I went today to my local Kia dealership here in Birmingham, Alabama. Being that I have my K900 service at Serra Kia in Trussville, Al. I simply asked one of the young sales reps, Isaiah is they had a Stinger GT I could test drive. He went to the sales manager, who stated that I could and would be the first to do so. The Stinger in my personal review is everything the K900 should have been and more.While test driving the Stinger I must say it was a joy ride for the ages. The electronic steering, while driving in sport mode was effortless in changing lanes and going around tight turns, very slight hand movement , like stroking a babies behind. Acceleration with no lag whatsoever, whatever i drove over couldn't and didn't feel it at all. Sound system, is damn! I,m considering leasing, I just not into paying for depreciation. Oh! by the way there is a coupe version of the Stinger that maybe release between 2019 & 2020....
Test drove Stinger GT
- Thread starter Moelov
- Start date
westcoastGT
5000 Posts Club!
and your salesman told you that ?????
Yes indeed! I question further about Kia doing this when the market is moving away from coupes because of the increase demand and sales for SUV's. His reply was that Kia will continue to monitor the market before releasing. The conversation went even further to why Kia built a V6 dual turbo again with the market moving further away from V8 and V6. The response here is that Kia wants to continue on the path that they are true players across the board. These conversations were also had with Kia corp. I'm a V.I.P customer (2015 K900)
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westcoastGT
5000 Posts Club!
OK , Thanks
Waynerm002
2500 Posts Club!
Seeing that Hyundai and KIA works off the same platform and Hyundai announced they want to make a super car, KIA could also use the platform to do their own thing. They did say things will get exciting for the brand in the future, I’m certainly hoping they keep improving.
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
Agreed! The biggest thing currently with Kia going into the upscale market is getting manufacturing in the U.S. This in fact is being work on in California with a plant opening in 2019. I'm glad that there is buzz from Kia dealerships running commercials that they're pushing sales for the Stinger. It would help sales growth if Kia ran advertisements like other manufacturers. The lack of advertisements hurt sales for the K900 and Cadenza.
With leasing - that's all you are actually doing is paying for depreciation
corradoMR2
Active Member
Yep, plus interest from the rate you got.
STNGRNV
Active Member
I'm in Birmingham, AL as well. I went to Riverchase Kia and they had crazy markups. I'm trying to hold off and buy a used Stinger this year because I don't like depreciation either. We'll see.
Aquadog
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The lease is not a bad deal at least in California they're giving $7200 rebate on the lease , and if your military present or past another $400 so $7600 rebate is pretty good and basically makes up for the cost of the lease , and if you let the lease run for six months and then buy it you will be getting A substantial amount off the sticker price .
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From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
STNGRNV
Active Member
Yeah, I'm not against getting a lease and buying it out early. I may go that route depending on how much longer I can put up with my current car and/or how my finances look (I want to pay off a credit card before I get a car).
Aquadog
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I noticed on the Kia website for the K 900s they are offering a $14,000 rebate on the lease that's pretty damn good .
Kia Stinger
Staff member
The thing about Coupes is - even though they're a shrinking market - what happens when there's none left? Here comes Kia with a Stinger Coupe...
Charly
Active Member
Where in California are you or is that statewide? I think my DD-214 is buried so deeply that it's turned to coal.
Euljiro1ga
Active Member
dammit dammit dammit dammit, a coupe? dammit dammit dammit dammit
where do I pay?
where do I pay?
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
Kia Stinger
Staff member
You know you'll have it over there before we do over here.
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MarkyMark
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A few weeks ago I test drove a 2.0L Premium. Yesterday, I test drove a "cement" gray GT 2 AWD. The cars really do have different feels to them on the road. The GT certainly feels heavier, in that is isn't going to easily coast along at low speeds, you'll need to tell it to go places. But when stepping on the gas, it never questions the action and has a great torque/horse balance. I quickly got up to 87mph moving up the highway on ramp, hen slowed it down as there were other drivers around. The GT certainly has a better sound to it, while the 2.0L is much more lively than one might think, when pedal down, it meets it's top end pretty quickly and I could tell it was working hard.
Perhaps the "coolest" functional feature of the GT for me? It may sound silly, but the GT 2's heads up display was fantastic! I had no need to look at the speedometer gauge, and adjusted my steering wheel below the gauge (to a low sport position). It didn't matter that I cold not see the entire speedometer, as I used the heads up display to see my speed and the speed limits. It's clear, bright, positioned perfectly, and just "floats" like a hologram. Hopefully, 2019's will offer a few key features as individual options or some safety features as standard (such as blind spot monitoring or rain sensing wipers).
