2019 vs 2018, my findings

[Chark]

Thats how I feel about my LeBaron Convertible.

Well, the finest Corinthian leather has that effect on some people!

 

[GenesisG70]

I just bought a 2019 Ceramic Silver and I can testify that the center console no longer wiggles, no rattles or squeaks, pain is top notch and thick.

 

[forzanerazzurri]

I just bought a 2019 Ceramic Silver and I can testify that the center console no longer wiggles, no rattles or squeaks, pain is top notch and thick.

how thick?

 

[GenesisG70]

how thick?

Between 90 to 120 microns. Thicker on the front bumper.

 

[Waynerm002]

New update.

Yesterday I went to check out my buddies car, had him drive mine first and he commented that mine feels a little tighter, the power rolls on a bit differently, it's smoother and the rear doesn't squat as much but it requires you to push the pedal to the floor to hit the switch for it to downshift and give you the power. He summed up the experience as more refined. When I drove his, I focused more on the steering and overall ride quality feel. Not an exact test as I had winter tires on 18" wheels and he still had the 19" summer on his garage queen (1600 miles in almost 5 months) and it was 60 degrees out and the tire pressure was 45/47 (F/R), which sort of made it feel a little firmer. I felt the ride was close with mine feeling slightly better and I commented it might be the tires but he thinks overall the 2019 feels better. Noise level was similar with regard to cabin quietness, shows that my old car had more than just the bad door alignment issue, which they corrected but still the car had that buffeting sound, which was not present on either his 2018 and my 2019. What we did agree on was that the rear end felt tighter on the 2019, so I decided not to install the rear sway bar at this time.

What we did find however as being a big difference was the audio system on the 2019 was massively better than the 2018! I equate my old 2018 to sound similar to his. At level 10 on mine, his would need to be around 17. At max level in his, we could still have a conversation and hear each other, on mine at max, you don't want to be in there at that level for too long and even standing outside with the doors open, we couldn't hear each other. I did note the my 2017 Optima was louder than the Stinger and his 2012 system was close to the 2019 in volume but man, that thing had massive bass! The Infinity system in the 2012 Optima Hybrid was known to have a bass heavy system and this experience reminded me how I had to tune mine into the negative to balance it out. The overall sound quality on the 2018 is best described as muted, while the 2019 at flat tone settings sounded great across the board, you had to tune the system a few levels up at 17 to get it to be close to the 2019. He also mentioned he had some issues where his audio would get stuck at a low level, told him about issues mentioned on the board and advised him to get it looked into while the car is within the 12 month/12k mile adjustment period.

From this, I can say, my 2018 was certainly had some issues and while others didn’t experience the same, this seems like things KIA needs to have their factory folks or those doing final checks pay closer attention to. With the G70 experience fresh in my mind, I feel my 2019 isn’t far off from that car and I suspect neither are a lot of 2018s that are just as good all around, including the sound systems. With dealerships being the face of KIA and the only experience a lot of people have with the company, they really need to put effort into making sure their knowledgeof the product, and how they treat their clients are top notch. Even with the issues my 2018 had, which were minor annoyances at most, I still enjoyed driving the snot out of that car. Now I can enjoy the Lexicon system in my car, they way it was meant to be. Yeah, I know they brand it Harmon Kardon on the speakers but as been shown by others modifying theirs, the amp is in fact Lexicon. I just crossed the 1k mark on the car and looking forward to many more miles with it on the road. Yeah, some times I just go in the garage and listen to the stereo as it’s sounds so good now.

 

[GenesisG70]

New update.

