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There is nothing quite like a car company occasionally building a car that could be considered a risk. And there are all kinds of risks in the car business - the market isn't ready for that car, people don't identify your brand with this or that type of vehicle, the list goes on. And it's long. It's very easy for me to sit on the sidelines and say, "Pft, what were they thinking?" Few cars land on your driveway without years of thinking having already gone into their development.
The Kia Stinger is the kind of car that would have caused lots of thinking and plenty of hand-wringing at Kia HQ in Korea. Not because it was a bad idea - it wasn't. Not because it's a bad car - it is, in fact, the opposite. And not because SUVs have already changed the way we look at cars - Kia has done well out of that.
It's just that Kia has never produced a car like the Stinger. A five-door coupe-sedan, rear-wheel drive and with a focus on driver dynamics. Most of us know very well how the Stinger GT burst on to the scene in a blaze of well-deserved glory. It's not all about the GT, though. There's a whole range of Stingers and just below that very accomplished sports sedan is the Stinger GT-Line.
Skoda’s a bit like that brooding, low-key actor you know but sometimes struggle to recall. Like Jacqueline McKenzie or Ben Mendelsohn. Considered and respected but far from a preening red carpet showboat.
And the mid-size Octavia is the quintessential Skoda… for people seeking quality engineering and tech without feeling the need to make a boastful badge statement.
The fourth-gen Octavia has been in market here for three years and on the back of a recent safety upgrade this new SportLine model, offered in five-door Liftback and traditional Wagon form, adds extra design and specification spice for the same money as the existing entry-level Style.
It lines up against traditional sedans and wagons like Toyota’s all-conquering Camry, established players like the Mazda6 and in-demand newcomers like the BYD Seal EV, not to mention the usual medium SUV suspects.
Stay with us on this first drive to see if this SportLine has what it takes to steer you towards the Skoda Octavia.
The Stinger GT-Line is a great machine. It looks good, feels good to drive and while it's not the cheapest large sedan, it's also not a Camry. With a strong European vibe, it's a nice bridge between boring-dependable and out-of-reach European. Boasting a strong link to Europe in its chassis DNA, it has it all apart, maybe, from the badge.
But Kia has a habit of doing unexpected things and the Stinger was a bold move worth making just for the halo effect of having such a cool car in the range. It has done good things for the company's reputation, as though the rest of the range isn't proof already.
Is the Octavia SportLine your kind of automotive quiet achiever? It’s well-equipped and keenly priced with sleek yet understated looks, top-notch safety and a compelling ownership package.
It’s also fuel-efficient for its size and a refined, enjoyable drive. Before you go down that well-trodden mid-size SUV path I’d suggest adding this Skoda - Liftback or Wagon - to your new car short-list.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.
The Stinger looks fantastic. I know the car has its detractors, but there's a massive Euro influence here that sits well in my visual cortex. It's maybe not as ooh-aah as the A5 or the outgoing BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe, but the Stinger can and should be mentioned in the same breath. It looks terrific, even if it is a bit fussier in the details.
From the signature grille, the low beltline, big wheels and sports coupe roofline, it looks sleek and sophisticated.
Inside is a bit more conventional, with some real classic touches such as circular air vents, conventional-looking gear selector and a flat-bottomed steering wheel. It's cool, clean and, with the big new screen, a bit more techy-looking than before. There are lots of nice materials and the odd rogue one, but it's a good cabin that feels well put-together.
The Skoda Octavia is a crisp, contemporary design combining firm character lines and carefully sculpted larger surfaces with a hint of the brand’s VW Group ownership peeking through here and there.
And it’s efficient aerodynamically with a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.259 for the Liftback and 0.287 for the Wagon.
The broad black grille is uniquely Skoda although the rear treatment is closer to generic premium Euro. Swap out the Skoda badging for four rings or a blue, black and white roundel and no one would bat an eyelid.
But the SportLine stands apart thanks to a gloss-black finish on the grille, mirror covers, rear spoiler on the Liftback and roof rails on the Wagon.
On top of that a rear diffuser and front spoiler have been added, the window surrounds are matt black and dual exhaust tips finish off the rear end.
The interior is dominated by a handsome multi-layer dash design with a 10-inch multimedia touchscreen in the centre and a 10.25-inch ‘Virtual Cockpit’ instrument display facing the driver.