Alex on Autos was keen to point out that the Base 2.0L and the Base GT are configured differently. That's a big deal, as I had assumed they would be configured the same, save the engine choices, but that is not the case. Here is what the GT has the 2.0L Base does not (or is different):
– 3.3L V-6 (obviously)
– 19" Wheels (fancier, if you will, than the 18's on the Base model, and provide more grip)
– Brembo Brakes (fronts are larger by 1.2" in DIA, back discs are larger by 1" in DIA)
– LED Headlamps
– LED Daytime Running Lights
– LED Rear Signal Lights
– GT Front Grill Design (notice the Base 2.0L nose and Premium are not as aggressive in design)
– GT Rear Bumper
– GT Gloss Back Vents (the look is much more premium looking than the Base 2.0L treatment)
– Black Chrome Rearview Mirrors (they add another level of poshness to the GT)
– Body Color Door Handles
– Option to shut OFF the idle stop/go feature (to me this is huge! I can't stand that engine stop tech)
– Aluminum Trimmed interior (vs plastic piano black in the Base 2.0L)
– Sport, flat bottom steering wheel
– 9 speaker sound system (vs 6 speakers in the 2.0L Base. Yes, it does sound better)
– Alloy Pedals and Alloy foot rest
The 9 speaker sound system DOES sound better once nicely tuned up and I prefer the aluminum trim vs the piano black, which just shows dust and finger oils instantly. The brushed metal/aluminum look just feels richer and is why it's a standard look on the GT. The flat-bottom sport steering wheel is also a nice feature that a driver will be in constant contact with every time they, well, drive... There is also a big difference between the 2.0L brakes and the GT's Brembo system - Brembo's brakes are impressive.
Both cars were quieter than I was expecting, and turning off the engine noise into the cabin speakers, the GT was amazingly well behaved on rough highway. There just wasn't a lot of transference of noise into the cabin. Put another way, both cars are more quiet than my 2014 Mazda6 Touring, which is mandatory in my next car purchase.
I conducted a little pricing experiment: Base 2.0L price w/Destination = $32,800. Base GT w/Destination = $39,250
I then assigned a dollar figure to each feature the GT had which the Base 2.0L did not. I gave the V-6 $2k worth of value, the Brembo brakes $1,500, etc... Yes, a Brembo system is much more than $1,500 but coming from the factory that's the value I gave them... Overall, I came up with a price tag about $750 more than what Kia's MSRP is for the GT Base model actually is. Thus, for me, the GT configuration and it's price over the Base 2.0L and it's price, represented a decent value.
Everyone will value things differently, but overall the GT seems a decent price for the options (yes, there are product marketing managers that obsess and focus group all of this stuff, so go figure).
All this boils down to whether I should get a 2.0L Premium or Base GT?... The 15 speaker premium sound system in the Premium hasn't been rated or reviewed as all that good (HK was purchased by Samsung, so who knows...). The 9 speaker system seemed more than ample to me. This isn't a $100k sound stage after all, rather, it's a car with noise and compressed music playing.
Interestingly enough, the dealership's sales manager was very keen on me purchasing a GT, even over a 2.0L Premium. A while later I asked the sales guy what he thought of that? He figured the dealership might get a better kickback if they move a certain number of GT's in a given time period. This dealership's target to obtain bonuses each month is 115 vehicles, with additional incentives for specific cars in that mix being sold. Thus, it sounds like the GT might fetch a more aggressive price break - for now.
Too bad they don't understand I'm not purchasing until sometime early winter or Q119... I really need to continue to save more, along with needing some year-end incentives, and/or see what the feature set looks like for the 2019's. Not to mention, I'd rather have 50k more Stingers come off the assembly line, so Kia and their sub suppliers can tighten everything down.
If you have any questions about either test drive let me know.
Perhaps the "coolest" functional feature of the GT for me? It may sound silly, but the GT 2's heads up display was fantastic! I had no need to look at the speedometer gauge, and adjusted my steering wheel below the gauge (to a low sport position). It didn't matter that I cold not see the entire speedometer, as I used the heads up display to see my speed and the speed limits. It's clear, bright, positioned perfectly, and just "floats" like a hologram. Hopefully, 2019's will offer a few key features as individual options or some safety features as standard (such as blind spot monitoring or rain sensing wipers).
