Kia Stinger - long term review

Switch off your ESP. When you next start the engine, the protection reverts back on. The Kia obeys this convention. As winter mornings set in, that’s a wise default for 370bhp and RWD.

But some of its other ignition-on resets are harder to fathom. I like auto-hold park brakes – come to rest, jab the brake a bit harder and it clamps on. Tip the throttle, it releases and you’re away. But the Stinger’s auto-hold thingy defaults ‘off’. So at the first red light I forget, lift off the footbrake and the car rolls forward. Duh.

Another thing. The mode selector has a Smart setting. Depending how you’re driving, this switches between Eco, Comfort and Sport. You’d think it’d be the default. But no, when you next return it’s in Comfort. Why?