The grippy ‘leather-appointed’, flat-bottom steering wheel has shift paddles lurking behind the rim, there are sporty alloy covers on the pedals and the roof lining is black.
The cloth ‘Sports Comfort’ seats look and feel great, the materials used are high quality and the Octavia shares its umbrella-in-the-door trick with Rolls-Royce, although it must be said, the latter provides two.
This is really a four-seater car. While there is good legroom in the rear, the falling roofline, small door aperture and huge transmission tunnel box you in a bit, almost rendering the middle seat useless for all but the shortest of folks. You do get your own air vents, though, which is generous.
The low roof also means limited headroom, made a little worse by the standard sunroof. I had room but taller people might brush the headlining. There are two cupholders front and rear for a total of four and each door has a bottle holder.
The boot is a modest-for-this-size 406 litres, rising to 1114 litres with the seats down. Access to the boot is good if not spectacular; the hatch opens wide but a slightly narrow aperture means loading and stowing flat packs and things like that could be a struggle.
At a fraction under 4.7m long, just over 1.8m wide and close to 1.5m tall, with a close to 2.7m wheelbase the Octavia SportLine Liftback and Wagon are at the upper end of the mid-size category.
At 183cm I’ve got plenty of breathing room in the front, the low-level dash helping to deliver a spacious feel.
For storage, there’s a generous area under an extendable, height-adjustable armrest between the seats, twin cupholders in the centre console, bins in the doors with enough room for large bottles and a decent cooled glove box. There’s also Skoda’s signature lined rubbish bin in the driver’s door.
In the back, sitting behind the driver’s seat, set to my position, I’ve got plenty of room for my feet, legs and head as well as enough shoulder room for three full-size adults on cozy, medium length journeys.
Adjustable ventilation is welcome and storage options include map pockets on the front seat backs, big door bins, oddments storage under the air outlets and a pair of cupholders in the fold-down centre armrest.
Connectivity and power runs to two USB-C outlets, a 12-volt socket and a wireless charging pad up front with a second 12V in the boot. No USBs or 12-volt for back-seaters, which is a miss.
Speaking of the boot, with all seats up the Liftback offers a competitive 600 litres of storage space, expanding to 1555L with the 40/20/40 split rear seat folded. Those numbers grow to 640 and 1700L in the wagon. Plus, there’s a rear seat ‘ski-port’ style door in both.
A space-saver spare sits under the floor, the tailgate is power-operated and for those keen on towing the Octavia is rated up to a 1.5-tonne braked trailer with trailer stability control standard.
As is the custom at this time of the year, the Stinger scored a mild update for that minty-fresh taste at the dealer. Not much has changed in the looks department (good) and the most obvious tweak is the brand-spanking new media system already seen in the brilliant new Sorento.
The GT-Line is one of two four-cylinder variants of the Stinger, priced at $57,230 or $60,690 driveaway, a solid $7000 more than the 200S and it's $730 more than the MY20. It's also uncomfortably close to the 330S, which has the delicious twin-turbo V6, but obviously a lower equipment level.
For your money you get 19-inch alloy wheels, a 15-speaker stereo, dual-zone climate control, camera package that includes a reversing camera, side cameras and front camera, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, active cruise control, powered heated and ventilated front seats, sat nav, automatic LED headlights, head up display, leather seats and wheel and even more besides. It's a lot, which is fair given the price.
The 15-speaker stereo is run by the excellent new media system on the excellent new 10.25-inch touchscreen. It's great to look at, has some really cool ideas in it (including the hilarious soundscapes list which includes, for some reason, a noisy cafe environment), DAB and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
With the aim of giving the Octavia a value-focused mid-life boost, the SportLine adds some racy extras outside, inside and underneath and we’ll cover them in detail in the Design and Driving sections.
For now, it’s important to note it all comes at the same price as the already well-equipped, entry-level Style. That is, $40,590, before on-road costs, for the Liftback and close to $41,890 for the Wagon.
And to support this new variant’s arrival, national drive-away pricing has been set for both at an extra $1900 and $2100, respectively ($42,490 and $43,990).
