So what's the verdict?

Matthew DeBord/BI

Don't get me wrong: Kia makes good cars and SUVs and stands behind them with a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. It's no longer a risk to own its vehicles; it's proved it can satisfy and delight American customers.

But the Stinger takes things to a whole new level. This is easily the best car Kia has ever made, but more than that, it's among the best cars of its type that I've driven. The comparison that jumped immediately to mind was the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, a 505-horsepower beast that was a finalist for Business Insider's 2017 Car of the Year.

Obviously, the Stinger GT2 that I tested, at 365 horsepower, gives up a lot of ponies to the Giulia Quadrifoglio. But it has a similar light, sporty, vigorous feel, and arguably the horsepower is just right while the Giulia Quadrifoglio's is excessive. Plus, the Giulia Quad is almost $80,000, and you have to spend that much to get the twin-turbo V6 because the non-Quads give you only a 280-horsepower four-cylinder, at prices that compare to the Stinger GTs (the Stinger can also be had with a smaller four-banger).

Sticker-wise, you might stack the Stinger GT2 up against the Audi S4, and the specs are similar. But the S4, while a nice ride, lacks the flair and panache of the Stinger. Yes, you could buy the S4 and be happy. But I'd rather buy the Stinger and be thrilled. (We also thought about the Stinger going up against another BI Car of the Year contender, the Acura TLX A-Spec, but the Acura just doesn't have that juicy Stinger twin-turbo V6 going for it.)

It's an endlessly fun car, a literal joy to drive. It fires up with a pleasing snarl (OK, an augmented one, but still) and growls cheerfully when pushed. It's flat-out fast. The 0-60 time is supposed to be 4.7 seconds, but I thought it was notably quicker than that. And you have to watch yourself at cruising velocities, as the Stinger taps out the legal speed limit in a hurry, but do so with such poise and relative quiet that one can easily overlook the speedometer.

As it turned out, the weather in the Bay Area while I was driving varied between lovely and rainy, so I had the chance to vindicate the AWD system. I wouldn't pay the extra thousands for it myself, but it performed capably. Generally speaking, torque vectoring favors the rear wheels and send grab only to the front if you need it.

Some reviewers have complained that the Stinger suffers from body roll, which is when the car leans while turning. But I didn't notice much of that. Nor could I wring much turbo lag out of the engine.

I found the paddle-shifters to be a bit ticky-tacky, so I mostly skipped them. As a result, in Sport mode while letting the eight-speed auto shift gears, I got to feel some firm downshifts — that might bother some drivers, but I considered it to be in the spirit of what Sport mode should be all about.

The brakes are nice, beefy Brembos and they keep the Stinger in check. I gave them a workout on the twisting roads around Deer Creek. But where I genuinely enjoyed the Stinger the most was on the highway: It's supposed to be a gran turismo, a touring car, designed to recall a time when well-heeled European couples saddled up their elegant GTs and set their sights on beachfront enclaves. The Stinger is a car that craves a weekend road trip to someplace nice.

Some reviewers have also complained that the interior isn't really all that luxurious. It isn't. So what? Do you want to rub the leather all day or drive the car? I looked forward to both looking at the Stinger and sitting in it. And given Bay Area traffic, I did my share of sitting.

It was lovely. The audio system sounds great. The seats are fine, heated and cooled (so was my steering wheel). I could live without race-car bolstering and open-grain wood trim.