Cool! :tup: I joined the Alfa board a couple weeks back and been lurking everyday reading every threads/articles I could find about the car. Falling in love with a car again. For me there is no current Z replacement out there besides a Cayman but I need something extra special that I don’t see everyday and that’s where the Alfa fills that void perfectly. I’m looking around for one to test drive soon. Hopefully things panned out we’ll have our first Italian launch edition in our driveway in a near future!:driving:


Now back to you guys with the Kia bashing :rofl2:

This was a very interesting UNBIASED comparison of the Q50 and Stinger. It seems the Stinger drove a little more like a luxury car, the Infiniti was a little more sporty. But the Stinger was Significantly faster. 4.6 to 60 vs 5.3 in the Infiniti. Which are almost red sport numbers for Q50s prices.
Also Infiniti interior quality was only marginally better. They had an equal amount of cheap plastics but Infiniti made their car seem slightly higher quality per interior design choices.

From his review, i gather Kia has to give this car a more defined identity. I think the Genesis G70 will do that much better. What's interesting is, I heard the G70 will be noticeably faster than the Stinger, while on the same chassis and engine/power. I'm guessing the transmission choice and suspension?

https://youtu.be/XCmuKu5n7Og

Assuming this hard :ugh2:
Was being honest & i knew how it came off so wanted to make my intention clear, its easy to interpret something the wrong way over text.

I know I'm probably only posting this for three people. But you're 3 important people none the least. :tiphat:

I thought this was a great overview of a Kia, with extensive testing over a week. Off road testing included. First performance impressions look very promising.

Check it out.

https://youtu.be/MoFpGRnoVl0

Test driven
 

With all the back and forth, anti and pro-emotions about a car that nobody that I've heard of, has actually driven on, I decided to take one for the team, and spent 45 minutes behind the wheel of a Kia Stinger GT2. Having test driven the maxima, Q50s and Q60 red sport. I thought it be only right to give this Kia the respect of a test drive n not just be happy Hyundai is making something people want. Ok down to the Nitty Gritty.

Upfront exterior styling... I think it's a very nice car with a good attention to detail. The design lines obviously aren't overly swoopy or dramatic. But I would say it's a combination of Bold and smooth. The exterior paint is top notch and honestly. Higher end cars could take notes on kia' s color palette. The dealership was bright colorful and exciting with a whole row of stingers in a bunch of cool colors. A great departure from the "50 shades of grey" at the Infiniti dealership:ugh2: The taillights are striking and the power litigate opens with authority and what you'd expect from BMW etc.. The grille is plastic, but the did such a good job you really don't know till you touch it. And you gotta stay feeling it to know because it has like a metallic dotting that feels like metal at first.

Interior. VERY NICE! At 44k which means you lose the power liftgate, some safety features and some tech. You pay $46k to add the tech pkg. It's still very much loaded. I was amazed at how well the seats hugged you. I liked the feel of the seats a tiny bit better than the Q60 as the Kia hugged me tighter and I felt slightly more planted in my seat. But the Q60 does not disappoint at all and are also amazing seats. I have to compare it to the 60 and not the 50 because, the Stinger keeps you nice and low in the car. The q50 keeps you more upright in your driving position. So, in my opinion. 50 to Kia, Stinger is better. 60 to Stinger, they are basically tied. The quality is strong in both cars though. The Infiniti has nicer twists and shapes in the door design. But the center console in the Kia blows the infiniti out the water. Stereo sound is comparable but a bit better in the Infiniti.The Maxima can play in the same realm with the interior. But the Kia is cleaner and more ergonomic than the max. The console in the Stinger is what i expected from a 50 but didn't get. The buttons feel and look like a German car. No lie. The doors... the open and close very solid with a good balance of weight and they have a low impact inertia so they close effortlessly and luxuriously. That impressed me. Too many doors sound hollow and tinny. It's understandable why it weighs 3900lbs.

The DRIVE

Well, for my tastes, the steering is too light. But I like heavy steering wheels. My camaro is programmed to track mode on the steering, which means. I get a Schwarzenegger workout making right turns. Lol.:driving: But I would say the steering is comparable to the q60 but you get the feedback the q60 doesn't give you so steering feel goes to kia and responsiveness is tied. (Comparing to non DAS). Feedback wins

The power... This car feels every bit as fast as the red sport. The difference is. The Red Sport has an instant push you in the back of your seat torque. The Kia is more of a progressive torque like the 370z. It literally feels like a 370z. The torque response is slightly stronger than the 370 when the turbos are in full spool but... they feel VERY CLOSE, but you get that red sport speed.

