2021 Kia Stinger facelift officially makes its global debut after the unveiling earlier last month! The new Stinger will come with a new 2.5-litre turbocharged engine, new larger infotainment and plenty of new ADAS features.

Other than its sleeker new looks, Kia has also further refined the engines that powered the Stinger. The performance sedan will still be powered by an updated Lambda 3.3-litre T-GDi (turbocharged gasoline direct injection) V6 engine and Theta 2.0-litre turbocharged engine.

Kia engineers have added a new Electronic Variable Exhaust Valve system that will enhance the exhaust note when sports mode is activated. The addition of the system also gave the engine an extra squeeze of power to a total of 373 PS (previously 370 PS). Torque output remains the same at 510 Nm between 1,300 – 4,500 rpm.

Kia has also added the availability of a new Smartstream 2.5-litre T-GDi (turbocharged gasoline direct injection) that produces 304 PS at 5,800 rpm and 422 Nm between 1,650 and 4,000 rpm to the engine line-up. Unfortunately, this engine is available only for the USA market.

All 3 engines will still be paired to an 8-speed conventional automatic transmission.

Kia has also updated the Stinger’s infotainment systems and digital driver displays. Depending on market, the Stinger will now have an optional 10.25-inch touchscreen display. Like the recently launched fourth generation 2020 Kia Carnival, the Stinger’s Bluetooth connection also allows users to connect up to 2 mobile devices at the same time.

The display is also highly customisable so users can arrange the split-screen display to suit their preference. The infotainment system also comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

The unique part of the Stinger’s new infotainment is its voice control system that allows users to control and adjust the car’s functions like the heating and ventilation, audio and navigation.

As mentioned, the 10.25-inch display is optional for owners to make the upgrade. Those preferring not to upgrade will also get a larger 8-inch touchscreen display. The narrow bezel display will replace the outgoing 7-inch system and will also come with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Other than that, Kia also has 2 instrument cluster displays for drivers to pick from. One of which is a 4.2-inch colour-TFT LCD cluster that will replace the old 3.5-inch mono-TFT cluster.

Drivers can opt to upgrade to a 7-inch Supervision cluster that features vivid graphics for different driving modes and deliver crystal-clear information.

Like the updated Kia Rio, the Stinger will also feature Kia’s new “connected car” system known as the Uvo App. The app allows owners to remotely start their cars thanks to technologies like the Remote Engine Start System and, depending on market, even pre-activate the Stinger’s seat heating and ventilation functions.

Other than being more connected than ever, the new Kia Stinger is also safer than before. While the original ADAS equipment is still available, they have also been updated.

Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA) has now been upgraded to identify oncoming traffic on the other side of the road when at a junction. It also has an increased activation range.

Lane Keep Assist in the Stinger can now detect the edge of the road in addition to just the road lines. Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist (BCA) will replace Blind-Spot Collision Warning (BCW) so it also assists by applying the brakes rather than just warning the driver.

Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA) has also been upgraded to help prevent collisions with crossing vehicles when the Stinger is reversing.

New to the Stinger’s ADAS are Safe Exit Warning (SEW) that detects vehicles around the car when parked and alerts passengers not to alight when there is traffic, Lane Following Assist (LFA), Highway Driving Assist (HDA) aka Adaptive Cruise Control, and Rear Occupant Alert (ROA) that will warn drivers if they have left behind pets or children when they exit the car.

One more cutting edge ADAS on the Stinger is the Blind-Spot View Monitor (BVM) that will help eliminate the driver’s left and right-side blind spots by displaying a high-resolution video feed on the Supervision digital instrument cluster. BVM will be activated whenever the driver turns on the indicator lights.

Sales of the new Kia Stinger is expected to start in Q3 of 2020 in South Korea while the rest of the world will have to wait until Q4.