The 2018 Kia Stinger will arrive in showrooms later next month and when it does, buyers in the United States will get a slightly tweaked version of the rear-wheel drive sedan than buyers in Korea or Europe. Buyers in the North American market like louder exhausts, so Kia has tweaked the sound of the US-spec Stinger to make it louder.

2018 Kia Stinger

Orth Hedrick, the vice president of product planning at Kia’s American division, revealed the details to CNET’s Roadshow. “It sounded like a hissing note, like a restriction, something from the seventies,” Hedrick stated. “As a general rule, Korean consumers don’t appreciate loud exhausts — because they consider it to be a bad muffler, that someone’s not taking care of their car. It’s not refined.”

While Kia may make the Stinger’s exhaust a little louder, if buyers want an even louder exhaust Kia is working with aftermarket companies, like Borla. The aftermarket exhaust will be a dealer installed option.

Pricing for the 2018 Kia Stinger starts at $32,795 for the rear-wheel drive 2.0L with 255-hp. The 365-hp twin-turbocharged 3.3L V6 models start at $39,895. Buyers can also choose all-wheel drive for an extra $2,200. Next spring Kia will start introducing special edition versions of the Stinger. Longer down the road, there’s also the possibility that the Stinger could get a 5.0L V8.

Source: Roadshow