Compare the2022 Mercedes A-ClassVS 2023 Kia Stinger

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mercedes A-Class have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Kia Stinger doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The A-Class’ optional pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Stinger doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

The Mercedes A-Class has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Stinger doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

Both the A-Class and the Stinger have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive, lane departure warning systems and around view monitors.

The A-Class’ 5 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Stinger runs out after 100,000 miles.

On the EPA test cycle the A-Class gets better mileage than the Stinger:

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Mercedes A-Class higher (5 out of 10) than the Kia Stinger (3). This means the A-Class produces up to 16.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Stinger every 15,000 miles.

The A-Class offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Stinger doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The A-Class stops much shorter than the Stinger:

Changing a flat tire near traffic can be dangerous and inconvenient. The run-flat tires available on the A-Class can be driven up to 50 miles without any air pressure, allowing you to drive to a service station for a repair. The Stinger doesn’t offer run-flat tires.

The A-Class’ drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Stinger doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

The A 220 4MATIC handles at .95 G’s, while the Stinger AWD pulls only .88 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the A-Class’ turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the Stinger’s (36.1 feet vs. 36.7 feet). The A-Class’ turning circle is 2.3 feet tighter than the Stinger AWD’s (36.1 feet vs. 38.4 feet).

The Mercedes A-Class may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 550 to 800 pounds less than the Kia Stinger.

The A-Class is 11.1 inches shorter than the Stinger, making the A-Class easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The design of the Mercedes A-Class amounts to more than styling. The A-Class has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .27 Cd. That is lower than the Stinger (.3) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the A-Class get better fuel mileage.

The A-Class has 2 inches more front headroom and .2 inches more rear headroom than the Stinger.

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the A-Class easier. The A-Class’ trunk lift-over height is 26.1 inches, while the Stinger’s liftover is 27.5 inches.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Stinger GT2, the A-Class has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The A-Class’ front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Stinger’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

If the windows are left open on the A-Class the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Stinger can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The A-Class’ optional Active Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Stinger doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Insurance will cost less for the A-Class owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the A-Class will cost $520 to $8880 less than the Stinger over a five-year period.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Mercedes A-Class will be $131 to $22518 less than for the Kia Stinger.

The Mercedes A-Class outsold the Kia Stinger by 22% during 2020.