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During a recent presentation here at Hyundai Motor Group's Namyang R&D Center in South Korea, Kia Executive VP Albert Biermann -- formerly Chief Engineer for BMW's M division -- explained that the new driving philosophy of the Kia brand is a pursuit of "fun-to-drive" cars.
This hasn't always been the case. Biermann himself used the phrase "almost fun to drive" to describe the brand's history, but pointed to the newest generation of Kia's portfolio -- specifically than the 2018 Kia Stinger GT -- as proof that the automaker is quickly distancing itself from what he describes as "the old Kia."
Despite the Stinger being only a year old, Kia can't just rest on the laurels of its early success. Biermann and the gang let me peek behind the curtain and see how they're already working at making the Stinger even sharper and more engaging, starting with seat time in an engineering prototype equipped with the next-generation "CK D-AWD" system.
RWD at the touch of a button
Everyone I know thinks that the rear-wheel drive (RWD) version of the 2018 Stinger is just better. It's lighter with a more connected, dynamic feel in corners compared to the more neutral all-wheel drive (AWD) Stinger we're currently long-term testing. The new CK D-AWD setup aims to close the dynamic gap, bringing some fun back to the AWD Stinger by simply sending more power to the rear axle. According to Biermann and Kia's engineers, the next Stinger AWD will essentially become a RWD car at the touch of a button.
Mechanically, this means transplanting the limited-slip differential from the current RWD Stinger to rear axle of the D-AWD system to better dole out traction with the increased rear-biased behavior. Electronically, there's new programming for stability control, torque vectoring logic, transmission shift programming and so on. As with the production Stinger, I was able to control these settings via four driving modes:
- Comfort - 40:60 Transmission auto upshifts at redline, reverts to automatic shifting after a few moments without manual input
- Sport - 20:80 Will not revert to automatic shifting, but still upshifts automatically at redline
- Sport Plus - 13:87 More rear bias and looser stability control allows experienced drivers easier midcorner rotation
- Drift - 7:93 Nearly full rear-drive with minimal stability control allows controlled slides, will not upshift even at the rev limiter
As you move up through the drive modes, the static torque split becomes more rear-biased, culminating in a Drift mode that sends over 90 percent of torque to the back wheels. Of course, the system continues to dynamically shift and allocate torque around these static baselines. Comfort mode, for example, can vary between 50:50 and 10:90 at any given moment. However, the most dynamic settings are always rear-biased: Sport Plus never sends less than 70 percent of the power to the rear axle and Drift mode never drops below 85 percent.
Comfort and Sport are accessed with a simple flip of the Drive Mode toggle on the console; Sport Plus and Drift mode are accessed by tapping and then double-tapping the ESC OFF button, bringing with them progressively looser stability control. The transmission's shift program and shifting behavior also changes depending on the mode. In most modes, it'll automatically knock up to the next gear when you reach the redline, but Drift mode will just bounce off the rev limiter, holding the high engine speeds needed to keep the rear wheels lit up.
Track testing
I started by testing out the difference between the Comfort and Sport modes on a dry handling course at Kia's Namyang facility -- a short track featuring a few hairpins, chicanes and elevation changes.
Comfort mode still feels neutral and not at all different from the car currently in our garage. Sport mode was sharper, but only a tad. I was able to accelerate earlier and more aggressively after each apex, which made corners more fun and the overall feel fell somewhere between the current RWD and AWD models with a foot planted firmly on the safe side.
For Sport Plus and Drift modes, I was shuffled over to a large skid pad by my hosts -- which was disappointing because I really wanted to try Sport Plus on the track -- and instructed to chuck the fastback sedan into circles and figure-eights as hard as I could. The difference was immediately apparent.
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/testing-kia-stinger-prototype-d-awd/
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They are saying it COULD make it here on this generation of Stinger. Rough guess here... Refreshes can be anywhere from 3 to 5 years for most cars with all new models coming out in about the 7 year range (give or take). The Stinger is about to start its second year ssoooooo maybe we will see this awd system in about 2 or 3 years from now? Maybe sooner? Please? Please be sooner? That would be great if it was sooner! 