Aside from that, the Sportline boasts a handy standard features list, the highlights being dual-zone climate control, adaptive cruise control, 18-inch alloy rims, auto LED matrix headlights, a power tailgate, a 10-inch media touchscreen (with voice recognition) and 10.25-inch digital instrument display, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, keyless entry and start, auto rain-sensing wipers, a reversing camera, built-in nav and eight-speaker audio.
An optional ‘Premium Pack’ ($3200) adds power adjustable front seats (with lumbar and memory function), heated front and rear (outboard) seats, ‘Adaptive Lane Guidance’, ‘Emergency Assist’, digital radio, tri-zone climate control and additional USB-C outlets. A panoramic sunroof is available on the Wagon for $1900.
‘Candy White’ is the single no-cost paint colour, with ‘Black Magic Pearlescent’, ‘Graphite Grey Metallic’, ‘Moon White Metallic’ or ‘Race Blue Metallic’ adding $770 to the price-tag while ‘Velvet Red Metallic’ steps up to $1100.
Overall, pretty good value for the category, even before you start factoring in the SportLine extras.
Under the GT-Line's bonnet is Kia's Theta II 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine. It's the same as before, with a stout 182kW and 353Nm. Driving the rear wheels is an eight-speed automatic from the Hyundai-Kia empire.
It's pretty rapid, knocking out the 0-100km/h spring in just six seconds, a mere 1.1 seconds slower than its faster sibling's 4.9 for the benchmark.
A 1.4-litre all-alloy, direct-injected, turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine sits under the Skoda Octavia’s bonnet, sending 110kW/250Nm to the front wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission with ‘Tiptronic’ sequential manual shifting accessible via wheel-mounted paddles.
Kia's claimed combined cycle figure is 8.8L/100km. As the Stinger goes without trickery like stop-start or mild hybridness, it's no surprise that my week with it yielded an indicated 10.4L/100km, which isn't bad for a 1750kg sports sedan that was not molly-coddled and also spent some time in a resurgent case of crap traffic in Sydney.
It also drinks standard unleaded, which is a nice touch.
Skoda’s official combined cycle fuel economy number for the Octavia SportLine is 5.7L/100km for the Liftback and 5.9L per hundred for the Wagon, the 1.4-litre turbo four emitting 180g/km of CO2 in the process.
On the launch drive program covering urban, B-road and freeway running along the coast south of Sydney, NSW we recorded an average of 6.4L/100km in the Liftback. Not too shabby for a non-hybrid in this class.
Worth noting the minimum fuel requirement is the pricier 95 RON premium unleaded, though.
You’ll need 45 litres of it to fill the tank which translates to a theoretical range of around 790km… roughly 700km using our real-world number.
I have driven and loved the Stinger GT. It's tremendous fun, goes like a rat running away from a cut snake, which itself is being chased by a mongoose with its bottom on fire, and it handles like a proper sports sedan.
The GT-Line is obviously not that quick, but it's not slow, either. But it does take a bit of the GT's DNA and delivers a driving experience eerily reminiscent of an E90 BMW 3 Series. That seems like an out-of-date reference, but it was a beautiful car to drive with a lovely balance of ride and handling.
The steering has good feel and you know what's going on underneath the front wheels. You sit towards the centre of the car, also a BMW trademark. Turn the wheel and the car goes with you, despite its bulk, and it's happy to dance a bit with its limited-slip diff.
The 2.0-litre turbo does a good job in most conditions but you feel it coming up short when you're hustling it. It's never breathless, but the torque deficit to the turbo six is clear. If you've not driven the faster Stinger, you may not notice, but there's a touch of lag in the 2.0 that contributes to the idea it's working hard to move the big sedan.
But back off a little and it becomes a fluid, fun drive. In town it's firm but very comfortable, gently bumping rather than crashing into potholes. The rear suspension is a complicated five-link set-up that costs money and eats into boot space but delivers the goods.
Given its length the Stinger is a bit tough to manoeuvre in tight spaces and its 11.2m turning circle isn't too flash either, but you soon get used to it.
Skoda says the Octavia SportLine will accelerate from 0-100km/h in 9.0 seconds, which isn’t ferociously fast but far from sluggish at the same time, especially for a roughly 1.3-tonne vehicle. And the fact peak torque (250Nm) is available from 1500-4000rpm makes it easy to drive with plenty of oomph through the mid-range.
