[otay]

A Jalopnik story:

The 2017 Kia GT Is The Rear-Wheel Drive Budget BMW From Korea
http://jalopnik.com/the-2017-kia-gt-...get-1789602108


This made me smile:
"Hey you, yeah you on the BMW website! I see you building that 4 Series Gran Coupe you can’t afford, and I have some good news."

The story links to this Kia website: http://www.thecurveahead.net/

Any new RWD sedan is a good thing, IMHO. I'm not a fan of the design (from the pic), and my next car is still gonna be a 340i, but more competition is better for all.

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by otay

Any new RWD sedan is a good thing, IMHO.

Exactly, not a huge fan of anything from Kia so far personally, but I fully agree, any new RWD coming to the market is a good news.

[spuntyb]

Originally Posted by Bbb34

Exactly, not a huge fan of anything from Kia so far personally, but I fully agree, any new RWD coming to the market is a good news.

You mean you were excited by the Smart ForTwo?

[CalCarNut]

UGLY. The side mirrors (chrome?)..the tail lights remind me of a Lincoln MKZ, the front looks like a mash up of a Hyundai and a Kia. The wheels are also ugly. The overall lines of the car are terrible and whats with the stationary window in the back doors that looks like an afterthought? Robert Cumberford at Automobile magazine will have a field day with this monstrosity......

[McBride]

I'm really liking the current range of Kia's, if I were to go down a step from BMW I would definitely look at Kia before Ford etc.

[otay]

If you look at the bottom of the webpage (http://www.thecurveahead.net/), you can see 2 cars...is the one on the right a 2-door? I like the front end on that one much better than the one on the right.

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by spuntyb

You mean you were excited by the Smart ForTwo?

Ha, ha, busted good one.
I'm 6'7" so I must be honest and admit I didn't cross shop Smart with my current car.

But... look, if there's a new RWD out there, can't be bad to have another option for those who are interested, that's kinda what I meant - as I said, not a fan of Kia's designs myself.

[rolltidef32]

Although when I think of Kia, I think of cut corners, cheap parts, poor build quality, although stylish autos, I think this car is in the right direction.

Seems that the Koreans wish to catch up to Honda and Toyota in regards to respect of brand; I applaud this.

The reality is that lots of folk can't afford a BMW. However, that doesn't mean these people don't love cars, are enthusiasts, and don't deserve a quality ride.

I hope this car is like a Genesis and offers a fairly component car for a more reasonable price.

Hats off to Kia for even attempting to change their philosophy and build better RWD options.

[CIWS]

Show me details/specs of a production model and I'll start thinking about it.

Jalopnik says they could use the new 365hp TT V6 engine. Even if they do but the car's weight is 4000lbs+ and weight balance is off it's just another Taurus SHO. It's about total package not a couple of high points.

[gds52]

Look how Kia and Hyundai captured Honda/Toyota market...they have warranty options for 10 years.
Sooner or later they will catch up with premium brands. If this car comes with power and costs around base 320i then it will be much better option.

[otay]

Update here:
http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-show...ia-stinger-gt/

"The Stinger GT is somewhat similar in intent to a BMW 4-series GranCoupe, but it looks better." I don't know about that, 4 GC is very sharp. But I do kinda like this design.

It'll be interesting to see how it performs.

[CIWS]

Well it at least looks like they've been improving over the last few years.

2013



2014



2015



2016

[otay]

Originally Posted by CIWS

Well it at least looks like they've been improving over the last few years.

Yes, from JD Powers it appears BMW is above Kia in reliability, but I guess it depends on who you ask:
http://www.consumerreports.org/car-r...they-stack-up/

Don't get me wrong, I love my car, but I'd like to see BMW step up it's game.

[RoundelM3]

Once again, the choice is between the real thing and yet another wannabe. Nice to see the wannabes stepping up their game, though. This kinda reminds me of when Pontiac ran a commercial about how one of their ugliest cars from the 1990s was being compared to a similar-sized BMW as an affordable alternative - even though it was FWD.

