Kia Stinger to offer permanent manual override of automatic transmission…
The MY19 Kia Stinger will arrive in Europe from August with a tweaked transmission offering full manual over-ride, but we won’t get it here…
ONE OF THE KEY criticisms with the Kia Stinger has been that the automatic transmission, when Sport mode is selected, will automatically upshift when it reaches redline. But, Kia Europe has confirmed that, following feedback from journalists, the MY19 Stinger will feature a recalibrated transmission allowing full manual control of the transmission by the driver via the flappy paddles when Sport mode is selected.
But, there’s a but…at this stage, it looks like Australian Stinger buyers will miss out on this tweaked transmission, indeed, an email seen by Practical Motoring confirms the manual over-ride will be for Europe only. Practical Motoring did reach out to Kia Australia more than a month ago who referred our question to head office in Korea. We are still waiting to hear back.
Beyond the transmission, European buyers, and this is likely to trickle down to Australian cars too, will get a frameless 8.0-inch infotainment screen with a stainless-steel insert added to the cargo area. Kia UK is also looking at a new exhaust system like the cost-optional exhaust that’s already available to Australian Stinger buyers.
