The large sedan market has all but diminished as SUV’s have become the vehicle of choice however of those remaining, and there’s only two outside of the dearer prestige market, the Kia Stinger is the most compelling.

A four-model rear drive sports sedan range – two V6 twin-turbo rocket ships that have caught the eye of many police forces around the country and two four-cylinder turbo models – of these I tested the entry 2.0-litre turbo eight-speed automatic 200S at $54,290 drive-away.

Still a commendable sports sedan with a 0 to 100km/hour time of just 6 seconds. Refreshed last year with some minor styling and wheel updates, upgraded drive assist technologies and some added safety and convenience features. The Kia Stinger a very good looking sedan –  on the open road a delightful GT long distance cruiser and a great driver.

Like all Kia’s, very well-tuned for our road conditions and that’s been a hallmark of the Korean brand here for a long time – suspension and steering tune first rate in a sports sedan that feels extremely well balanced. I managed 9.4L/100km on 91 RON petrol with a fair amount of open road motoring. Biggest gripe is the lack of a rear window wiper/washer, The Kia Stinger well supported with a 7-year/unlimited kilometre warranty and scheduled services every 12 months or 10,000kms.

I’m David Berthon.

Click PLAY to listen!

Download this podcast here