[CalCarNut]

Originally Posted by roundel335

Once again, the choice is between the real thing and yet another wannabe. Nice to see the wannabes stepping up their game, though. This kinda reminds me of when Pontiac ran a commercial about how one of their ugliest cars from the 1990s was being compared to a similar-sized BMW as an affordable alternative - even though it was FWD.

Bonneville?

[bad karma]

Originally Posted by roundel335

Once again, the choice is between the real thing and yet another wannabe.

Even if the "wannabe's" were 100% indistinguishable from the "real thing" other than the blue and white logo, people like you would still be saying this.

Kia has been upping their game for years. They head-hunted Albert Biermann, chief engineer from BMW's M division, to engineer the suspension, chassis, powertrain, etc on this car. They've had Peter Schreyer from Audi heading their design team for a couple years now. They have some amazing people creating these things, and whether or not this car will be "as good" as a BMW is up for debate (since it hasn't even been test driven by the press yet), but let's not pretend BMW is the flagship performance-oriented brand they used to be, either. That title has been slipping more and more every year, as BMW stagnates and other brands improve.

Brands like BMW and Mercedes and Audi and Porsche are prestigious. But prestige will rapidly lose its luster when you spend $20,000 extra for a roundel and nothing substantive backs it up.

[madmonkey]

That thing looks like an ugly cross between the rear end of an Audi, the midsection of a BMW and a bad imitation of a Mercedes interior. Which all makes sense given who they've hired to do their designing.

Saying that BMW is losing their "driving performance", you have to remember who BMW is trying to get to buy their cars. They are catering to a broader range of drivers, with more model offerings than ever before in a "something for everyone" strategy. Arguably this may be diluting the brand. However, this strategy has helped them sell 1.8 million vehicles in 2016 (not including Mini and Motorrad sales).

[Billfitz]

I think it looks OK. So does a Ford Fusion. That's not enough to make me want to own one.

[Araemo]

Based on the specs, this seems like a 5-series competitor, despite the article saying it's a 3-series competitor. There's no weight listed, but length is much closer to the 5-series than the 3-series. (The proportions also make me think Jaguar XF, which is another 5er class car)

[tex2670]

Originally Posted by roundel335

Once again, the choice is between the real thing and yet another wannabe. Nice to see the wannabes stepping up their game, though. This kinda reminds me of when Pontiac ran a commercial about how one of their ugliest cars from the 1990s was being compared to a similar-sized BMW as an affordable alternative - even though it was FWD.

Call it a "wannabe" if you want, but there's an untapped market for such a car, if it's executed properly. You don't think Lexus was called a "wannabe" when it first came out (not necessarily referring to the "sport sedan" subcategory)? Lexus quickly became a legitimate nameplate in the market place.

Being like Pontiac, and just saying your car compares to a BMW is one thing. But actually making a car with similar characteristics to a BMW, and pulling it off, is another--regardless of whether Kia overtly compares itself to BMW.

We see plenty of "Accord v 320" debates here. There are people that want to move from an Accord to a RWD handling platform. Kia is just finally providing a mainstream nameplate to deliver on that, at a mainstream price. Kudos to them.

[CIWS]

Originally Posted by otay

Yes, from JD Powers it appears BMW is above Kia in reliability, but I guess it depends on who you ask:
http://www.consumerreports.org/car-r...they-stack-up/

Don't get me wrong, I love my car, but I'd like to see BMW step up it's game.

The Consumer Reports reliability looks / compares to the last 12 months.

"Consumer Reports surveys our magazine and website subscribers each year to ask about any serious problems they've had with their vehicles in the preceding 12 months."


The J.D. Power Dependability study looks at the cars after 3 years of ownership. So the two really aren't looking at data from the same time frames.

I like to look at the J D Power study over several years to see which brands are staying at the top, the bottom, and/or jumping around. Just as we can see brands like Lexus and Buick staying at the top, Dodge and Jeep tend to stay toward the bottom.

[STR8-6IX]

Tacky.