Prospective buyer; is the Stinger actually sporty enough, or just a fast luxury car?

[broken08]

Hi all, I need your experience and wisdom! I live in the mountains outside Denver, and I'm strongly considering a GTS. I know the quality and straight line speed are there, but I worry about two things:
1. The true handling of the car, 2. Snow performance.
So I would love some input and thoughts.
To answer my questions, you'll need to understand where I'm coming from. I'm 40, and I've been racing (autocross, lemons, track time trials, ice racing, karting.) off and on most of my life. I drive a car to it's limits frequently, and exploit them for fun. I will probably do 2-5 track days a year if I get it. I currently have 25000 miles on my Focus RS, which I love, but am considering the Stinger since it's larger, and more comfortable, and would actually fit the kids.

1. I know it's not the focus RS. It's bigger, heavier, and built for comfort. But I'm concerned about understeer and body roll, as well as any overheating issue it may have. Can anybody give any experience? No one here seems to track the stinger, so there isn't much info.

2. Where I live I get a decent amount of snow, and in hilly, curvy, terrain, so I need to know the car can handle that. The RS is a car that makes snow actually fun. In the right mode I can playfully spin all four tires while fast drifting big snowy turns, or use drift mode at a slower speed and get it more sideways. And I can spin all 4 to creep up my steep snowy driveway, without it cutting my power, which would cause me to not make it.
So...will the GTS cut power if I get all four spinning? Specific to the GTS, I'm worried that if I turn off traction control to let them spin, that it will revert to drift mode and not give me much power up front. No one seems to know the answer, and it's not snowing for me to test it. Does anyone play in the snow, or just spin in parking lot circles?

There's a lot I like about the car, so don't misunderstand, but these are concerns I can't get through on a test drive.

Thanks all!

 

[WRXtoStingerGT]

Stock brakes that are USA-Spec overheat very quickly.

I doubt a Stinger with AWD is going to come close to handling as well as your Focus RS.

Coming from a 2014 WRX with some aftermarket parts (catback, pads, rotors, tires, coils, aero) my Stinger (GT-RWD) doesn't handle that well at all but has a sort of "playful" feel to it when being thrown around.

I think the GTS is a great car though. I'm not sure about cutting power or redirecting power but I do know that with good tires, better pads and rotors, plus good anti-sway bars and lowered on coils/springs it should handle well enough.

Oh and welcome! You're definitely far more of a performance driver than I am!

 

[Geebucks]

I know skidpad numbers aren't the final word when it comes to handling, but the stinger is slightly behind the RS (.93 vs .99) but ahead of most cars in the same class (IS350, 340, c43, etc). It's pretty good for a big sedan.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Howdy and welcome. In the mountains you are going to go with snow tires, right? AWD and snow tires will get you through ANYthing that doesn't bottom out; so, you have a little over half a foot of clearance. I would think that leaving traction and stability controls ON is the way to get up and down your driveway, anyway, on the snow.

The Stinger tends to oversteer. If you upgrade to aftermarket sway bars, front and rear, the steering will be neutral and consistent throughout a curve. The Eibach is good because it has soft and firm settings. Some people on here (a few) do track days; but you sound more experienced than the ones I recall (don't know which members off hand). The Stinger is no track car, but it isn't going to be boring either. Randy Pobst had praise for it; the consistent handling (even with stock suspension). The Original Venice Crew were impressed by the Stinger (they were not testing the GTS; but I'll bet they'd have had even more good things to say about that D-AWD). You already said you'll make allowances for the difference in a big car compared to a smaller, sportier car: the Stinger handles curves really well, especially for a bigger car. But as already pointed out, brakes: you're a performance driver and you're going to want to upgrade the pads (the rotors are fine).

 

[Ulikefishsticks]

Sounds like you are looking for a sporty car that can do these other things, 4 doors, hatch, GT feeling. I got the car because it can haul a decent amount of stuff when needed, fit 4 people comfortably and bring all the stuff, be comfy on long trips and then occasionally hoon it around some windy roads. You will be compromising going from the RS to the stinger, it's a bigger car for sure but some of the stock issues you are worried about can be mitigated with mods, sway bars, springs/coilovers and better brakes for sure. The GTS will be the best trim for what you want, it will have that AWD for nasty weather and be better handled for when you want to occasionally track it with that LSD in the rear and "drift mode".

