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2020 Kia Stinger GT Wagon – Isn’t She a Beaut?

Will Kia introduce the classic “shooting-brake” body style to the Stinger GT? A Kia Stinger GT Wagon just makes good sense.

You already know, at least I hope you know, that the 2019 Kia Stinger GT is a world-class sports car worthy of your consideration. It’s like nothing Kia has ever built before, a low-slung rear-wheel (or all-wheel-drive) four-door sports car with a hatch in back. Its thrust provided by a twin-turbocharged three-hundred-sixty-five horse V6 that pushes you back in your seat during a 4.7-second blast to 60 mph. So why not build a Kia Stinger GT Wagon too? After all, if you build it, they will come…right?

The new Kia Stinger GT is an already amazing, world-class sports sedan. (Above, right-corner) Kia Stinger GT “Shooting-Brake” concept.

The new Kia Stinger GT is an already amazing, world-class sports sedan. (Top, right corner) Kia Stinger GT Wagon concept.

Just look at that beautiful sport wagon profile (top right), or as they say in Europe, “shooting-brake” which sounds a bit cooler. In fact, the name “shooting-brake” is said to refer to the wagons people in England would take on “shooting parties” for wild game in the late 19^th century. The word “brake” developing from the term “break” used to describe the process of hooking a wagon chassis to a horse to “break” them.

Thankfully, there are still a select few wagons on the prowl in America but not nearly as many as they have to choose from across the big pond. Even Kia builds a station wagon version of its awesome front-wheel-drive Optima sedan (in Europe) but sadly, it’s not offered here.

So, to truly stand out from the crowd, to offer an option to those of us who like the versatility of a wagon with its sport sedan handling and mini-SUV utility, it seems only logical to embrace the 2020 Kia Stinger GT Sport Wagon. Here’s why it makes sense.

KIA STINGER GT WAGON BLOG - LEITHCARS.COM

Station wagons new and old like the 2019 Buick Regal TourX (top center), 2017 Subaru Outback (bottom left), 2005 Mazda 6 Sport Wagon (bottom center), and 2012 Acura TSX Sport Wagon (bottom right) continue to serve with honor.

If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m a fan of sport wagons, shooting-brakes, station wagons or whatever you want to call them. Fun fact; In America, the “station wagon” name developed from the days of trains, horses, and wagons as a traveler by train would be picked up at the train “station” by a “wagon” that could carry them and their bags to their final destination.

See that beautiful Squall Blue ’05 Mazda 6 Sport Wagon (bottom center) above? That was mine, bought right after my wife and I had our first of two boys. It not only served us well for eight years as a solid and safe family hauler, but it also provided me with a means of escape to the lake with my canoe or to take on a challenging mountain bike trail. It was a low profile, super sleek wagon with a 220 hp V6, a Yakima luggage rack on top and retractable cargo net behind the rear seats. My wagon had all the utility of a CUV but with great handling and road manners like a sports sedan. That’s why we need a Kia Stinger GT Wagon, a long, low, sleek, agile, and powerful sedan with the extra utility of a wagon out back. Who’s with me?

Unfortunately for us in the States, it’s a dwindling market. Subaru has been making the venerable Outback in its current generation for almost a decade so there is a good supply of Subie wagons in the used car market but so many great wagons of yesteryear like the 2012 Acura TSX Sport Wagon and my old Mazda 6 wagon have gone the way of the Dodo bird.

But fear not my fellow wagon enthusiasts because I have compiled a list of some of the best new sport wagon/shooting-brakes available to you today in the good ‘ole U.S. of A. These super wagons would provide a great benchmark for Kia if they decide to engineer a Kia Stinger GT Wagon for us.

Porsche surprised us with this tantalizing wagon version of its super sports sedan, Panamera in 2018. The Porsche Panamera 4 Sport Turismo will take you 0 – 60 in a blistering 5.2 seconds while your groceries are securely strapped in the back.

This mighty Benz has to be considered the boss-daddy of traditional luxury sport wagons, the 2019 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Wagon & AMG variant, “the fastest wagon on the road.”

When Agent 007 takes his favorite lady out to the country for a picnic, I bet he’d choose a Jaguar XF Sportbrake like this 2019 model over a tight-fitting Aston Martin Coupe any day.

Low, lean, and ready for “all-roads”, the 2019 Audi A4 Allroad has an almost cult following among all-wheel-drive wagon aficionados and shows no signs of yielding to the growing number of CUVs on the road.

If a classic Euro-wagon is your jam, you better get yourself a BMW 3-Series Sportwagon or its M variant before they’re gone. BMW will not be bringing the wagon version of its new generation 3-Series sedan to America.

The newest wagon introduced to American buyers of late is the all-new Buick Regal TourX. (Even though Buick has been shy to call it a wagon), it is a “wagon” and with standard all-wheel-drive, it is pretty darn capable too.

Volkswagen’s super-rugged Golf Alltrack has drive settings for sand, rock, mud, snow, and normal plus a slightly increased ride height compared to the Golf SportWagen, the more urban adventure version of VDub’s “Wagen.”

Here is the 2019 Kia Stinger GT2 Sport Sedan in Ceramic Grey. It sure would look great as a Kia Stinger GT Wagon, right?

So, there you have it. ~~Seven~~, (soon to be six) cool and fully capable utility vehicles that just happen to be “wagons” that you can find today plus a few notable models on the used car market, (and I didn’t even mention Volvo). Yes, it is a dwindling field of dreams but for those of us who like to haul when we “haul” and look good doing it, it’s a field that needs the presence of a 2020 Kia Stinger GT Sport Wagon, don’t you think?

Written by Mark Arsen for LeithCars.com