Will Kia Stinger really flog an SS?

[Pollushon]

Go paint your brakes again...surely add 50hp.

Buuuuurn! Got me twice with that one. Nah I'll just put a bigger pulley on and rich up the tune waiting for you to clean the sand out of your vag

 

[monstar]

If I had to choose which car suits me out of VFII SS-V Wagon and Kia it would be the Holden.
Mainly the commercial body size and serviceable interior for getting on with it, eating half a million km through all sorts of inevitable mishaps and adverse situations. It’s drivetrain simplicity is also a low-risk (proven) known item with understressed, overengineered components tune up easily to 500 rwhp without noise, emissions, heat and consumption dramas.
Turbos are great and have their place, if I was racing around like a boy racer I’d prolly choose the turbo or VTEC rush over effortless rolling grunt on-demand. I did that as 15 yo then on Ps but now three times older the Holden does me daily and a pocket turbo screams cheap thrills.
To be clear, the Stinger that performs close lists at $68k da, that’s $20k more than VF SS Sportwagon on release, $40k more than a well-kept just run-in example today.
Stinger seems ideal for poseurs leasing latest model showroom cars for around town, for sure. Say, hairdressers

 

[Forg]

I doubt anyone would consider a cammed Redline 'average'...

Actually, I think that a big part of Holden's death was due to the fact that most people who buy cars wouldn't know a Redline from an Omega, and they still consider Commodores to be as average as (for example) a VT was. You know a VF is nowhere near as crap as that, I know a VF is nowhere near as crap as that, but decades of making pretty average cars hurt the Holden reputation to the degree that a whole bunch of car enthusiasts went "wow that's actually a decent car" about the VF but only after the news of the end of manufacturing ... because they'd had so many years of seeing dodgy ones in the past.

Indeed, what other large RWD can you get in that price range? The Chrysler 300? That is certainly value for money if you rate it as tons per dollar.

We were giggling about the NSW highway patrol getting 520d's and 300C SRT's ... if you were pinged by the 520 you'd be getting away even if you were in your grandma's auto 1979 Gemini, if you were pinged by the 300C all you'd have to do is find a corner or keep the chase going for maybe 120 seconds 'cos they only have an 80L or so fuel tank.

No, I think it’s amazing...just not the holy grail...people talk it up online, in magazines...but every test is the forced induction Kia v NA Commodore? Why not put it up Flagship v Flagship, GTS LSA?

Because the Stinger costs about the same as the Redline they compare it to used to cost; $57.2k for the Redline, $59k for the Stinger GT.
If you're comparing GTS's there's almost nothing to compare to! If you're going for performance, sure there are more nimble smaller cars which would smash a GTS if corners were involved, but if you want a full-sized car ... there just isn't anything to compare to until you're looking at $250k Germans. You can probably option an E500 to perform as well, but those options are expensive (I was looking at a Jag XF wagon the other day out of interest ... $90k isn't too bad a starting-point for something like that, but in this day & age it doesn't even come with CarPlay or radar cruise - they're 4-figure options!).

 

[Tryg]

Buuuuurn! Got me twice with that one. Nah I'll just put a bigger pulley on and rich up the tune waiting for you to clean the sand out of your vag

Okay, You got me...lunch money.

 

[monstar]

Actually, I think that a big part of Holden's death was due to the fact that most people who buy cars wouldn't know a Redline from an Omega, and they still consider Commodores to be as average as (for example) a VT was. You know a VF is nowhere near as crap as that, I know a VF is nowhere near as crap as that, but decades of making pretty average cars hurt the Holden reputation to the degree that a whole bunch of car enthusiasts went "wow that's actually a decent car" about the VF but only after the news of the end of manufacturing ... because they'd had so many years of seeing dodgy ones in the past.

Most buyers lap up the schpiel that a turbo is more efficient than a V8 and has new technology that makes it just as good.
I think that, and the fact the VF was not radically different after seven years of production, nothing more than a facelifted VE if we are honest, led to VF being a monumental manufacturing basket case.
Bloody overhyped flogging of a dead horse coupled with GM’s dirty business and political past catching up with it in the face of extremely affordable new imports.
Don’t forget VE was actually a hit, something to be proud of at the time, a sales leader. Its modernisation was obviously not as tasty, a complete failure, like the Mitsu 380. VE VF and 380 still good cars, just FPFQ, out of fashion. For the time being.

 

[Tryg]

Most buyers lap up the schpiel that a turbo is more efficient than a V8 and has new technology that makes it just as good.
I think that, and the fact the VF was not radically different after seven years of production, nothing more than a facelifted VE if we are honest, led to VF being a monumental manufacturing basket case.
Bloody overhyped flogging of a dead horse coupled with GM’s dirty business and political past catching up with it in the face of extremely affordable new imports.
Don’t forget VE was actually a hit, something to be proud of at the time, a sales leader. Its modernisation was obviously not as tasty, a complete failure, like the Mitsu 380. VE VF and 380 still good cars, just FPFQ, out of fashion. For the time being.

They had a great opportunity to add some good fruit out of the catalog, like; adaptive cruise, autonomous braking etc... Even my Chrysler had heated/cooled drink holders etc... these things would’ve made it a better proposition.

 

[Tryg]

Most buyers lap up the schpiel that a turbo is more efficient than a V8 and has new technology that makes it just as good.
I think that, and the fact the VF was not radically different after seven years of production, nothing more than a facelifted VE if we are honest, led to VF being a monumental manufacturing basket case.
Bloody overhyped flogging of a dead horse coupled with GM’s dirty business and political past catching up with it in the face of extremely affordable new imports.
Don’t forget VE was actually a hit, something to be proud of at the time, a sales leader. Its modernisation was obviously not as tasty, a complete failure, like the Mitsu 380. VE VF and 380 still good cars, just FPFQ, out of fashion. For the time being.

The US GM execs were so pleased with the VE platform they asked Holden to develop the 5th gen Camaro based on the Zeta platform, high praise indeed!

 

[monstar]

They had a great opportunity to add some good fruit out of the catalog, like; adaptive cruise, autonomous braking etc... Even my Chrysler had heated/cooled drink holders etc... these things would’ve made it a better proposition.

Exactly, for some reason faux suede, shiny trim, and the handsfree reverse parking crawl feature impressed Holden’s R&D test groups more than the wants of the established buyer demographic.
I think Holden started to lose the plot with VF, now is clearly out there with their Melbourne metro view of the modern Australian...

I’m racist, clearly, because I think there is not that much racial diversity in a representative sample of 10 Australians. We have Middle East but where’s the token Aboriginal FFS?
Safety as you mentioned would have lifted the VF, but Holden has definitely lost the plot, not addressing the requirements / values of my 20 nearest neighbours with ready cash to buy everyday performance cars.

 

[Tryg]

Exactly, for some reason faux suede, shiny trim, and the handsfree reverse parking crawl feature impressed Holden’s R&D test groups more than the wants of the established buyer demographic.
I think Holden started to lose the plot with VF, now is clearly out there with their Melbourne metro view of the modern Australian...

Safety as you mentioned would have lifted the VF, but Holden has definitely lost the plot, not addressing the requirements / values of my 20 nearest neighbours with ready cash to buy everyday performance cars.

It’s one of the reasons we dropped $185k on the two FCA products. Such good fruit. I’m looking at replacing the Jeep with a Mercedes, because they seem to be leading that charge.

 

[monstar]

It’s one of the reasons we dropped $185k on the two FCA products. Such good fruit. I’m looking at replacing the Jeep with a Mercedes, because they seem to be leading that charge.

Jeezus more like spoils of war than a Navy payout!