- Messages
- 328
- Likes
- 32
- State
- Non-US
- Country
- South Korea
There are few four-door executive saloons that seat four adults comfortably, have a large boot and are any fun to drive these days. Yet at the time of writing, the Kia Stinger 3.0-litre V6 (described by Kia as a grand tourer) is shortlisted for European Car of the Year, still the most prestigious global car award out there.
This, from the company that has brought us dull but competent South Korean SUVs and MPVs for years? can they really cut it against the likes of the BMW 430i or the Audi A5 or even the VW Arteon?
The answer seems to be a resounding yes. The V6 was fun, fun, fun and now Kia has brought out the 2.0-litre version, the 2.0 T-GDi, for about ?32,000, which makes it an even more tempting proposition on paper, from a finance and fuel point of view, but what about the performance?
Turns out, the 2.0 is a spritely, joyous thing, with revs spouting power to the rear wheels like a burst water pipe in the snow.
The Stinger?s looks are in the eye of the beholder: we like the crunched face, fastback silhouette and the squared-off back reminds us of a Mustang from the side. Inside, it?s still a bit plasticky but Kia has made an effort with brushed switches up front, a heads-up display, reversing camera and nine-speaker system with sub-woofer (Kia/Hyundai?s bog-standard sound system has always been one of the best in the business), and that all comes with the standard specification (there?s an up-specced GT-Line S but why bother when the standard one is this generous?).
Read more on Goodwood.