 

[app_master]

Hi all, I need your experience and wisdom! I live in the mountains outside Denver, and I'm strongly considering a GTS. I know the quality and straight line speed are there, but I worry about two things:
1. The true handling of the car, 2. Snow performance.
So I would love some input and thoughts.
To answer my questions, you'll need to understand where I'm coming from. I'm 40, and I've been racing (autocross, lemons, track time trials, ice racing, karting.) off and on most of my life. I drive a car to it's limits frequently, and exploit them for fun. I will probably do 2-5 track days a year if I get it. I currently have 25000 miles on my Focus RS, which I love, but am considering the Stinger since it's larger, and more comfortable, and would actually fit the kids.

1. I know it's not the focus RS. It's bigger, heavier, and built for comfort. But I'm concerned about understeer and body roll, as well as any overheating issue it may have. Can anybody give any experience? No one here seems to track the stinger, so there isn't much info.

2. Where I live I get a decent amount of snow, and in hilly, curvy, terrain, so I need to know the car can handle that. The RS is a car that makes snow actually fun. In the right mode I can playfully spin all four tires while fast drifting big snowy turns, or use drift mode at a slower speed and get it more sideways. And I can spin all 4 to creep up my steep snowy driveway, without it cutting my power, which would cause me to not make it.
So...will the GTS cut power if I get all four spinning? Specific to the GTS, I'm worried that if I turn off traction control to let them spin, that it will revert to drift mode and not give me much power up front. No one seems to know the answer, and it's not snowing for me to test it. Does anyone play in the snow, or just spin in parking lot circles?

There's a lot I like about the car, so don't misunderstand, but these are concerns I can't get through on a test drive.

Thanks all!

I think is was born for what you want, see here;

 

[broken08]

I think is was born for what you want, see here;

That video almost makes me worry more. Did you see how long it takes the front wheels to start spinning at 12 seconds in?

 

[Ulikefishsticks]

That video almost makes me worry more. Did you see how long it takes the front wheels to start spinning at 12 seconds in?

Were the brakes being held possibly to do a little snow burnout?

 

[skygtr]

Live in Tahoe. Never gotten stuck in my GTS. Deepest storm I've driven in was about a foot of snow and I just plowed through it without issue. I have a set of Nokian snow tires.

 

[NS_Stinger]

Michelin icex3 tires here on my AWD in Eastern Canada and the car is a total beast in the snow. The only limit is how low the chassis is.

 

[vipeboy2000]

That video almost makes me worry more. Did you see how long it takes the front wheels to start spinning at 12 seconds in?

they were definitely doing a "launch" with the brakes.. I can do the same in our indigo (same d-awd as gts) in the rain if i hold the brakes it lets the rears spin but not the fronts... however just punching it in the wet all four tires spin at the same time immediately. Also, when looking for most traction aka, going up your driveway, leave it in comfort mode and turn off traction and stability as that won't trigger drift mode and maintain the 60/40 split rather than 80/20 -97/3 in sport mode.

regarding the other questions.. definitely won't be as tossable as any hot hatch as this is competing on a grand touring level with s5 sportback 440i gran coupe etc in the 4000 pound category.. however it is very fun to throw around and much more happy to swing the tail than any non M bmw. There is definitely more body roll than even the competition but much of that can be mitigated with upgraded sway bars apparently.. I have not done that yet as i feel it is competent enough for my driving and i'm not coming from a vehicle such as a focus RS.

with the d-awd, you also get the LSD with awd so that helps even more in fun and traction! I won't go into tires as i'm sure you know better first hand experience with how much tires affect snow handling since we rarely ever get the fun white stuff here in tn..

 

[broken08]

they were definitely doing a "launch" with the brakes.. I can do the same in our indigo (same d-awd as gts) in the rain if i hold the brakes it lets the rears spin but not the fronts... however just punching it in the wet all four tires spin at the same time immediately. Also, when looking for most traction aka, going up your driveway, leave it in comfort mode and turn off traction and stability as that won't trigger drift mode and maintain the 60/40 split rather than 80/20 -97/3 in sport mode.

regarding the other questions.. definitely won't be as tossable as any hot hatch as this is competing on a grand touring level with s5 sportback 440i gran coupe etc in the 4000 pound category.. however it is very fun to throw around and much more happy to swing the tail than any non M bmw. There is definitely more body roll than even the competition but much of that can be mitigated with upgraded sway bars apparently.. I have not done that yet as i feel it is competent enough for my driving and i'm not coming from a vehicle such as a focus RS.

with the d-awd, you also get the LSD (Limited Slip Differential) with awd so that helps even more in fun and traction! I won't go into tires as i'm sure you know better first hand experience with how much tires affect snow handling since we rarely ever get the fun white stuff here in tn..

Great info. What's the indigo?

