I drove a $52,000 Kia Stinger and am convinced it is the best car the company has ever made

• Kia's hotly anticipated Stinger sports sedan will go up against the best of the best, from BMW, Audi, and Lexus.
• I tested the car in the San Francisco Bay Area for a few days.
• The Stinger blew me away.

South Korean carmaker Kia is better known for slightly offbeat, value-oriented cars than for high-performance wheels, but that changed with the introduction last year of the Stinger.

It was the toast of the auto-show circuit and a clear play on Kia's part to redefine the brand with a classic "halo" car - in this case, a rear-wheel-drive, go-fast machine with a game-changing exterior design and a very inviting price tag, relative to the upmarket competition. We're talking ten grand or more less than a German sports sled.

We were absolutely salivating over the Stinger, so when I recently traveled to the West Coast and escaped the miseries of winter in the New York metro area, I jumped at the chance to spend a few days behind the wheel. Here's how it went: