Kia Stinger is a compact executive sedan that Kia launched in 2017. Kia Stinger was offered for sale in 2018 in North America. With mixed feelings about how the car looks, there is a big pool of buyers who love it, and then there are others who don’t. The Kia Stinger offers decent mileage. Let’s just find out how decent that is.
All generations of the Kia Stinger take premium unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 91.
Now, it’s time to go into all the details regarding the specific types of fuels that should and shouldn’t be used. Read on!
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Fuel Requirements Based On Engine Type
2018 – Present
The Korean-assembled Kia Stinger is only in its first generation. It was launched in 2017 to attract buyers who have a thirst for radical designs—even the looks of the Kia Stinger state style in a way no other sedan does. Kia made sure that the Stinger is in a class of its own design-wise. We don’t see many cars with the lift-back setup in this price bracket.
The engines offered for the Kia Stinger start with a base 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine that produces a healthy 194 HP. Then there was the 3.3-liter V6 engine that produced a healthy 365 horsepower. Kia, in 2020, introduced a 2.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. This one was capable of cranking out 300 HP.
From 2022 onwards, the 2.0-liter variant will be extinct. Now, only the 2.5-liter four-cylinder and the 3.3-liter 6-cylinder engines are offered for sale. Since both of these engines are turbocharged, Kia clearly states using fuels with a minimum octane rating of 91.
| Engine | Fuel Requirement |
| 2.0-liter 4-cylinder (194 HP) | 91-grade octane minimum |
| 2.5-liter 4-cylinder (300 HP) | 91-grade octane minimum |
| 3.3-liter 6-cylinder (365 HP) | 91-grade octane minimum |
What Types Of Gasoline Can And Can’t Be Used?
Today there is a large option set to choose from regarding fuel types available in the market. Since Kia wants to position the Kia Stinger as a premium vehicle, let us dig into the details of whether these fuels will work for the Kia Stinger or not.
Reformulated Gasoline
The threats to our environment that the emissions from our vehicles pose urged engineers to develop nature-friendly fuels. It has caused reformulated gasoline or RFG to be available today. The RFG is very soft on nature while offering lower pollutants to be spread in our environment.
RFG is blended gasoline designed to burn cleaner than regular fuel types. It reduces pollution issues and significantly reduces smog formation in our environment. The reformulated gasoline program was also mandated by Congress in the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments.
Kia stays on mute concerning RFG. Neither do they suggest using reformulated gasoline, nor do they recommend against it.
Gasoline/Oxygenated Blends Or E-85
There are cars today that use E-85 fuels. The E-85 consumers are mostly higher output cars that benefit from the high ethanol concentration in fuel. For this, a vehicle has to be E-85 compatible. In case the vehicle’s not E-85 compatible, it should not be refueled with E-85 fuel.
To know whether your car is E-85 compatible, you need to look for signs on your car. At times, the Flexfuel badge is used, while sometimes, E-85 is also mentioned on the fuel cap to denote that the vehicle is E-85 compatible.
E-85 is a fuel with a very high concentration of ethanol blended with regular gasoline. The “85” in E-85 shows an 85% ethanol blend with 15% regular gasoline. We are sure that such a high ethanol concentration will cause severe damage to a vehicle’s engine if it is not E-85 compatible.
Even if a car is E-85 compatible, there are a few precautions one needs to take to ensure the vehicle stays healthy.
- Refuel with at least 11 liters or more
- The vehicle must remain running for at least 7 miles after refueling
While these precautions should be taken, there are some indications pertinent to the use of E-85.
- Rough idling and hard starting
- Accumulation of residue and deposit formation inside the engine
Given all of the above factors, Kia suggests that the owners should not use fuels with an ethanol concentration of more than 15% mixed with 85% regular gasoline.
Gasoline With Added Materials
Today, various materials are added to regular gasoline, called additives. The function of such additives can be engine cleaning, detergency, etc. Based on the type of detergency such fuels provide, it is good to stay orthodox to the vehicle manufacturer’s suggestions.
Kia suggests TOP TIER detergent gasoline be used in Kia Stinger. We have seen that most manufacturers trust TOP TIER detergent gasoline. We also recommend car manufacturers use TOP TIER detergent gasoline and not opt for others.
Gasoline With MMT
Methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl — also known as MMT, is used as an additive to gasoline. MMT enhances the octane content of the fuel in the vehicle. In the beginning, it was sold as a supplement, but later on, MMT was marketed as an octane enhancer. But this doesn’t come without a downside.