Worth noting, while the urge is there, the turbo four’s power delivery isn’t always linear, more often from step off, with the engine at times taking half a beat to respond to a squeeze of the accelerator pedal before the power arrives.
Nothing dramatic, however, and the ‘Shift-by-Wire’ eight-speed auto transmission is smooth, with ‘Eco’, ‘Normal’ and ‘Sport’ modes available, the latter holding onto ratios longer on the way up the gears and shifting down more readily when an extra burst of acceleration is required. And if you want to take full control, ‘manual’ shifts via wheel-mounted paddles are satisfyingly quick.
Suspension is strut front with a ‘compound link crank-axle’ at the rear, the latter being Skoda-speak for a torsion beam.
The SportLine’s suspension is 15mm lower than the Style’s with springs and shock absorbers re-tuned for sharper dynamic response. Yet, despite that and the standard 18-inch rims shod with low-profile tyres there’s no penalty in terms of ride compliance.
Even over coarse B-road surfaces the Octavia remains comfortable and composed. The steering is nicely weighted and road feel is good, with a nice connection between the front tyres and hands on the wheel.
Pressing on through the curves the car is stable and balanced with the (225/45) Bridgestone Turanza rubber gripping hard. And if you really have the bit between your teeth an electronically-controlled diff lock helps put the power down effectively.
Braking by ventilated discs at the front with solid rotors at the rear and under the pressure of some steep, twisting and fairly rapid descents stopping power is solid. The pedal is progressive on application and when easing off.
Under the heading of miscellaneous observations, engine noise is agreeably low, especially for a small capacity turbo-petrol engine, the sports front seats are supportive and comfortable over lengthy stints behind the wheel and a lateral slider located below the central multimedia screen to control audio volume is a neat ergonomic solution.
In the midst of the current arm wrestle between the design cleanliness of an on-screen volume control and the simple effectiveness of a physical dial the Octavia’s slider, while still a haptic-style operation, represents a safe and practical middle ground between the two.
The Stinger ships with an impressive safety package that includes seven airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, high- and low-speed forward AEB with pedestrian and cyclist detection, intersection assist, lane-keep assist, steering assist, driver attention alert, high- and low-speed forward collision warning, front cross traffic alert and rear cross traffic alert.
You get two ISOFIX points and three top-tether anchors.
The Stinger scored five ANCAP stars in 2017.
Safety is one of Skoda’s strongest suits so no surprise the Octavia scored a maximum five ANCAP stars from assessment in 2019.
It includes active crash-avoidance tech highlights like AEB (with pedestrian and cyclist detection), a surround-view and reversing camera, ‘Park Assist’, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist, rear cross-traffic alert, rear parking sensors, tyre pressure monitoring and fatigue detection.
If an impact is unavoidable, there are eight airbags on-board, including a front centre and driver’s knee bag which holds up well in 2024 and shows how far ahead of the passive safety game the Octavia was when it launched here in 2021.
There are three top tethers for child seats across the second row, with ISOFIX anchors on the outer positions.
Kia's ground-breaking seven year/unlimited kilometre warranty along with roadside assist for the first 12 months. Each time you service your car at Kia, you get an extension on your roadside assist for up to eight years.
Perhaps the only thing that makes you go, "Oh, what?" about the Stinger is the 12 months (Good)/10,000km (Oh...) service intervals. That's pretty common with Kia's turbo engines but is a little inconvenient. Then there's the cost - prices range from $312 to $685, which adds up to $3459 over the first seven services. If you stay under 10,000km/year, that's not bad going at under $500 per year for servicing, but if you're a high-miler, it will add up.
The servicing isn't outrageous - and the prices are capped - but it's not cheap, either.
The Octavia is covered by Skoda’s seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, which is two years up on the majority of the mainstream market.
Roadside Assist is complimentary for the first year, renewed annually if you have your Octavia serviced at an authorised Skoda dealer.
The main service interval is 12 months/15,000km, which is in line with most of the competition and Skoda offers five- and seven-year service packs, the latter equating to $393 per workshop visit, which isn’t out of line for the segment.
And through Skoda Choice you can opt for a Guaranteed Future Value offer ranging up to five years and currently at a 6.99 per cent rate.