Kia Stinger vs Alfa Romeo Giulia for MotorTrend Car of the Year

[Kia Stinger]

I think the car is pretty good looking, but directly from the front it looks a little walleyed with the headlights being at the very edges of the hood.

Also, with Fiat having some of the worst reliability ratings around, Alfa's crap warranty system and the general blah of Fiat Chrysler all made me stay away. Plus a number of tests noted things like the head units crashing and rebooting and other niggles. It's always key to remember that apart from a few mags who do long term 6 months-1 year tests like Automobile and Car & Driver, maybe a few others, these reviewers drive the cars for at most a few hours a day for, at most, 2-3 days. Even the long term tests aren't that long compared to ownership length. I've owned my Golf for just over a year and have put 18k+ miles on it with no issues, but I guarantee you in the next year or two they'll start piling up and quick with VW's rep.

Yeah, I'm not crazy about anything to do with Chrysler. I bought a new 2007 300C years ago. It was a really nice car and I loved it - other than some kinda bad computer issues that left the car powerful in the middle of an intersection once or twice - and really, REALLY bad service. So I'll probably never go back to them again. But I do like a lot of their new vehicles and I wonder if they've gotten any better with reliability and service. I'm guessing not...

 

[Dick Dastardly]

I test drove the Giulia Veloce (280hp / RWD) and have to say it was an impressive car. Handling and acceleration were both good.
However, the style is too close to A BMW 3 and was directly influenced by CEO Marchionne to compete in the sector, so it has lost a great deal of what used to make Alfas special.
For the same (list) price you can have the 3.3 Stinger with more power, better ride, more kit and definitely more individuality and style. Which is why I chose the latter.
In any direct comparison it is a no brainer, the Stinger wins out.

 

[Kia Stinger]

I test drove the Giulia Veloce (280hp / RWD) and have to say it was an impressive car. Handling and acceleration were both good.
However, the style is too close to A BMW 3 and was directly influenced by CEO Marchionne to compete in the sector, so it has lost a great deal of what used to make Alfas special.
For the same (list) price you can have the 3.3 Stinger with more power, better ride, more kit and definitely more individuality and style. Which is why I chose the latter.
In any direct comparison it is a no brainer, the Stinger wins out.

You're right, you really can't beat the Stinger - especially when you start factoring in price...

 

[MarkyMark]

It's definitely a very sweet vehicle. If I were to decide to lease, it might make my list. To buy, it starts where the Stinger tops out, and the only reason I'm considering the top Stinger (GT2) is because of , everything, plus that red nappa leather. That starting model is a full second slower to 60mph than the Stinger. It's much smaller. I did sit in a Quadrofoglio at the car show, though, and with that models very thin front seats, rear seat room is better than I thought. The base model, though, has much thicker front seats that eat into rear legroom. Also, to me, reliability is not a solved issue until you have years of verified good reliability. The Giulia will always be in the equation just for the performance. I'd love to test drive one. My sweet spot is under $40,000 though. I could do more, and I may, for the right vehicle, but the base Giulia isn't drawing me to do so as of this moment.

I'm 6'1" and I cannot sit behind myself in a Giulia. Basically, it's a high, high, performance compact sedan if you will, designed to go beat up on the BMW 3 series, M-series if I get really specific (at least on Giulia's high-end). I also could not afford one, but even if I could, and it was the same price as a Stinger, it's just too darn small. Great drive, but just too small for my needs. Kia really nailed it with the Stinger in size, performance, price, and luxury-enough for probably 80% of those that look at it.

 

[MarkyMark]

You're right, you really can't beat the Stinger - especially when you start factoring in price...

It is an odd thing. When products such as a TV streaming boxes are compared, often you'll see "but Apple TV 4K with HDR and Dolby Vision is $60 more – it's really expensive!" I think to myself, "Hello? It's $60 more for the next 5 years of my living room experience... Who cares about $60..."

But when it comes to a car, and we are talking $10k - $15k more for one over another, that's no $60! Big money differences between cars is a year of my kid's college education or close too!!! Suddenly, price DOES TRULY become a factor.

I'm a Mazda 6 Touring w/Tech owner. Love it, but I'm entering year 5 very soon, and over 100k. Sure, it has zero rattles, rock solid, and could probably go 250k... But that Stinger is pulling me north in a hurry. The Stinger 2.0L base w/Saftey package is going to run around $34,900... In a year, they'll be a rebate, I can get a nice discount at the dealer and suddenly it's $31k. Wow, what a car for the money! Again, $100 more for a phone xyz, or a watch or, or, or, big deal. But yes, BIG money makes a BIG difference when it comes to a car decision.

Kia nailed it. They are going to pull a lot of mainstream, wanna drive a roomy yet sporty sedan, buyers north. Honda Accord? Meh... Toyota (desperately building "sporty" Camry plastic - AKA the New Pontiac), not a chance. Kia's Stinger is what people like me have been looking for in what seems like an eternity, and wham-o! It's here!

 

[eljay]

Kia's Stinger is what people like me have been looking for in what seems like an eternity, and wham-o! It's here!

You've nailed it!

 

[Kia Stinger]

You've nailed it!

He certainly did! 100%...

 

[Dick Dastardly]

Short review in a local UK newspaper. I think this sums up perfectly why the Stinger is so good. The established car magazines seem to have missed the big picture by constantly focussing on why the Stinger is not a BMW / Mercedes / Audi etc rather than why it is so good in its own right.
Enjoy!
http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/motoring/kia-stinger-scores-high-road-895409

 

[Kia Stinger]

The established car magazines seem to have missed the big picture by constantly focussing on why the Stinger is not a BMW / Mercedes / Audi etc rather than why it is so good in its own right.

