AUCTION WATCH
Kia Stinger 3.3 T-GDi GT S £ 29 ,9 50
Kia has made much of the Stinger’s association with Albert Biermann, its R&D chief and
former head of BMW’s M division. That the model performs is what matters, but his presence
is the kind of ‘papal’ blessing enthusiasts like. The car we found, a 2018/67-reg with 11,000
miles, is £10,000 less than new. If Biermann and his team can deliver at least 10 years of
even better sequels, the values of old Stingers may one day bottom out. At least they should
make safe buys thanks to service histories born of their uniquely long, new car warranty.
CLASH OF THE
CLASSIFIEDS
BRIEF
MARK PEARSON We wa i te d a l o n g ti m e fo r th i s b e a u t y a n d ,
boy, was it worth it. With a screaming turbocharged VTEC, all
those spoilers and skirts and more scoops than Häagen-Dazs.
MAX ADAMS Oh, it is a warm day, so I could do with an ice
cream. Mostly because of how hot my A45 AMG is: 360bhp is an
insane amount of power for a family hatchback. Remind us how
much your car has to play with?
MP Power corrupts, Max. We all know that. What matters more
is response, and in that, this 2016 Civic Type R has all comers
defeated, including that ghastly and overblown Merc. And how
long will that engine last?
MA If you won’t tell the reader, I will: 306bhp is all your car has,
which explains why it’s a second slower to 62mph. Besides,
Mercedes still makes some great engines and the latest A45
has 415bhp, so I’m not concerned about my car’s longevity. How
come your Civic Type R looks like it’s on steroids anyway?MP I don’t recall any Nürburgring lap records on your car’s CV.
Why’s that? Oh, and why is yours so old? 2013? Blimey.
MA You have to pay extra for a desirable Mercedes-Benz, so
it’s small wonder you can get a newer car if it wears a common
Honda badge. Also, cars designed for fast Nürburgring times
are unusable on public roads.
MP I think that sweeping generalisation brings our
debate to an end. Victory to me, John?
Almost half the mileage,
three years younger and
with a manual gearbox:
the Honda it is. JOHN EVANS
Find the best super-hatch for £20k.
VERDICT
U S E D C A R D E S K D O E S B AT T L E
2016 Honda^ Civic^ Type^ R^ £^19 ,^995
(^2013) Mercedes-Benz A 45 AMG £
19 , 500
USED CARS
3 1 JULY 2019 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 75
FU
TU
RE^
CLA
SSI
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This 30-year-old cab has done 52,000 miles and was
knocked down for just £3922, making it a good-value,
emerging classic. On paper, the fuel-injected engine
has a modest 105bhp but that’s 10bhp more than the
naturally aspirated XR3.
Talking of which, in the same sale, a 1980 XR3 hatch
with 92,000 miles, partially restored in 2011, made
£5088. Meanwhile, a 1986 Sierra 2.0 fetched £3604
and a 1991 Granada 2.0 GL £1900. Biggest miss of the
day, though, was a bronze 88,000-mile 1973 Cortina
1.6 XL Mk3 that sneaked out for just £2756.
FORD XR 3 i CABRIOLET