The chassis is wayyyyyy more solid in the Kia. The Kia chassis is everything that the Infiniti isn't. The exhaust is quiet bit a muffler delete sounds amazing. There was a guy there with a white one with the delete. Some downpies would make it sound tough.
The transmission was uber quick and responsive. Again, demolishing infiniti. I don't understand why the 370z transmission is so goid n the Infiniti so bad when it's essentially the same. You have to wait 2 seconds for the Infiniti to shift. The Q50/60 says to u. "Oh you want me to shift"?:roflpuke2: The Kia Stinger is comparable to Mini coppers JEW 8 speed auto in performance. If any of y'all driven one? So big props to the kia on transmission response. The max, is CVT so im not even gonna get started there. No comparison.

All this said... The Infiniti is a very good car. It offers a specific styling for specific tastes as does the Kia. Neither is as universal in style as Audi or BMW. So I think while they are very comparable. They can both exist without eating each other on a competitive level
But... if the Genesis G70 is a step up from the Kia? Is expected to be lighter and faster? I think the Genesis G70 is going to give Infiniti a real problem from a performance to price standpoint. Especially if Genesis makes their version of a red sport? Only because I would near tie the Kia and Infiniti interior. But the Genesis will be a step up from the Kia. We'll have to see? But no matter how good the Genesis will be? There will be plenty of people beating that 10 year old dead horse saying. Hyundai sucks.:horse:

:icon18:

Thanks for posting this. Since most people who bash Kia/Hyundai have never been closer to one than beside one at a traffic light, it's good to hear straight goods from someone with an open mind.

Lets not forget that Datsun, Toyota, and Mazda were all in the same place as the Korean twins at one time. It's just that the Japanese marques had a 30 year head start. That Lexus (essentially Toyota) could lead the reliability and satisfaction surveys in North America would have been unfathomable in the 1970's.

Don't forget the ones that say. My friend owns two and they are trash. :roflpuke2:

That 3rd party testimonial lacks information, entertainment and is kinda redundant on any forum about any car. But it is augmented with hyundai/kia.

All I can say is my 14’ 3.8 Genesis coupe has been rock solid except for a pesky sunroof switch that keeps sticking. Close to 60k miles and nothing ever has gone wrong. Knock on wood. I have friends who own old Velosters, and new, Coupes like mine, Cadenzas, K900 (Nice luxury car especially for the money) and Genesis sedans and not one thing has happened that I know of. I have a friend who has a BMW 340 and is seriously looking at getting a Stinger. All brands have issues, some more than others as we all know but sticking your nose up at Kia/Hyundai, especially in the last 5 years is just ignorant. They’ve come a long way, a GOOD long way, and kudos for them for doing it. Nissan fell asleep at the Camry wheel. Yawn.

Why is this even a metric? It has never made any sense to me why manufacturers advertise hilariously useless top speeds, especially with many cars having a speed limiter.

Because, my dear American friend, there are parts of the world outside your borders. Some of those will actually allow you to explore that number. :-p

Kidding. Not many. But it’s like the horsepower wars. Except nobody questions that higher HP is a good thing. Yet really, the two numbers typically mean the same thing give or take coefficients of drag. And since a 125 HP car has no problem breaking the speed limit, so by the same logic nobody really needs 600 HP. So why do they make ‘em??? Rhetorical question, so please don’t pile up on me for it.

I almost got a Genny coupe. Looks awesome and the newer models had decent performance to boot. This Stinger (dumbest name ever) is a really impressive vehicle coming from a manufacturer that many considered junk. When Korean cars are becoming the front runner in sport sedan models it leaves much to be said. German car reliability is very hit or miss, Japan will stick with hybrids and as for the American manufaturers it's still the same offerings. Nice to see something different and give the people something to be excited about. Without much competition the Stinger will probably be a very nice niche vehicle for someone looking for a sedan with more. Only time will tell however.

If I it makes you Happy? A Z With a tune has an estimated top speed of 168mph. A well modified Z with a tune may get as high as 171mph. :tiphat:

My opinion pretty much aligns with yours. In a year or two? I could pick up a Stinger, for under $35k used? I'd buy it... I'd choose it over a Q50 if shopping for sedans. But if I got a better deal on a Q70, the Q70 wins hands down. I really love the Q70. I would call it Nissan/Infiniti perfection.

I too almost bought a genny back when. It was between the Z, camaro and gencoupe. The Z won. But I walked away from my genesis driving experiences with a smile. It just needed a few tweaks to make it perfect. Tweaks the Z already had.

I hate to burst people’s bubble, but Nissan will always have a strong market-share presence, as with other car companies. Whether you buy Nissan or not, whether you switch to another brand, Nissan doesn’t care because there will always be someone to buy from them. The 370Z has been in production for almost a decade with minor updates, yet is still selling.

Exactly man. I like the direction Hyundai/kia are going and in a few years if the price is right on a Stinger it'll be something to consider.