Value-automaker Kia is branching out with its all-new Stinger, a rear-wheel-drive, twin-turbo sports sedan. Meanwhile, sister company Hyundai is pushing into the subcompact SUV market with its Kona. We share our first impressions of both models in this episode of "Talking Cars With Consumer Reports."

We also discuss the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) new safety ratings. Many vehicles lost their Top Safety Pick status. Watch or listen to find out why.

Speaking of safety, if your car has the latest advanced safety features, you might get some unwelcome surprises when those sensors get covered with snow and road grime. We share our experiences with the vehicles in the test fleet in our first snow storm of the season. (Here are some tips to help if you run into this situation.)

And we answer a viewer question about electronic parking brakes versus emergency brakes. You can see what happens on our track when we use the electronic parking brake at speed on our Honda Civic Si test car.

Jen Stockburger, Jake Fisher, and Gabe Shenhar
Panelists: Jen Stockburger, Jake Fisher, and Gabe Shenhar.

As with other "Talking Cars" episodes, this one is available free through Apple Podcasts. (Subscribe to the audio or video.) You'll also find the video on YouTube.