buy now or wait the 2019 model?

[MerlintheMad]

I hope they make the steering wheel look more premium.

The steering wheel is one of the really cool details. It's conservative and suits the atmosphere they have created in the cabin. So I don't understand the objection.

 

[StingerGT68]

The steering wheel is one of the really cool details. It's conservative and suits the atmosphere they have created in the cabin. So I don't understand the objection.

I'd like the middle portion to be nicer, maybe leather or a softer touch plastic with stitching. The rest is very nice.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I'd like the middle portion to be nicer, maybe leather or a softer touch plastic with stitching. The rest is very nice.

Hmm, hadn't really thought about "the middle". I reckon you're right. Aesthetically I didn't notice because I enjoy the "wheel" so much. The middle is easy to ignore.

 

[eflyguy]

I plan to cover, either in a tasteful vinyl, or that suede-like stuff that's all the rage these days.

 

[Never thought]

That integrates into the entire control system. The other will adapt to all that? I figured there’s no DIN slot here so nothing to replace.

It won’t adapt to it. Which is why you’ll lose a ton of functionality. Not worth it IMO. I bet the 2020-2021 cars will start to have wireless CarPlay/Android auto

 

[Never thought]

I plan to cover, either in a tasteful vinyl, or that suede-like stuff that's all the rage these days.

Alcantara? Adding that to where the airbag is on the steering wheel would look a little odd IMO.

 

[eflyguy]

That's the stuff. Nah, not the airbag cover - the parts you actually touch. The cover I'd do another way. Don't know because I don't have my car, but I'd do a lot of looking online before making any change. Someone, somewhere, has done something I'd like...

 

[Never thought]

That's the stuff. Nah, not the airbag cover - the parts you actually touch. The cover I'd do another way. Don't know because I don't have my car, but I'd do a lot of looking online before making any change. Someone, somewhere, has done something I'd like...

Got it. You can actually buy an alcantara steering wheel that is an option from Kia in Korea. Think I saw it for $300 USD online.

 

[zoop]

Yeah the center part airbag cover is what I meant... The rest of the wheel looks great.

 

[Waynerm002]

Yep, it’s plastic. How often are you touching it for it to be a bother? For most it’s just a minor thing to nit-pick at. On a whole the car’s interior is great, if they went with higher quality material everywhere, then some folks would complain they are charging too much for the car.

 

[atomiccow]

Yep, it’s plastic. How often are you touching it for it to be a bother? For most it’s just a minor thing to nit-pick at. On a whole the car’s interior is great, if they went with higher quality material everywhere, then some folks would complain they are charging too much for the car.

I agree, I don't know if people just have a selective attention to detail, but it seems like there are those who will nit-pick the Stinger only because its a $50,000 Kia while giving a complete pass to egregious value propositions like Jaguar or Alfa Romeo. Having sat in comparably priced (but worse value) cars before buying the Stinger, I can say that the Stinger's overall interior quality is comparable if not slightly better than Volvo, which itself already handily bests most premium brands. The choice of materials in the Stinger is very consistent overall. You won't find that they've cut corners like using different materials on the front doors and the rear doors. The metal speaker covers aren't thin as aluminum cans like they are in the Volvos. And none of the buttons or air vent louvers feel like they're going to break off if you press them harder than you need to. Every slider, button, control stock, is well damped.

The Stinger uses a lot of the same parts from Kia's familiar suppliers. All car companies have a group of close suppliers. Parts like the steering wheel, air vents, window switches, sun visors, and control stocks are standard parts shared on the cheapest to the most expensive North-American Kia models. These parts don't make the Stinger feel cheaper, they make Kia's cheaper cars feel more expensive. Those who criticize the Stinger's interior quality should apply the same level of scrutiny to the cars they're comparing it against, then they'll realize, like everything in life, the grass is not greener on the other side. They're just selectively ignoring details in the competition.

 

[NYLAWBIZ]

The only two real criticisms I have for the car are:

1. The fakes: hood vents, rear tail vents, anything superfluous. One thing I admire about the German luxury cars is that it seems everything on the car is there for a functional purpose. Form follows function, and the trick is to have a beautiful form fulfilling functionality. If those hood vents are need for aesthetic reasons, then they should have made them functional. If they can not be made functional, then the design is flawed (IMHO).

2. Ergonomics. Minor issues with the placement of controls in the cabin. I seem to always cause the mirrors to fold in when I close the driver's door, switches on the console can be flipped by accident too easily, and there seems to be no rhyme or reason for where the buttons and switches are located.

One additional criticism - no fog lights on the top trim (GT2) even though they are mentioned in the owner's manual).

 

[StingerGT68]

Yep, it’s plastic. How often are you touching it for it to be a bother? For most it’s just a minor thing to nit-pick at. On a whole the car’s interior is great, if they went with higher quality material everywhere, then some folks would complain they are charging too much for the car.

Look at some other Kia steering wheels, the center looks really nice.

But yes, it's a nit-pick for sure. When you love a car this much, nit-picks are all that's left

 

[MerlintheMad]

This is turning into a favorite hate subject of mine, as I get older and see people not appreciating real differences, but focused on stupid differences. Yes, stupid. Because you miss the bigger picture when you focus on things that don't matter. They matter to you? Fine. That's because you're stupid. Everybody thinks so.

Okay, someone's blood started to heat up a bit reading that first paragraph. Am I right?

The point I am making perversely is that opinion will always remain no more than that. Forums like this one are fun(ny) that way. Opinions largely function on experience and expectation. If your expectations are high and your experience is "elite" rather than ordinary, you are going to have a lot in life to bitch about. And, I suspect, you are not going to be a very happy person very often.

This car has not lost an ounce of FUN since I got it over four months and nearly 8K miles ago. I don't look for or even notice things to nitpick about. And hearing others point out this or that only makes me glad that I don't naturally think that way. There are too many things well done to bother looking for the flaws. That is a definition for this car, imho.

 

[gilthanis1]

This car has not lost an ounce of FUN since I got it over four months and nearly 8K miles ago. I don't look for or even notice things to nitpick about. And hearing others point out this or that only makes me glad that I don't naturally think that way. There are too many things well done to bother looking for the flaws. That is a definition for this car, imho.

Completely understand and agree with you @MerlintheMad

My biggest nitpick though is the paint falling the hell off..... BUT I love the car so much I am going to sort it and most likely do a buyback so I can get a 2019 and stay in a Stinger. You just can't find this kind of car, with these options or performance, at this price point. Kia has made a badass car and I am totally spoiled with it. I won't drive anything else if I can ever help it.

 

[Waynerm002]

First world problems. LOL! I was just in Mongolia and noticed a car being sprayed partially covered in an open building, i'm sure that is not going to be factory specs and the folks will be happy to have their vehicle back in short order.

 

[MerlintheMad]

First world problems. LOL! I was just in Mongolia and noticed a car being sprayed partially covered in an open building, i'm sure that is not going to be factory specs and the folks will be happy to have their vehicle back in short order.

"A" car. What kind of car? Just curious.

 

[Waynerm002]

It was a Sonata, probably from around 2005. Hyundai and Toyota cars are popular there, especially Toyota’s hybrids of just about every kind and land cruisers, used to transport tourists to camps and sightseeing.

 

[rbrittr]

Does anyone have insight as to when the 2019's will be released?

My local Kia dealer said they received the Training Manual and the "What's New" brochure for the 2019 in late June. He says that they usually received the materials 2 months before ordering starts, putting ordering in late September. I tried to upload the brochure but it was too large.

 

[gen8888]

Sounds like what everyone has been sharing, 2019s hitting the US dealerships around October