Yesterday I went to check out my buddies car, had him drive mine first and he commented that mine feels a little tighter, the power rolls on a bit differently, it's smoother and the rear doesn't squat as much but it requires you to push the pedal to the floor to hit the switch for it to downshift and give you the power. He summed up the experience as more refined. When I drove his, I focused more on the steering and overall ride quality feel. Not an exact test as I had winter tires on 18" wheels and he still had the 19" summer on his garage queen (1600 miles in almost 5 months) and it was 60 degrees out and the tire pressure was 45/47 (F/R), which sort of made it feel a little firmer. I felt the ride was close with mine feeling slightly better and I commented it might be the tires but he thinks overall the 2019 feels better. Noise level was similar with regard to cabin quietness, shows that my old car had more than just the bad door alignment issue, which they corrected but still the car had that buffeting sound, which was not present on either his 2018 and my 2019. What we did agree on was that the rear end felt tighter on the 2019, so I decided not to install the rear sway bar at this time.

What we did find however as being a big difference was the audio system on the 2019 was massively better than the 2018! I equate my old 2018 to sound similar to his. At level 10 on mine, his would need to be around 17. At max level in his, we could still have a conversation and hear each other, on mine at max, you don't want to be in there at that level for too long and even standing outside with the doors open, we couldn't hear each other. I did note the my 2017 Optima was louder than the Stinger and his 2012 system was close to the 2019 in volume but man, that thing had massive bass! The Infinity system in the 2012 Optima Hybrid was known to have a bass heavy system and this experience reminded me how I had to tune mine into the negative to balance it out. The overall sound quality on the 2018 is best described as muted, while the 2019 at flat tone settings sounded great across the board, you had to tune the system a few levels up at 17 to get it to be close to the 2019. He also mentioned he had some issues where his audio would get stuck at a low level, told him about issues mentioned on the board and advised him to get it looked into while the car is within the 12 month/12k mile adjustment period.

From this, I can say, my 2018 was certainly had some issues and while others didn’t experience the same, this seems like things KIA needs to have their factory folks or those doing final checks pay closer attention to. With the G70 experience fresh in my mind, I feel my 2019 isn’t far off from that car and I suspect neither are a lot of 2018s that are just as good all around, including the sound systems. With dealerships being the face of KIA and the only experience a lot of people have with the company, they really need to put effort into making sure their knowledgeof the product, and how they treat their clients are top notch. Even with the issues my 2018 had, which were minor annoyances at most, I still enjoyed driving the snot out of that car. Now I can enjoy the Lexicon system in my car, they way it was meant to be. Yeah, I know they brand it Harmon Kardon on the speakers but as been shown by others modifying theirs, the amp is in fact Lexicon. I just crossed the 1k mark on the car and looking forward to many more miles with it on the road. Yeah, some times I just go in the garage and listen to the stereo as it’s sounds so good now.

I'm glad to hear your enjoying your car as much as I am. My dealer has been fantastic, my wife's sedona had a windshield fluid tank perforated and they fixed it for 90 USD done in 2 hrs, rear door automatic door stopped working and fixed under warranty in few hours has not given a single problem since then, I guess it also depends on the dealer but I agree Kia needs to monitor more these dealers.

 

[Waynerm002]

I think one issue is that since their tech's don't own or drive one of the vehicles they service regularly, they don't know how things should be normally with the vehicle. I took the Volvo S60 in multiple times to have them fix the door rattle that developed and after multiple attempts, it wasn't completely fixed. Volvo's solution was to apply a software patch that mutes certain frequency but made the system sound blah. The HK system also had an issue where the tone functionality didn't work well, the highs couldn't be changed unless you used the equalizer (something that I think we should have in the Stinger), took me working with the tech one on one to get him to listen to the system in the loaner, swap the amp to see the difference and eventually they ordered another unit. Another multiple visit situation.

Let's hope more place will strive to improve.

 

[Bjjpurple]

I drove a 19 and an 18 gt1 back to back, literally no discernible difference other than the huge discount on the 18. I’m sure the 19 will have a handling advantage with the mech lsd, but as far as interior fit / finish, quality, rattles etc, no difference. Performance was the same. The 18 has a build date of late May 2018. Bought the 18 and saved over 4K, what an awesome vehicle!

