Nice new Kia

[The Fat Clerk]

I was @ Rockingham yesterday for a 'Sprint' meeting and got the chance to drive a Kia Stinger 'GT S' 3.3 T-GDi 365bhp 8-speed auto ISG which is new to the market @ just under £40K.

Got to say I was impressed, accelerated well, stopped well, was smooth and even with 4 adults in the suspension coped perfectly.

As a demonstrator it had all the bells & whistles of course -heated seats front and rear, cold air
blower on front seats, cameras everywhere, heads up speedo etc.

Nice car,

Would I swap my Range Rover for it?

No of course not

[FIRE]

Why the ' ' ?

[The Fat Clerk]

Originally Posted by FIRE

Why the ' ' ?

It's a Range Rover thing, once bitten etc.

I wouldn't even swap it for the 911 I had @ the start of this century.

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by The Fat Clerk

It's a Range Rover thing, once bitten etc.

I wouldn't even swap it for the 911 I had @ the start of this century.

Judging by my coworkers, it's once bitten...until you drive something German, then you laugh at the those Range Rovers.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by The Fat Clerk

It's a Range Rover thing, once bitten etc.
.

And Kia owners aren't entitled to believe they own the road. All of the roads. And every part of all of the roads....

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Judging by my coworkers, it's once bitten...until you drive something German, then you laugh at the those Range Rovers.

Yes, but you have to be careful not to frighten the kiddies in the child seats on the 'offroad' school run.....

Sorry, but I have an overdeveloped dislike of 4x4s, particularly Range Rovers, the majority of which appear to me to be driven by people with molluscs for brains. Present company excepted, of course....

[The Fat Clerk]

Sorry, but I have an overdeveloped dislike of 4x4s, particularly Range Rovers, the majority of which appear to me to be driven by people with molluscs for brains. Present company excepted, of course....
[/QUOTE]

I agree with you to a large extent. I have an intense dislike of Chelsea Tractors as well, I have no kids and at 59 not likely to, my car is a practical working vehicle not a fashion accessary.

Living in rural Leicestershire come the winter the council don't send people out to clear the 'normal' roads, so you need something to get around in.

It's also handy for my hobby as well, we do a lot of rally radio (Jupiter 11) and have to drive the stages to get to and from position.
On Wales Rally GB last week for example our stage was over 19 miles long and we were on a post best part of in the centre of it, driving at 11pm the course was interesting in the dark, getting off it was even more fun after over 300 cars had ripped the forest apart, certainly couldn't have done it in a 'normal' car.

Yes I enjoyed the Kia, but it wouldn't suit my lifestyle!

[Aysedasi]

Well, bearing all of that in mind, you're exactly the kind of person who needs a 4x4....

(Phew.... ).

[GTRMagic]

Does anyone really pay 40k in her majesty's finest British pounds for a KIA?



The Stinger is here too, but its like something is missing. Sure, you can fry the tyres almost at will if you want to, and it steers okay (feels quite heavy on change of direction actually) and looks kinda okay, til you see the Kia badge..

The soul seems missing somehow...

No thanks..

[Aysedasi]

Apropos the mention of Range Rovers (and my comments about them), I did rather chortle when I saw this today.....

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotla...ntral-45964816

That's two that won't be on the road for a while......

[The Fat Clerk]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Apropos the mention of Range Rovers (and my comments about them), I did rather chortle when I saw this today.....

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotla...ntral-45964816

That's two that won't be on the road for a while......

Brilliant, now if I need some spares

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Does anyone really pay 40k in her majesty's finest British pounds for a KIA?



The Stinger is here too, but its like something is missing. Sure, you can fry the tyres almost at will if you want to, and it steers okay (feels quite heavy on change of direction actually) and looks kinda okay, til you see the Kia badge..

The soul seems missing somehow...

No thanks..

That's because it's a Stinger, not a soul.



To be honest, in terms of soul I wouldn't even count the Range Rover as having a pulse. That to me is completely void of any sort of personality. Of the two, I wouldn't even hesitate in choosing the Stinger.

[NaBUru38]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

That's because it's a Stinger, not a soul.

[E.B]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Apropos the mention of Range Rovers (and my comments about them), I did rather chortle when I saw this today.....

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotla...ntral-45964816

That's two that won't be on the road for a while......

Well they had an RR HighLine, welcome now to the LowLine!

[Aysedasi]

Is there a Noline......?

[wnut]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Does anyone really pay 40k in her majesty's finest British pounds for a KIA?



The Stinger is here too, but its like something is missing. Sure, you can fry the tyres almost at will if you want to, and it steers okay (feels quite heavy on change of direction actually) and looks kinda okay, til you see the Kia badge..

The soul seems missing somehow...

No thanks..

No manual gearbox = no soul.

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by wnut

No manual gearbox = no soul.

I've always loved that argument, and yet when cars have been offered with manuals even car guys have not bought them. See the discounts on the Chevy SS manuals to get them off the damn lots finally. Everyone wants them online and rarely buys them in the real world.

[wnut]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

I've always loved that argument, and yet when cars have been offered with manuals even car guys have not bought them. See the discounts on the Chevy SS manuals to get them off the damn lots finally. Everyone wants them online and rarely buys them in the real world.

Not everyone, there are a few dinosaurs around who genuinely prefer manual cars, I got suckered into an automatic car, because the model I wanted could not be supplied in a manual, it is the only automatic car that I have ever owned, and the last, I will never ever own an automatic car again.
I loath the stupid thing and grab my wife's manual anytime I can get my hands on it and she moans bitterly when stuck with my car, which is newer, quieter, and more comfortable than her car. On a spec sheet the auto is better in every way, and yet.

