Buy them before we do: second-hand picks for 15 January

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15 January 2021

It seems only yesterday that we were waving goodbye to our long-term Stinger, the first Kia ever to conduct a credible burnout on these pages.

Such wanton displays of exuberance have hardly been intrinsically linked to the South Korean brand since it was launched in the UK in 1991 with the misleadingly named Pride hatchback, but the Stinger (aside from being much more suited to its moniker) is a bit of a departure from normality. For starters, there’s the method of propulsion: a 3.3-litre turbocharged petrol V6 sending a useful 365bhp and 376lb ft to the rear axle, which is good for a 0-62mph time of 4.9sec and a top speed of 168mph.

A genuinely fast car, then, and one that doesn’t fall apart at the sight of a sharp bend, either. After five months with our long-term test car, we deemed it more a grand tourer than a bona fide B-road weapon, but it didn’t come away all that red-faced from a battle with the Jaguar XE S and BMW 440i, which is testament to its well-roundedness and segment-leading value for money.

This last factor really got tongues wagging following the Stinger’s launch in 2017. Little more than £40,000 bagged the top-spec V6 car, and anyone who baulked at the prospect of a cut-price sporty exec with a Kia badge was quickly silenced by its laudable build quality and remarkably well-appointed cabin.

There were flies in the Sunset Yellow ointment, though, among them the car’s dim-witted gearbox and limited array of drive modes, but little really to discourage the discerning driving enthusiast on a budget from taking the plunge.

The appeal only becomes more intense when the price gets lower, too, such as on the 2019 car we found. Its Ember Orange paint will prove polarising, but given how rare the Stinger is, it’s likely to turn heads whichever the colour. At just 18 months old, it has fewer than 6000 miles on the clock and packs every goodie in the box. Give in to the buzz and add it to your hive. Sorry.

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Seat Ibiza Cupra Bocanegra, £5750: Blistering pace is not a top priority for the Bocanegra, but you’d struggle to find a sporty hatch that offers a drive so refined for the money. A fresh MOT, rebuilt gearbox and new front brakes on this one mean it’s certain to leave a ‘buen gusto’ in your boca.

Honda City, £7700: Don’t get too excited: there’s no tiny Motocompo folding scooter in the boot. If there were, this City would be worth far more. It’s already a lot of money for a 35-year-old economy car but it’ll go farther between fill-ups than its similarly sized E descendant.

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Mercedes-Benz R500, £5250: Take advantage of the R-Class’s Q-car status by avoiding the more extroverted AMG variant. This R500 packs a very respectable 302bhp from its 5.0-litre V8 and goes without a third seat in the middle row for that genuine private jet experience.

Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, £59,950: Driving a 707bhp V8 muscle car around the UK at the moment feels a bit extravagant – but if not now, when? Find the right track (or runway) and you’ll top 200mph, plus it has the optional larger fuel tank so you can stay there for longer.

What we almost bought this week

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Renault 5: Can you imagine being in a bad mood at the wheel of something so utterly charming? Unlike the battered 5s you’ll see nipping in and out of traffic like mopeds in Paris, this £2995 1984 GTL has just been fully resprayed and passed its MOT with distinction, making it an ideal sunny-weather runaround. As a bonus, it’s the coveted five-speed model.

Auction watch

Lotus Esprit: Ferrari’s Grigio Ferro is a strange choice of colour for this recently resprayed X180-generation Esprit, especially when you consider factory options included such captivating hues as Norfolk Mustard (really) and Pacific Blue. Perhaps the silk finish would grow on you, but even if it didn’t, you’d no doubt be taken in by the sheer exploitability of its 2.2-litre atmo four and taut chassis. An equivalent Porsche 911 of similar vintage would command an eye-watering premium in comparison, so this looks like a bit of a steal at £11,200. Or at least it will once the tattered interior is refreshed.

Future classic

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Mercedes-Benz C55 AMG, £8995: The C55 replaced the slow-selling C32, swapping its predecessor’s 3.2-litre V6 for a meatier V8 of 5.4-litre capacity. Performance gains were not immense (power went from 349bhp to 362bhp and the 0-62mph sprint was no quicker, at 5.2sec) but the increased aural pleasure wrought by the larger motor is not to be disregarded and nor are the 55’s tighter handling and vastly improved gearbox. This 2004 car has covered a commendable 125,000 miles, which at today’s prices amounts to more than three times the car’s value in fuel costs alone.

Clash of the classifieds

Brief: I need something that can cope with the ice for £5000.

Skoda Yeti 4x4, £4899

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Suzuki Swift, £4995

Felix Page: There are plenty of compact SUVs on offer, but very few that can convincingly cut the mustard when the going gets tough. Not so the much-missed Skoda Yeti, which in torquey diesel 4x4 guise was every bit as capable on the slippery stuff as its Nepalese namesake.

Max Adams: That beastly Yeti is quite a portly thing to drive on ice, at 1450kg. My nimble little Swift is at least 400kg lighter, yet it also has four-wheel-drive traction to get you going should the going get slippery.

FP: It’s only lighter because the interior plastics are made from melted-down Freddo wrappers. If I’m going to venture into the wintry wilds of west London, I want to do it in comfort.

MA: If you venture out to places with proper winters, such as the Yorkshire Dales, you’ll find plenty of dependable little Suzukis there, because what’s important is reliability and not the density of your dashboard materials.

FP: I think you’ll find they usually wear a Suzuki Jimny badge on their rear. With the Yeti, you get a year-round winner that can handle the snow when required. I’m not sure I’d relish driving your bargain-basement Suzuki on the other 364 days of the year.

MA: Well, you might want to reconsider your smugness when diesels are inevitably banned from the capital.

Verdict: That Yeti is a snowman that’s far from abominable.

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Felix Page

Title: Deputy editor

Felix is Autocar's deputy editor, responsible for leading the brand's agenda-shaping coverage across all facets of the global automotive industry - both in print and online.

He has interviewed the most powerful and widely respected people in motoring, covered the reveals and launches of today's most important cars, and broken some of the biggest automotive stories of the last few years.