 

[GTdsz]

Great in the snow. Not sporty..
My previous cars were all FBO and consisted of-2015 Sti, 2016 370z Nismo, 2017 Focus RS, 2018 Srt charger, 2019 Gti Rabbit, 2020 TTS, 2020 Veloster N, 2021 Stinger gt.
Stock the gt is a fast gt car, smooth on the highway and buttoned down all the way to 150mph. With bolt ons it's even faster and composed; However, it is still 4000 pounds. I have wheels with 245 and 275s respectfully and it still hits the limit fast in a corner. The Stinger is the perfect gt car. Since you have the RS I think you would enjoy the stinger.

 

[turboAWD]

I believe the GTS only gets the stock GT, non-adjustable suspension. You might want to consider at GT2 AWD, unless you have your heart set on drifting. A '19+ GT2 AWD (the '18s didn't get LSD, IIRC, but verify) will be easier to find, still has the rear LSD (that I wish my GT1 had!), AND lets you hook up a Mando ECS10 suspension controller to fiddle with your front/rear suspension settings.

The stock comfort/sport suspension settings are a joke - maybe 5% change? I couldn't even tell you which mode they're on. With the Mando, you can go from 0 to 100% stiff, as well as specify speed-sensitive settings if you want to get fancy. When I want to drive aggressively, I just set it to "75% stiff" front/back and it's a HUGE change from stock. Gives you a bunch of control / adjustability. At least read through the mando thread here to see if you're interested, before you buy a GTS and then wish you hadn't. Just a thought.

And just sways are a big change to the feeling of the car - feels more like my wife's mk7 GTI on turn-in now. Not the same, but MORE like it. Used to be much more mushy.

 

[MerlintheMad]

What's the indigo?

The new color GTS; outside the US it has been called Deep Chroma Blue.

 

[Revvdmedia]

The Stinger is GT, and it definitely drives like a GT. I've driven a good many sporty vehicles over the years and I too have an affinity for performance track driving. The Stinger was not designed as a track car, it was designed as a comfortable but fairly capable road car, and in my opinion it shows in the way it drives. Hard cornering on public roads feels a bit heavy in this car, especially in AWD guise. I will say the Stinger is quite comfortable for the way it drives though. My M240i feels to me much more sporty and fun to drive, but it's definitely more stiff on all surfaces, and I think some the fun factor is attributed to the short wheelbase. It's only about 300 or so LBS lighter than the Stinger.

I think the real issue is there isn't much else in the USA market right now that offers AWD in a fun package that isn't compromising elsewhere. Anything German outside of BMW is not going to drive any more sporty, and if you go Japanese I think pretty much the only thing left these days is an STi and those are way down on interior quality. The Stinger is a pretty solid choice but you're going to notice right away it does NOT drive like your RS, I have been in one of those and they are much more nimble and lively, although their interiors are far from the Stinger. I highly suggest as others have that you get the GTS trim. I had an AWD myself and that thing always cut power when I drove it hard even with TCS and Stability turned 100% off.

 

[WRXtoStingerGT]

The Stinger is GT, and it definitely drives like a GT. I've driven a good many sporty vehicles over the years and I too have an affinity for performance track driving. The Stinger was not designed as a track car, it was designed as a comfortable but fairly capable road car, and in my opinion it shows in the way it drives. Hard cornering on public roads feels a bit heavy in this car, especially in AWD guise. I will say the Stinger is quite comfortable for the way it drives though. My M240i feels to me much more sporty and fun to drive, but it's definitely more stiff on all surfaces, and I think some the fun factor is attributed to the short wheelbase. It's only about 300 or so LBS lighter than the Stinger.

I think the real issue is there isn't much else in the USA market right now that offers AWD in a fun package that isn't compromising elsewhere. Anything German outside of BMW is not going to drive any more sporty, and if you go Japanese I think pretty much the only thing left these days is an STi and those are way down on interior quality. The Stinger is a pretty solid choice but you're going to notice right away it does NOT drive like your RS, I have been in one of those and they are much more nimble and lively, although their interiors are far from the Stinger. I highly suggest as others have that you get the GTS trim. I had an AWD myself and that thing always cut power when I drove it hard even with TCS and Stability turned 100% off.

^ very well put!!

 

[broken08]

Ok fine. I'm buying it now.

 

[vipeboy2000]

Great info. What's the indigo?

Indigo gets the gts d-awd drift mode, lsd, Alcantara headliner but not all the other Alcantara bits so still leather steering wheel and arm rest . No carbon fiber bits either. Only comes on base gt with awd . But does get the hk sound system, 8 inch screen, euro wheels, and sunroof. Along with a color unique to the states deep chroma blue.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Along with a color unique to the states deep chroma blue.

You must mean new to the States, because DCB (by any other name) has not existed in the US until the Limited Indigo: and DCB has existed in other markets since the beginning.