury crossover with a sedan-esque shell that it is specifically targeting high-performance electric cars.

 While yet unseen in production form – indeed, it doesn’t even have a name at present (the in-house designation is simply ‘Kia CV’) – the shape of the newcomer model mightn’t seem wholly unknown, as the brand has let slip that it will draw strongly off the concept seen here.

This is the Imagine, a styling study that made quite an impression on its global unveiling at the 2019 Geneva motor show.

The car that will emerge is described as Kia’s first dedicated electric vehicle – to draw distinction from Niro and Hyundai’s Kona EV being very close in terms of engineering make-up, no matter that Kia uses a different battery to enable range superiority.

Even so, it’s not a 100 percent Kia in that it is going to base off Hyundai’s E-GMP platform which will underpin the parent’s own electric SUV, labelled the ‘45’. 

Indeed. being scalable, the new platform will be the launchpad for a whole host of electric Hyundai and Kia models. The latter said last week it is planning to have 11 EVs on sale in the next five years. Hyundai has indicated similar aspiration, though it has yet to cite an exact target number. 

What’s also hugely interesting about the Imagine’s showroom equivalent is that it will be set up to use an ultra-fast 800-volt battery system that could bring 15 minute EV pit stops to the masses.

To date, the only production EV with that capability is the Porsche Taycan, which with a peak charge of 270 kiloWatts can achieve a charge of five percent to 80 percent in about 20 minutes. That’s with the right kind of charging network in place, of course; you’re talking about 300kW charging stations.

Kia is talking about its car will have a range of just over 300kms, which is hardly going to impress Tesla-rati and in fact isn’t a lot more than a Niro. But, then, it could be sitting in the replenishment phase for much less time. And it will also be ludicrously quick, with 0-100kmh in under three seconds vowed for the hottest version. That’s comparable to the Taycan and the fastest Teslas and, obviously, a lot faster than any other car Kia has ever created.

There’s one small disappointment about the project in that the identity behind the concept is no longer with the company. Luc Donkerwolke has just resigned as chief design officer of Hyundai Group, citing personal reasons.

When Imagine was unveiled, the 54-year-old was then Kia’s head designer and, when questioned a year ago about the feasibility of Imagine hitting the street, he was quite confident it could do so with minimal change.

“I don’t see anything that’s really not feasible. There are some cost-related issues that have to be validated, but it hasn’t been done by designers who don’t understand how to build a car for production.”

Donkerwolke was lured to South Korea in 2016, having been with Volkswagen Group for 22 years. He was lured to Seoul with the promise of a free reign to set the design pathways for Hyundai and Genesis; he achieved this with radical effect, not least after achieving in 2018 the role he now leaves, a job that pulled Kia into his portfolio, succeeding Peter Schreyer.