Great article and this is the take-away for me...

 

[BAM]

I drove the lower model Giulia... to be honest I wasnt all that impressed. The handling is nimble and it looks nice, but it didnt feel like a luxury car really, and it almost felt too light. There was not enough rear leg room for an adult to sit comfortably. It's great for a single person or couple without kids etc, but I would get a 3 series or 4 series BMW over it. Just personal preference but my sweet spot for a car is something between the size of an Audi A5 and Hyundai G80.

As a single person without kids I loved the AR Guilia! It is intended to be performance not luxury. I've test driven the Stinger also - bothbase models and no comparison on the base as far as performance. Guilia beats hands down IMO. I'd buy a Guilia if I was looking to spend $40+ on a car right now. It is small inside but that doesn't bother me since again I'm single no kids and like the smaller sport sedans that can move in and out of trafffic not needing much space...zoom zoom

 

[BAM]

@MarkyMark... Trust me you can double your mileage I have an 11 yr old Mazda6 with 219,000 miles on it. Now there are some rattles and rocks at this point, definitely time to move on to the next, hopefully Stinger. I almost purchased one yesterday but think I will wait a few months to a year (or as long as my car will hold up) for the price to go down a bit.

I'm a Mazda 6 Touring w/Tech owner. Love it, but I'm entering year 5 very soon, and over 100k. Sure, it has zero rattles, rock

 

[ralzod]

@MarkyMark...I have an 11 yr old Mazda6 with 219,000 miles on it...
...I'm a Mazda 6 Touring w/Tech owner. Love it, but I'm entering year 5 very soon, and over 100k.

I'm curious what your driving profile is to average 100K+ per car every 5 years. Long commute, using your cars for business, or working Lyft on the side? Do you expect to work the Stinger as hard?

 

[BAM]

I'm curious what your driving profile is to average 100K+ per car every 5 years. Long commute, using your cars for business, or working Lyft on the side? Do you expect to work the Stinger as hard?

Ha, actually it's a 2003 but I've had it for 11 years, avg a little over 15k a year.

 

[westcoastGT]

I test drove the Giulia Veloce (280hp / RWD) and have to say it was an impressive car. Handling and acceleration were both good.
However, the style is too close to A BMW 3 and was directly influenced by CEO Marchionne to compete in the sector, so it has lost a great deal of what used to make Alfas special.
For the same (list) price you can have the 3.3 Stinger with more power, better ride, more kit and definitely more individuality and style. Which is why I chose the latter.
In any direct comparison it is a no brainer, the Stinger wins out.

...................and its front end is really really FUGLY !

 

[ralzod]

...................and its front end is really really FUGLY !

People say the same thing about the Lexus IS. Or that the Infiniti Q50 is too bland. Hell, weren't some people initially saying the Stinger was cartoon-like? I'm not sure where they get that, but I do feel that the dark chrome trim is a little more garish than I prefer, although it has grown on me over the last year. Regardless, it's all eye of the beholder stuff, not objective data.

 

[Kia Stinger]

You're right, @ralzod - beauty IS in the eye of the beholder... I was planning on grabbing this picture and saying it's not ugly at all - but I have to admit - I do think it's sort of fugly. Maybe it just needs to grow on me. I will admit that there's some special, weird kind of masculinity about it. But as of now, the Italian in me say, "fah-chee brewt"!

 

[westcoastGT]

I'm sorry but , it is plain alien like ! Its like they just made it different for the sake of being different - FUGLY .......imho !

 

[zoop]

You're right, @ralzod - beauty IS in the eye of the beholder... I was planning on grabbing this picture and saying it's not ugly at all - but I have to admit - I do think it's sort of fugly. Maybe it just needs to grow on me. I will admit that there's some special, weird kind of masculinity about it. But as of now, the Italian in me say, "fah-chee brewt"!

I like the front, but the back is meh. Either way it isn't really a Stinger competitor

 

[ibmaxx]

I'm sorry but , it is plain alien like ! Its like they just made it different for the sake of being different - FUGLY .......imho !

You're not wrong with that assessment. FUGLY for sure. Alfa has stuck with that awful triangle grille which looks like a bad nose job and with beady headlight eyes looks a bit bizarre. Look at how BMW have adapted their grille over the years. That's how you do it and Stinger have done a fine job too.
Also Fiat stuff cheap Chrysler bits (parts sharing) in to the Maserati and doubtless the Alfa too.

 

[MarkyMark]

@MarkyMark... Trust me you can double your mileage I have an 11 yr old Mazda6 with 219,000 miles on it. Now there are some rattles and rocks at this point, definitely time to move on to the next, hopefully Stinger. I almost purchased one yesterday but think I will wait a few months to a year (or as long as my car will hold up) for the price to go down a bit.

I'm a Mazda 6 Touring w/Tech owner. Love it, but I'm entering year 5 very soon, and over 100k. Sure, it has zero rattles, rock

I'm a long-time Mazda owner also. Well, let me clarify. I owned a stick 2.2l 1993 Ford Probe (Mazda engine and transmission, thrown into a Probe body in Flat Rock, MI - same line the MX-6 came off), and I drove it like a Ferrari, 167miles over 13 years. It was ROCK SOLID. Interior had rattles and such over time, but the engine and trans. were bullet-proof!

My brother and our good friend, we've all had multiple Mazda's. But now Kia may be swaying me. Not sure I want to wait another 2-years for Mazda to deliver an all-new Mazda6... We'll see.

If I do buy the Stinger, I'll be waiting into the fall of 2018, so I can get some rebate cash and push the price down to the floor. At least, it should be much easier to do so then vs now!