The Kia Stinger was launched in Malaysia last July
and made its debut here in two turbocharged forms – the 2.0 T-GDI GT-Line and
the 3.3 V6 GT, priced at RM 239,888 and RM 309,888 respectively. As it was, the
pricing of the car at point of launch was pretty aggressive, but it has now
become even more so.
When Naza Kia announced its updated sales and
service tax (SST) price list in September, the Stinger was not included in it,
the company saying then that it was still awaiting approval for it from the
finance ministry. That came at the end of last year, and sees the selling price
for both variants of the high-performance fastback sedan being revised, in this
case upwards.
The base 2.0 GT-Line now goes for RM 264,888, up by
RM 25,000 from the launch price. As for the 3.3 V6 GT, it now goes for
RM 383,888, which sees a RM 74,000 increase over that at its point of
introduction. Both prices are on-the-road without insurance, inclusive of a
five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty.
That increase sees the price gap close between it
and its primary rival here, the Mercedes-AMG C 43 4Matic, to just RM 38,000,
despite the latter also having its own price increased with the arrival of its
facelift.
The base Stinger is equipped with a 2.0 litre Theta
II turbocharged and direct-injected petrol four-cylinder offering 251 hp at
6,200 rpm and 353 Nm of torque from 1,400 to 3,500 rpm. Mated to an eight-speed
automatic transmission, the rear-wheel drive Stinger gets to 100 km/h from
standstill in six seconds flat.
As for the GT, it’s powered by a 3.3 litre Lambda II
twin-turbo V6 delivering 365 hp at 6,000 rpm and 510 Nm of torque between 1,300
and 4,500 rpm. This one does the 0-100 Km/h run in just 4.9 seconds.
