Stinger

Make
Kia
Segment
Sedan

Kia has officially withdrawn sales of its sublime Stinger in the UK, touting the EV6 GT electric crossover as its direct replacement for the halo model of the Kia lineup. This follows months of rumors this would be the case and stoked fears that one of America's most underappreciated sports sedans would suffer the same fate locally. Fortunately, we can confirm that Kia America will not be discontinuing the Stinger in America - for now.

After news broke of the Stinger's British demise, CarBuzz reached out to Kia to find out if the same move would be made in the US. "Kia America has made no official announcement on the Stinger and I can't comment on markets outside the US," a spokesperson told CarBuzz. "It remains in our lineup of award-winning vehicles."

So, if you want a sporty, stylish sedan with an available 368-horsepower V6, you can still go out and buy a Kia Stinger GT2 for $51,790. To get a similar vehicle with comparable performance from Germany with as many features as the Stinger, expect to pay closer to $60,000 for something like a BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe in M440i guise.

Kia UK says the Stinger was a "totemic" vehicle for the brand with its rear-wheel-drive layout. It also called the Stinger a "grand tourer" that could cover vast distances in both style and comfort. It's this reference to the Stinger being a GT that motivated Kia to position the EV6 GT as its replacement and, effectively, its new flagship GT.

While we agree that both cars are comfortable, high-performance models, we'd prefer to view the EV6 GT for what it is: a blisteringly quick, all-wheel-drive electric crossover. It simply isn't our vision of a true Stinger replacement, as good as it is with its insane 576-horsepower output from dual electric motors.

Paul Philpott, President & CEO for Kia UK, said that the Stinger "had a transformative effect on how people saw Kia," and that's a statement we can wholeheartedly agree with.

The Stinger will remain in production in South Korea, while Kia UK will fulfill all existing customer orders. Despite the assurances we got from Kia America, something tells us that if you want a Stinger, you should buy one sooner rather than later.