There was a time when getting bullied meant you fought back and reclaimed your dignity, and after years of being bullied by the world, Kia finally started swinging back at the competition. You could say Kia fired its first shots with the 2017 Kia Cadenza and the 2016 Kia Optima, but it went full-on nuclear when it showed up at the Detroit Auto Show with the Kia Stinger. It’s sporty, insanely comfortable, packed to the brim with technology, and offered in range-topping form with a 3.3-liter, Biturbo, V-6 that we now know is capable of pushing it up to 62 mph in as little as 4.9 seconds – 0.2-seconds faster than Kia’s original estimate of 5.1 seconds.

News of its official 0-to-60 time comes courtesy of is Asian-market debut at the 2017 Seoul Motor Show, where it’s being displayed, for the first time, next to the Stinger GT Concept from which it got a lot of its DNA. So, for those of you still on the fence about this Korean brand, it’s time to accept that it’s not the econobox, throw-away car maker that it once was. I mean, after all, we’re talking about a Kia with as much as 365 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque. But, the real question is, how does its 0-to-60 time stack up against the competition? Keep reading to find out.

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All the Right Credentials

So, the Stingers main competition is the BMW Grand Coupe and the Audi A4 Sportback. And the Germans should be worried. See, the Grand Coupe 440i, which competes directly with the range-topping Stinger, has 320 ponies and 330 pound-feet on tap and hits 60 mph in 4.8 seconds. Meanwhile, the 2018 Audi A5 Sportback is advertised on Audi’s U.S. portal as toting a 2.0-liter with 252 ponies and 272 pound-feet of torque in range-topping form. That’s enough for a 6.5-second sprint to 60 mph. The BMW GC 440i hits a top speed of just 130 mph, and the A5 can hit 155. That means the new Stinger will best both of them all the way around, and when you pair that with the style, comfort, and technology that the Stinger brings to the table, it’s a winner hands down.

But, before we call it a day, let’s look at how the Stinger compares to some other sports cars out there. Let’s throw down the Porsche 718 Cayman, for example. Granted, it’s a completely different class of vehicle, but it’s a true sports car, and it’s 2.0-liter flat-four isn’t exactly a joke either. It delivers 300 horsepower and 280 pound-feet, which is enough to push the Cayman up to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds on the way to 170 mph. So, Kia’s estimated top speed might fall a few mph short, but the Stinger will run right next to it up to 62 mph, and that’s saying a lot. How about the Mercedes CLS Coupe? Well, it’s got a 3.0-liter V-6 with 329 horsepower on tap, but the Korean-made Stinger is going to kick its ass too. It hits 60 mph in 5.3 seconds and tops out at 155 mph.

So, what does this tell us? Well, it’s proof that Kia isn’t playing around anymore, and the fact that there’s something with a Kia badge that can truly compete with models from BMW, Mercedes, and even the Porsche 718 Boxster, is proof that the automotive industry is in a constant state of change. There’s no telling what will happen next or what we’ll see from Kia, but something tells me that Kia isn’t going to stop with the Stinger. Furthermore, BMW, Audi, and Mercedes all need to step up their game before the new kid in town starts claiming too much territory.

Read our full review on the Kia Stinger here.