Nearly every Ford Freestyle / Taurus X in the junkyard is there because of the CVT. Nobody wants to put $4,000 into a $7,500 car.
Any Kia or Hyundai Owners?
- Thread starter joesregalproject
- Start date
- Status
what my uncle did when looking for a new car is he would rent a can he was interested in for a week to get the feel of it. Once he found what he liked his wife chose the color and the options for two reasons, he was color blind and cheap.
My wife signed me up for the "Kia Stinger Experience" this morning. I got to flog a $43K RWD Twin Turbo Stinger and a $100K BMW 540M grand coupe on an autocross track. For flogging, the Kia won hands down. The was quicker (I power braked both of them for launch and there was a graphic on the track wall to show you when you were supposed to be hitting 30, 40, 50, 60 etc) and the Kia was 5mph faster at the end of the graphic, had less turbo lag (romping on it coming out of corners the BMW lag was bad) and it felt like it weighed 1000 lbs less than the BMW through the slalom and in transitions. The Kia seats were better than the BMW's and you just couldn't get in it and drive the BMW... even just the shifter was too complicated.
The Stinger is definitely a winner. GM easily could go into their parts bin and build something similar, but will they?
The Stinger is definitely a winner. GM easily could go into their parts bin and build something similar, but will they?
I wish Chevy would do an Alpha-based RWD sedan. (Chevelle)? There’s the Caddy ATS, but it’s a lot more expensive than a comparably equipped Stinger.
Of course cynics will point to what a sales flop the SS was. But I think GM was always half-hearted about it from the start.
Of course cynics will point to what a sales flop the SS was. But I think GM was always half-hearted about it from the start.
Interestingly, Hyundai/Kia has poached a lot of engineers and chassis/suspension guys from Audi and BMW lately.
The head guys at Kia Development are the designer of the Audi TT and the M motor division guy at BMW. I'm sure they got people to follow them.
The Kia Stinger isn't an all out/over the top kind of car. The HP peak was only 5700, the turbos are tiny, the brakes are only 4 piston 14" Brembos. It's is right in Chevy Impala SS wheelhouse that GM engineers could build in their sleep if allowed to.
An ATS motor in a stretched Camaro with a Camaro dash/steering wheel and seats and sell it for Camaro prices.
If that’s the case, forget it. Chinese-market vehicles have wimpy engines because the average speed is 35 mph. Besides which, they want to ban ICE vehicles by 2040. I’d be interested in a Stinger EV if it had good performance and long range, though.
Bought my wife a new Kia Spectra in '09. Mostly got it because it was inexpensive and wasn't too awful to look at. We had it for 8 years and never had a major mechanical problem with it. Drove it across county a couple of times, got about 35 mpg, pretty smooth. My biggest gripe was the lack of seat comfort and crappy stereo sound. I kept my expectations low with it and I was satisfied with the ownership experience. I will say the brake pads were a snap to replace on that thing.
- Status