Guess there is always one clown that doesn't enjoy something!

[Mike Harte]

After commuting for 6 months through London from the south to the north in 1971, I decided to try an automatic to see whether that made the driving experience any more tolerable.


Not owned a manual since then, and even as a petrol head, I've not missed having to change gears. And every time that I go away on holiday and get a manual, I am reminded why I still prefer an automatic.

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by Mike Harte

After commuting for 6 months through London from the south to the north in 1971, I decided to try an automatic to see whether that made the driving experience any more tolerable.


Not owned a manual since then, and even as a petrol head, I've not missed having to change gears. And every time that I go away on holiday and get a manual, I am reminded why I still prefer an automatic.

Next thing will be an EV, then Mike! All the easy driving benefits of an auto plus the ability to slow down using ‘engine’ (regenerative) braking if you desire.....

Combined with a good cruise control, almost ‘no pedal’ driving- when safe to do so, naturally!

[Dave Brand]

I'd go so far as to say that some cars NEED an automatic transmission.


The last auto I drove was a 2018 Dodge Charger, just the base model with a 292bhp V6. The transmission in that was a ZF 8-speed, far & away the best auto I've ever driven.


With gearing so high that it's only doing around 1,700 rpm at 70 mph you need to change down several gears to obtain any meaningful acceleration - its favourite gear when "making progress" was third! With 8 gears available there's one for every occasion; changes were so smooth that I had to look at the indicator on the dash to see what gear it was in.


I did try manual shifting on a twisty road in Montana, but after a couple of miles I realised that if you've got a machine that can do the job better than you can, why make work for yourself.


The high gearing pays off in fuel consumption. Over 2000+ miles in conditions as varied as the Rocky Mountains & Seattle rush-hour traffic it average just over 26 mpg. That's puny little US gallons, around 31 mpg in full-size British gallons.


On the other hand, our current car is a DS3; I wouldn't want the auto version of that.

[Aysedasi]

I bought my first auto in March this year. Always thought them a bit 'soft'.... My 1 series was only available in a step auto and I thought, 'That's fine, I'll use the manual option all the time'. I've never used it. From the moment I drove it home I began to realise what I'd been missing. I spend a lot of time (far too much time) stuck in traffic mornings and evenings and my clutch foot thinks it's Christmas already..... The car's got a modicum of pep with sporty settings and reacts perfectly quickly enough for me. I doubt that I'll ever go back......

[The Fat Clerk]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

I bought my first auto in March this year. Always thought them a bit 'soft'.... My 1 series was only available in a step auto and I thought, 'That's fine, I'll use the manual option all the time'. I've never used it. From the moment I drove it home I began to realise what I'd been missing. I spend a lot of time (far too much time) stuck in traffic mornings and evenings and my clutch foot thinks it's Christmas already..... The car's got a modicum of pep with sporty settings and reacts perfectly quickly enough for me. I doubt that I'll ever go back......

Both my cars (Mondeo & Range Rover) are auto's with the 'manual' option and I've never used it in either of them!

Getting old I guess, in the past I've had best part of every Escort there ever was, from a Mk1 RS right up to my last (& stolen) RS Cosworth, who'd of thought?

[GTRMagic]

My dear 8 year old Honda Accord Euro is a manual... and looking for a replacement for it... there just isnt one in this market that interests me.

You cant buy any Honda in Australia with a manual except the base model Jazz or City... or the boyracer Civic Type R that has a very poor manual gearbox to use..

Maybe I am a dinosaur... yet I prefer being able to control both acceleration and deceleration with the movement of the right foot on the throttle, rather than have the torque converter/CVT system completely ignore my inputs and either maintain or increase speed...

Having been 'blessed' with an R32 Golf DSG before this, I will not seek out another automatic transmission. Best part about that car, besides the engine note, is that when I traded it on the Honda, it cost me almost nothing. Despite being on its 4th transmission, 3rd steering rack, 2nd wiring loom and many other things that should not be replaced in under 30,000km, if at all.

Maybe I just succumb to the market and buy an SUV...

[Aysedasi]

Buy a bicycle. That's fully manual.......

[grantp]

My Father fancied an Auto back in the 60s. So he pex'd a Ford Zephyr for a 1500 Cortina Auto in 1965.

I got the impression he may have decided he had made a mistake. He seemed to drive it far more aggressively, in terms of engine use, as the weeks passed. Then, one night when it was a few months old, we hit the back of a badly lit artic that had stopped just after a bend on a cross country B road on a wet November evening.

Once the insurance had paid up he went off and bought a Cortina GT. Very sensible I thought. However, 5 years later he sold that and bought a Morris 1800 Auto. Sadly that outlived him.

I went Auto in the late 90s with a VX Senator 24V. Proper transport for my weekly commute at the time. I adopted left foot braking to give the left leg something to do.

I have not hankered after manuals since although my wife's Toyota is manual, so I still get some practise from time to time. Awkward though since I dare not change the seating position enough to suit me for the short trips, knowing that she will complain about having to try to get it back to how she wants it if I do more than slide the seat back.

The Toyota is quite interesting despite how people feel about them, although when I last drove it a few days ago I got the impression that the gear change was not as good as I had thought it to be. Maybe my occasional spirited use is not doing it any good.

On the subject of Kia - some years ago when my car was in for a service the loan car available on the day was a little Kia Picanto. It looked like its previous life had involved being towed by a motorhome.

It was a typical small shopping trolley ... except that it had the very best manual gearbox I have ever used. It was so good that for a while I briefly considered buying the thing just to be able to experience the 'box now and again.

Fortunately sense prevailed.