BMW 840I vs Kia Stinger

What's the difference?

Phwoar. Mate!

Or should I say, M-eight-fifty-I. That’s right. This is the all-new, 2020 BMW M850i Gran Coupe, the first ever example of its kind. It’s a big, long, luxury, sporty, coupey thing. And it’s gorgeous.

The BMW 8 Series 2020 range includes this new Gran Coupe body style, and also the Coupe and Convertible models. This particular model, the M850i xDrive Gran Coupe, is essentially BMW’s answer to, say, the Audi RS7. Or one of the many Porsche Panamera variants. Or the Mercedes-Benz CLS or Mercedes-AMG GT 4 door Coupe. 

Like those cars it has svelte looks, striking dimensions and a sledgehammer engine under its long, shapely bonnet. This is first ever 8 Series Gran Coupe, as it essentially stands in place of the existing, now defunct, 6 Series Gran Coupe. But it’s bolder, bigger and more brutal - just take note: this isn’t a full-scale ‘M8’ Gran Coupe. It has more of a luxury speed cruiser angle to it, arguably like a Mercedes-AMG CLS 53, not the full-fat AMG 63.

The question is, then, should you buy it over one of its established rivals?

Let’s figure it out together, shall we?

There is nothing quite like a car company occasionally building a car that could be considered a risk. And there are all kinds of risks in the car business - the market isn't ready for that car, people don't identify your brand with this or that type of vehicle, the list goes on. And it's long. It's very easy for me to sit on the sidelines and say, "Pft, what were they thinking?" Few cars land on your driveway without years of thinking having already gone into their development.

The Kia Stinger is the kind of car that would have caused lots of thinking and plenty of hand-wringing at Kia HQ in Korea. Not because it was a bad idea - it wasn't. Not because it's a bad car - it is, in fact, the opposite. And not because SUVs have already changed the way we look at cars - Kia has done well out of that.

It's just that Kia has never produced a car like the Stinger. A five-door coupe-sedan, rear-wheel drive and with a focus on driver dynamics. Most of us know very well how the Stinger GT burst on to the scene in a blaze of well-deserved glory. It's not all about the GT, though. There's a whole range of Stingers and just below that very accomplished sports sedan is the Stinger GT-Line.