Unlike Kia, which may reportedly axe the Stinger from its lineup, Lexus is keeping the faith in compact sports sedans and has dropped a big V8 under the hood of its IS. A new video pits the two against one another in drag and roll races and the results might surprise you.
Brought to us by the YouTube channel Sam CarLegion, the host mentions straight away that the Lexus IS 500 used for this video is his own personal daily driver. Factory rated at 472 hp (351 kW) and 395 lb-ft (534 Nm) of torque, the Lexus is a brutal RWD beast indeed. It goes up against the best that Kia has to offer, the Stinger GT with its twin-turbocharged V6 developing 369 hp (274 kW) and 376 lb-ft (509 Nm) of torque and AWD.
From a dig, the Lexus falls back quite quickly. Despite having far less power, the Stinger GT walks away with clear car-length wins in back-to-back drag races. The host jokingly commented on the video to say that “Maybe this was the reason I sold the IS 500… just maybe.”
Read More: Watch The 2021 Kia Stinger GT Hustle Its Way Around The Nurburgring
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While the AWD system certainly has an advantage off of the line, we’re a bit shocked to see just how easily the Kia dispatches the Lexus from a standing start. We fully expected the IS500 to manage its horsepower and torque more effectively off of the line. Keep in mind too that it’s lighter than the Stinger too.
Of course, the increased power and lower weight of the Lexus completely flipped the results of the first two races on their ears when the two cars lined up for roll races. Starting off with traction is more than enough to help the IS500 take three straight roll race wins from speeds of 32 mph (50 km/h) and 62 mph (100 km/h).
Even so, considering that the Lexus costs about $10,000 more and has an extra hundred horsepower on tap, the Kia’s performance was quite impressive. Either sedan looks like a hoot to drive, though. Which would you have? Let us know in the comments below!