 

[GenesisG70]

I drove a 19 and an 18 gt1 back to back, literally no discernible difference other than the huge discount on the 18. I’m sure the 19 will have a handling advantage with the mech LSD (Limited Slip Differential), but as far as interior fit / finish, quality, rattles etc, no difference. Performance was the same. The 18 has a build date of late May 2018. Bought the 18 and saved over 4K, what an awesome vehicle!

Maybe you are right, mayne is a subjective feeling between the 18 and 19, but anyways congrats for your new car!

 

[brancky3]

At level 10 on mine, his would need to be around 17. At max level in his, we could still have a conversation and hear each other, on mine at max, you don't want to be in there at that level for too long and even standing outside with the doors open, we couldn't hear each other.

Did you know that you can change the sound level in settings? So that volume <10> can be louder or quiter which allows you to ensure all inputs are the same volume.

 

[Waynerm002]

When I first saw that I thought it works like how it did in my BMW but that isn't how that works. If you change it there, it just plays at that volume for whatever you set it for. It's a default setting for when you turn the car on, at least that has been my experience so far.

 

[Fboost]

Between 90 to 120 microns. Thicker on the front bumper.

My my18 paints thinnest area is 130microns, average 135-145 over whole car.
I'm not sure why people say the paint is thin, that is thicker then most cars I have owned
Yes it has adherence issues for some but that is not due to paint thickness from what I have read.

 

[Fboost]

So my18 gt2 doesn't have 360 camera or wireless charging? Do all gt2's have mech lsd? In Australian top spec is gt which has all these, rwd only, all v6"s have mech lsd but we don't get heated steering wheel or heated rear seats.

 

[Lawrence Williams]

So my18 gt2 doesn't have 360 camera or wireless charging? Do all gt2's have mech LSD (Limited Slip Differential)? In Australian top spec is gt which has all these, rwd only, all v6"s have mech LSD (Limited Slip Differential) but we don't get heated steering wheel or heated rear seats.

Canada got the gt2/limited with 360* camera and qi wireless charging not sure about our Aussie mates...

 

[GenesisG70]

Here in the states the new 2019 GT2 have 360 camera and LSD as well as wireless charging, don't know whats going on in Straaaaaaalia mate! Maybe someone can pitch in?

 

[Hemz]

Here in the states the new 2019 GT2 have 360 camera and LSD (Limited Slip Differential) as well as wireless charging, don't know whats going on in Straaaaaaalia mate! Maybe someone can pitch in?

The 2019 has it all? Lol it better ...I just bought one haha!

 

[Fboost]

Here in the states the new 2019 GT2 have 360 camera and LSD (Limited Slip Differential) as well as wireless charging, don't know whats going on in Straaaaaaalia mate! Maybe someone can pitch in?

Maybe I didn't explain very well, in Australia the 2018 gt(which is our top model) has wireless charging and 360 camera
All V6 stingers in Australia have lsd regardless of year or trim model
Our 3 V6 models are 330s,330si and gt. I'm wondering if the Australian 2019 has any upgrades at all? Maybe stereo?

 

[Hemz]

Maybe I didn't explain very well, in Australia the 2018 gt(which is our top model) has wireless charging and 360 camera
All V6 stingers in Australia have LSD (Limited Slip Differential) regardless of year or trim model
Our 3 V6 models are 330s,330si and gt. I'm wondering if the Australian 2019 has any upgrades at all? Maybe stereo?

I think my Mrs wants a g70 to pair with my stinger haha when are they out in Aus and what is their price comparison if she doesn't want a large engine?

 

[Fboost]

I think my Mrs wants a g70 to pair with my stinger haha when are they out in Aus and what is their price comparison if she doesn't want a large engine?

Last I heard was early 2019 so maybe in the next month or two?
No idea on price but I would imagine it will be in the ball park of the stinger.

 

[GenesisG70]

I think my Mrs wants a g70 to pair with my stinger haha when are they out in Aus and what is their price comparison if she doesn't want a large engine?

Awesome choice, test drove one before buying my Stinger GT2 and its truly an amazing car much more luxurious inside than then Stinger. It would be a perfect couple of cars to have in your garage.