Volkswagen and Kia may not be premium brands, but some of their models clearly aspire to punch above their weight.
VW’s current flagship is the Arteon, a Passat-based four-door coupe that serves as the replacement to the CC. Kia has a very similar model in its lineup, the Stinger GT – although the Korean brand also offers the K900 full-blown luxury sedan in some markets. Throttle House has put the Arteon R-Line and Stinger GT side by side to see how similar and, of course, how different they are.
Right off the bat, it’s worth noting that the Stinger GT offers a more rewarding driving experience, seeing as it sits on a rear-wheel-drive platform, while the Arteon uses a front-wheel-drive architecture, although both offer AWD as an option.
Watch: The Worst Thing About Kia’s Stinger GT Is Its Non-Luxury Badge
The Stinger GT is also more powerful, packing a 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6 that produces 365 HP (370 PS) and 376 lb-ft (510 Nm) of torque. The Arteon, on the other hand, uses a 2.0-liter TSI turbo four delivering 268 HP (272 PS) and 258 lb-ft (350 Nm) of torque. Both cars tested feature eight-speed automatic transmissions and AWD systems.
So why are the guys comparing these two cars when the Kia has that much edge over the VW in terms of power and torque – and, subsequently, performance? Well, as surprising as it may sound, they are quite evenly matched when it comes to pricing. So, on paper, the Stinger GT should walk away with the win, but you have to watch the review below to find out if that’s indeed the case.