Kia suggests that fuels with MMT should not be used in the Kia Stinger. They also warn that using gasoline with MMT can cause reduced engine performance. They further state that gasoline with MMT can also decrease the performance of the vehicle’s Emission Control System.
What If I Hear A Knocking Noise From The Engine After Refilling?
Every driver in the world has experienced the knocking engine sound. It is also known as spark-knock. The leading cause of this nasty knocking sound is the use of lower octane-grade fuels.
The most straightforward trick is to go with higher octane rating gasoline than Kia recommends for the Kia Stinger to fix this issue. The spark knock is eliminated in no time with this trick — depending on whether the spark knock was being initiated by using lower octane grade fuels. However, if the issue stays, it is time to take your car for a regular check-up to get the issue fixed.
Also read: 11 Common Problems Of The Kia Stinger
Does The Kia Stinger Have Good Gas Mileage?
Kia has offered three engines for the Kia Stinger in North America, a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine, a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged engine, and a 3.3-liter turbocharged V6 engine. As one might be able to calculate, the fuel efficiency for all three engines is different. Exactly which one is the most fuel-efficient is what we will find out now.
2018 till Present
For the current generation of the Kia Stinger, the 2.0-liter engine available in 2018 has been discontinued. It is now replaced with a more potent 2.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that produces 300 horsepower. Today’s other option is the 3.3-liter turbocharged V6 that produces an even higher 365 horsepower.
From the below chart, we can see that the 2.5-liter turbocharged engine happens to be the most fuel-efficient. It offers a minimum of 21 miles per gallon, which is quite respectable given the 300 horsepower it produces. It can deliver 32 miles per gallon, the highest among all engine variants.
The 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine, which is now discontinued, delivered 21 miles per gallon on a bad day with the highest of 29 miles per gallon fuel efficiency. Naturally, the 3.3-liter V6 that comes with twin turbochargers delivers a low number of 17 miles per gallon and a high number of 25 miles per gallon.
We would like to mention here that fuel efficiency is a subject that depends on many variables. One of these variables is the driving habits of the car owner. If the driver’s foot is light, the fuel efficiency can be increased. On the other hand, if one loves to floor the throttle, it will undoubtedly decrease fuel efficiency.
| Engine | Lowest Combined MPG | Highest Combined MPG |
| 2.0-liter 4-cylinder (194 HP) | 21 | 29 |
| 2.5-liter 4-cylinder (300 HP | 21 | 32 |
| 3.3-liter 6-cylinder (365 HP) | 17 | 25 |
What’s The Gas Tank Size Of A Kia Stinger?
Kia Stinger is a compact “Executive” sedan. The moment the word executive pops up, it means reduced stress factors for the car owner. Range anxiety is a term that has recently popped up related to electric cars’ battery range. It was prevalent even for gasoline cars.
The car owners don’t like spending time at the gas stations. It can only be addressed by having a larger gas tank that can take a driver hundreds of miles without the worry of refueling. Kia Stinger comes with a 15.8 Gallon fuel tank. We are happy to report that a minimum of 250 miles can be driven without the need to refuel, given the fuel efficiency numbers, and we are saying this conservatively. If driven with a lighter foot, the range can be increased to reach a longer distance than 250 miles.
| Engine | Gas Tank |
| 1st Generation | 15.8 Gal |
How Much Does It Cost To Fill Up A Kia Stinger?
Fuel prices are on the rise. We have seen a steep increase in fuel prices since Covid-19 struck the world. It can be seen clearly in the fuel prices today across all states in the USA. Let us now see how much it will cost to fuel the tank up for the Kia Stinger.
The Kia Stinger will cost you $60.32-$ 91.71. Given these numbers, we advise the car owners to always drive with a lighter foot. Stay safe and save money.
| Generation | Fuel tank size (Gallons) | Cost (Cheapest) | Cost (Most Expensive) |
| 1st Generation | 15.8 Gal | $ 60.32 | $ 91.71 |
Sources
- Kia Stinger Owners Manual 2022
- Kia Stinger Owners Manual 2020
- Kia Stinger Owners Manual 2019
- Kia Stinger Owners Manual 2018
- Kia Stinger Fuel Economy
- Kia Stinger Wikipedia
Hi! My name is Stefan; I’m the owner and lead writer at TheDriverAdviser.com.
I’m an active writer on this blog myself, as well as a novice car mechanic. For the really technical stuff, I find writers with experience as a mechanic or who have studied mechanical engineering.
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