Kia Stinger review: the sports sedan Bahrain's enthusiasts slept on
4.2/5MotorsSouq Editorial Team
Buy the Stinger GT if you want genuine sports-sedan pace and a rear-wheel-drive chassis for meaningfully less than a 4 Series or A5, and you accept that Kia's performance-car resale and specialist support in Bahrain will never match the Germans. The 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 is the engine to have; skip the base 2.0-litre unless the discount is significant.
Pros
- 3.3L twin-turbo V6 genuinely embarrasses pricier rivals on pace
- Sorted rear-wheel-drive chassis with real body control
- Heavily discounted used relative to its German rivals
- Distinctive five-door fastback practicality
Cons
- Smaller specialist support network in Bahrain than BMW or Audi
- Real-world fuel consumption around 11-12 L/100 km on the V6
- Production has ended, so long-term parts supply is a question mark
The Stinger was Kia's most credible attempt yet at a genuine driver's car, and the GT-spec 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 backs that up with real numbers: 366 hp, 510 Nm from just above idle, and a 0-100 km/h time that embarrasses cars costing considerably more. It sounds properly good doing it too, which was not something anyone expected from this badge a decade earlier.
Why it never became common here
Bahraini buyers with this budget default to German badges almost by reflex, and Kia's own dealer network was built around SUVs, not a rear-wheel-drive fastback sedan. Production ending globally in 2023 without a direct successor has only reinforced the Stinger's status as a car enthusiasts respect rather than one showrooms move in volume.
On the road the chassis is the real story: a properly sorted rear-wheel-drive setup with sharp turn-in and body control that stays composed through Bahrain's faster interchanges, backed by brakes strong enough to match the engine's pace. The ride is firmer than a typical Kia, deliberately so, and it trades some of the brand's usual comfort bias for genuine agility.
Running one means accepting a smaller specialist network than a BMW or Audi enjoys here, real fuel consumption in the 11-12 L/100 km range when driven as intended, and a resale curve that has already dropped hard simply because the car never built a following at new-car prices. For a used buyer chasing performance per dinar, that curve is the opportunity.