Alex on Autos was keen to point out that the Base 2.0L and the Base GT are configured differently. That's a big deal, as I had assumed they would be configured the same, save the engine choices, but that is not the case. Here is what the GT has the 2.0L Base does not (or is different):
– 3.3L V-6 (obviously)
– 19" Wheels (fancier, if you will, than the 18's on the Base model, and provide more grip)
– Brembo Brakes (fronts are larger by 1.2" in DIA, back discs are larger by 1" in DIA)
– LED Headlamps
– LED Daytime Running Lights
– LED Rear Signal Lights
– GT Front Grill Design (notice the Base 2.0L nose and Premium are not as aggressive in design)
– GT Rear Bumper
– GT Gloss Back Vents (the look is much more premium looking than the Base 2.0L treatment)
– Black Chrome Rearview Mirrors (they add another level of poshness to the GT)
– Body Color Door Handles
– Option to shut OFF the idle stop/go feature (to me this is huge! I can't stand that engine stop tech)
– Aluminum Trimmed interior (vs plastic piano black in the Base 2.0L)
– Sport, flat bottom steering wheel
– 9 speaker sound system (vs 6 speakers in the 2.0L Base. Yes, it does sound better)
– Alloy Pedals and Alloy foot rest
The 9 speaker sound system DOES sound better once nicely tuned up and I prefer the aluminum trim vs the piano black, which just shows dust and finger oils instantly. The brushed metal/aluminum look just feels richer and is why it's a standard look on the GT. The flat-bottom sport steering wheel is also a nice feature that a driver will be in constant contact with every time they, well, drive... There is also a big difference between the 2.0L brakes and the GT's Brembo system - Brembo's brakes are impressive.
Both cars were quieter than I was expecting, and turning off the engine noise into the cabin speakers, the GT was amazingly well behaved on rough highway. There just wasn't a lot of transference of noise into the cabin. Put another way, both cars are more quiet than my 2014 Mazda6 Touring, which is mandatory in my next car purchase.
I conducted a little pricing experiment: Base 2.0L price w/Destination = $32,800. Base GT w/Destination = $39,250
I then assigned a dollar figure to each feature the GT had which the Base 2.0L did not. I gave the V-6 $2k worth of value, the Brembo brakes $1,500, etc... Yes, a Brembo system is much more than $1,500 but coming from the factory that's the value I gave them... Overall, I came up with a price tag about $750 more than what Kia's MSRP is for the GT Base model actually is. Thus, for me, the GT configuration and it's price over the Base 2.0L and it's price, represented a decent value.
Everyone will value things differently, but overall the GT seems a decent price for the options (yes, there are product marketing managers that obsess and focus group all of this stuff, so go figure).
All this boils down to whether I should get a 2.0L Premium or Base GT?... The 15 speaker premium sound system in the Premium hasn't been rated or reviewed as all that good (HK was purchased by Samsung, so who knows...). The 9 speaker system seemed more than ample to me. This isn't a $100k sound stage after all, rather, it's a car with noise and compressed music playing.
Interestingly enough, the dealership's sales manager was very keen on me purchasing a GT, even over a 2.0L Premium. A while later I asked the sales guy what he thought of that? He figured the dealership might get a better kickback if they move a certain number of GT's in a given time period. This dealership's target to obtain bonuses each month is 115 vehicles, with additional incentives for specific cars in that mix being sold. Thus, it sounds like the GT might fetch a more aggressive price break - for now.
Too bad they don't understand I'm not purchasing until sometime early winter or Q119... I really need to continue to save more, along with needing some year-end incentives, and/or see what the feature set looks like for the 2019's. Not to mention, I'd rather have 50k more Stingers come off the assembly line, so Kia and their sub suppliers can tighten everything down.
If you have any questions about either test drive let me know.
Last edited:
Aquadog
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They don't ask you for your DD 214 they actually take your word for it .
Regards to the K900 they haven't done well in the states at all sales wise. I came out of a Cadenza to move up to the K900 and received $7500 lease cash, no security deposit or cash down. With that being done I didn't have any rollover from the Cadenza. My personal advice to one and all leasing is the best option, patients will get you a better deal. Here's a another example: 2015 K900 used with 15k - 20k miles goes for $24k - $26k due to depreciation. Purchase new from the dealer $55k-$62k
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
