The Kia Badge Isn't Good Enough for Korean Stingers

by Steph Willems

Published: March 28th, 2017

the kia badge isn t good enough for korean stingers

It was jarring, when the 2018 Kia Stinger debuted, to see the automaker’s corporate badge prominently displayed on a desirable, rear-drive sports sedan. In spite of the sales gloom that surrounds the traditional passenger car market, some of us have wondered whether the badge alone might cause performance-minded premium car buyers to overlook the model when it appears on dealer lots.

In Korea, however, no one will be able to blame the model’s success or failure on the presence of a “Kia” badge. That’s because it won’t have one.

According to South Korea’s Pulse, Kia’s lengthy new compact sedan won’t be sold in that country with a Kia badge. While its name is the same everywhere, the automaker has apparently designed a wholly new emblem to use on Stingers sold in its home market.

That’s right, the most droolworthy car to roll out of Kia since, well, ever won’t advertise that it’s a Kia. In every other market, customers won’t have to guess what company built the vehicle. Stingers go on sale in Korea in May before arriving in the U.S. later this year.

Why the badge switcheroo? A company spokesperson, speaking with Yonhap News, implied that the automaker hoped to draw non-Korean buyers into the brand with a hot Kia-badged vehicle. At home, the company is apparently undecided on what engines to offer. The Stinger will, however, start at about 30 million won, which translates into just under $27,000 greenbacks.

Americans already know what Stingers they’ll see. The model, which shares its architecture with the upcoming Genesis G70, will bow with a 255-horsepower, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder and eight-speed automatic in base trim, with an optional twin-turbo 3.3-liter V6 making 365 hp.

[Image: Kia Motors]

#2018KiaStinger #Badge #Kia #KiaStinger #Korea #ProductPlanning

Steph Willems

More by Steph Willems

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 37 comments

Phila_DLJ on Mar 29, 2017

"Check out my Stinger!" "Stinger? Who makes it?" "Oh, don't worry about that...c'mere and check it out!" "I don't understand why you're being so elusive about the make..." "I'm not being elusive! I just don't think it's germane to our discussion." "'Germane?' I ASKED YOU DIRECTLY 'WHO MAKES THIS?'" "Look, if you're going to get upset, I'll just have someone else check out my Stinger."

Like Reply
Fred on Mar 29, 2017

If you are buying this car for status then yea the Kia badges are bad. Otherwise you can remove the stick-on badges easy enough. People don't even know what my TSX is without badges. Even the dreaded beak is no clue. I could really mess with them by getting the Honda grill.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

HotRod Not me personally, but yes - lower prices will dramatically increase the EV's appeal.
Slavuta "the price isn’t terrible by current EV standards, starting at $47,200"Not terrible for a new Toyota model. But for a Vietnamese no-name, this is terrible.
Slavuta This is catch22 for me. I would take RAV4 for the powertrain alone. And I wouldn't take it for the same thing. Engines have history of issues and transmission shifts like glass. So, the advantage over hard-working 1.5 is lost.My answer is simple - CX5. This is Japan built, excellent car which has only one shortage - the trunk space.
Slavuta "Toyota engineers have told us that they intentionally build their powertrains with longevity in mind"Engine is exactly the area where Toyota 4cyl engines had big issues even recently. There was no longevity of any kind. They didn't break, they just consumed so much oil that it was like fueling gasoline and feeding oil every time
Wjtinfwb Very fortunate so far; the fleet ranges from 2002 to 2023, the most expensive car to maintain we have is our 2020 Acura MDX. One significant issue was taken care of under warranty, otherwise, 6 oil changes at the Acura dealer at $89.95 for full-synthetic and a new set of Michelin Defenders and 4-wheel alignment for 1300. No complaints. a '16 Subaru Crosstrek and '16 Focus ST have each required a new battery, the Ford's was covered under warranty, Subaru's was just under $200. 2 sets of tires on the Focus, 1 set on the Subie. That's it. The Focus has 80k on it and gets synthetic ever 5k at about $90, the Crosstrek is almost identical except I'll run it to 7500 since it's not turbocharged. My '02 V10 Excursion gets one oil change a year, I do it myself for about $30 bucks with Synthetic oil and Motorcraft filter from Wal-Mart for less than $40 bucks. Otherwise it asks for nothing and never has. My new Bronco is still under warranty and has no issues. The local Ford dealer sucks so I do it myself. 6 qts. of full syn, a Motorcraft cartridge filter from Amazon. Total cost about $55 bucks. Takes me 45 minutes. All in I spend about $400/yr. maintaining cars not including tires. The Excursion will likely need some front end work this year, I've set aside a thousand bucks for that. A lot less expensive than when our fleet was smaller but all German.