The new Kia Stinger is a shockingly good value with a starting price of around $32,000. The Stinger enters the market with almost no competition at its price, but some people still may not feel comfortable spending so much on an unproven model. We absolutely endorse the Kia Stinger, but the fully-loaded twin-turbo V6 model will cost up to around $51,000. This made us wonder, could we find five amazing used alternatives that were all available for less than the Stinger's $32,000 base price?
One of the issues that keeps coming up with the Stinger, is the fact that it has a Kia badge. We think that people need to get over the fact that Kia used to build some less than exciting cars, but for those who simply can't cope with this fact, we have an alternative. You won't have to worry about people judging you based on your car's badge with our first choice, the Porsche Panamera. We were staggered to find so many of these cars for less than $30,000. These weren't just base models either. We found plenty of S and 4S models with less than 100,000 miles. The Panamera S and 4S came with a 4.8-liter V8 with 400 hp, which is more than the Stinger. Although, you will have to deal with the looks of the original Panamera.
You won't have to worry about oozing style in our next choice, the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe. BMW was a bit late to the four-door-coupe market, but it definitely nailed it with this gorgeous model. For less than $30,000, we found plenty of 640 and 650 models in the four-door Gran Coupe body style. The 640i came with a 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six with 315 hp. This may be less potent than the V6 in the Stinger, but we also found 650 models, which came with a 445 hp 4.4-liter V8 under the hood. Sadly, we couldn't find a M6 Gran Coupe within the budget, but this is still a lot of BMW for less than $30,000.
The 6 Series is a great car, but there may be speed freaks out there who want a little more performance for their $30,000. We found several examples of the Mercedes CLS 550, as new as 2014, for less than $30,000. The CLS 550 came with a 4.7-liter V8 with 402 hp going out to RWD or 4Matic AWD. If that's not enough, we also found the previous generation CLS in the more powerful AMG trim. The CLS 63 AMG came with a hand-built 6.2-liter V8, which pumped out 507 hp. It may not have the affordable maintenance of the Kia, but it's amazing to think that a powerful AMG Mercedes can now be had for the same money.
Many of the people who buy the Kia Stinger will do so for its large proportions and practical lift-back hatch, rather than all-out performance. We wanted to include another practical choice on the list, the Audi A7. We still believe that the original design of the A7 is one of the best that Audi has ever come up with, and they can now be had for less than $30,000. Like the Stinger, the A7 comes with AWD and a large, lift-back hatch area to place large objects. The A7 may not be able to match the output of the V6 Stinger, but it does produce a healthy 310 hp from a 3.0-liter supercharged V6.
The final car on our list is our budget option, the Volkswagen CC. This was the first car to bring the four-door-coupe trend to an affordable level. The CC was offered with two engine options, a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and the rare 3.6-liter VR6 with AWD. The 2.0-liter model sent 200 hp to the front wheels only, but did come with an optional six-speed manual transmission. Those who could live without the third pedal could opt for the VR6 model, which pumped out 280 hp to 4Motion AWD. The Volkswagen CC is easily the most affordable Stinger alternative on the list, with prices that are well below $10,000 on the low end.
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