1254 Stingers sold in March ..............5080 Tellurides !!

[westcoastGT]

Telluride is on Fire ! Stinger .............not so much .

 

[Waynerm002]

Still, it sold a decent amount in a time when other manufacturers are ditching cars altogether. Those looking for a sporty ride that isn’t ridiculously price still have a good option.

 

[Kamauxx]

 

[Soca Boy]

Not bad, with the weather we had, it doesn’t surprise more people with for a SUV.

 

[Luminary]

Saw my first one in the wild today. We each gave a thumbs up as we passed. It is good looking SUV.

 

[GTA Jay]

Saw one at the dealership when I was in for a service. At first glance I was really impressed. Until I checked out the interior. The seats were very unimpressive. The leather seemed awful. And the fugazzi wood grain panels were poorly done and came across very cheap. I did like the layout of the gauge clusters, the infotainment system, and the overall ergonomics of the vehicle.

 

[MarkyMark]

Not bad, with the weather we had, it doesn’t surprise more people with for a SUV.

My thought exactly. Last year at this time, Stinger enthusiasts were still loading up on GT2s, and KIA was still filling the channel with the right mix. It's a year later, and the weather is just breaking across many parts of the country, yet even with so many Stinger enthusiasts having bought, 1200+ is a healthy number for March.

I just took a cursory look at kia.com and did not even see any special incentives for the Stinger, yet I received $6,000 back from KIA Corporate alone! Without them I wouldn't have purchased, so to sell 1,254 sets up the summer for solid sales.

Lastly, I would suggest KIA's latest flagship, the Telluride, is the new marketing tool for KIA and the NBA. Stinger must now make it by being seen, great reviews and word of mouth. I think it will win in the long run. I get weekly questions and people raving about my car. I'm slowly seeing more and more of them on the road, and people need to see them to gain awareness. Roughly 16 months in the market now, and still there are so many people that have no clue what this car is. As others abandon the car market, and KIA put out the performance Stinger hatchback, I'd say they will have staying power for a long, long time to come.

Stinger, IMO, is the 4-door Mustang with a better interior design and handling. But hey, that's just me.

 

[westcoastGT]

Saw one at the dealership when I was in for a service. At first glance I was really impressed. Until I checked out the interior. The seats were very unimpressive. The leather seemed awful. And the fugazzi wood grain panels were poorly done and came across very cheap. I did like the layout of the gauge clusters, the infotainment system, and the overall ergonomics of the vehicle.

It must have been an EX , the SX is damn Lux

 

[MarkyMark]

It must have been an EX , the SX is damn Lux

I also saw one in person yesterday. It was being seen by quite a few people. Dealer had 8, one left. $3k markup right now.

Foe-Wood: I've seen real wood that looks more fake and cheap than this plastic design. Thus, I'd say it all depends. What I saw didn't bother me at all. Most real wood is a razor thin veneer anyway, but I agree on the leather. The one I saw was an S, which if fake leather I believe? Nothing is good as the real thing - period. And it wasn't two-tone, so one color (IMHO) just doesn't cut it. I have a red on black Stinger, and a previous white on black Mazda6, so yah, I like the tonal breaks in the interior. This left me wanting.

But no doubt KIA is selling as many as they can make early on. Let's see how sales hold up over time, and after the Palisade hits the market, and the new Ford Explorer... The 3-row SUV is the new sedan market of 20 years ago. It is THE market space to win. Ford, Chevy, Toyota with a smattering of Honda are the major players today, but in five years it's going to look vastly different and fragmented with choices and prices that should impress.

 

[STINGER]

I feel KIAs weakest point today is that it needs to get the dealer experience together, especially the garage service experience.

 

[Kamauxx]

I also saw one in person yesterday. It was being seen by quite a few people. Dealer had 8, one left. $3k markup right now.

Foe-Wood: I've seen real wood that looks more fake and cheap than this plastic design. Thus, I'd say it all depends. What I saw didn't bother me at all. Most real wood is a razor thin veneer anyway, but I agree on the leather. The one I saw was an S, which if fake leather I believe? Nothing is good as the real thing - period. And it wasn't two-tone, so one color (IMHO) just doesn't cut it. I have a red on black Stinger, and a previous white on black Mazda6, so yah, I like the tonal breaks in the interior. This left me wanting.

But no doubt KIA is selling as many as they can make early on. Let's see how sales hold up over time, and after the Palisade hits the market, and the new Ford Explorer... The 3-row SUV is the new sedan market of 20 years ago. It is THE market space to win. Ford, Chevy, Toyota with a smattering of Honda are the major players today, but in five years it's going to look vastly different and fragmented with choices and prices that should impress.

I was planning on trading my Stinger for one. After actually sitting in a SX with prestige package my mind changed. The faux wood may look nice but it feels like cheap plastic from a 1990s GM product. It really isn't done well. Overall the interior is unimpressive. I lost interest in the Tellurides after that.

The sales numbers don't surprise me. SUV's dominate the automotive marketplace and Kia is offering a large attractive option for a good price. The Telluride is destined to become Kia's biggest success story. (unless oil prices unexpectedly shoot through the roof)

 

[brancky3]

I also saw one in person yesterday. It was being seen by quite a few people. Dealer had 8, one left. $3k markup right now.

Lol that's hilarious that dealers charge a markup and people actually pay it. You're a sucker if you pay MSRP, you're in another league if you pay more.*

*excluding super rare halo cars

 

[GenesisG70]

There is nothing that irritates me more than dealers increasing the MSRP of cars. We the people should stop buying marked up cars so these people don't continue encouraging this bad habit. Are you really marking up a Kia?!! Wtf

 

[Doel]

Saw my first Telluride last week, the front and side profiles looked good, but am I the only one that thinks the rear is hideous?? It looks too skinny or something, doesn't fit the large profile of the vehicle at all.

 

[brancky3]

Saw my first Telluride last week, the front and side profiles looked good, but am I the only one that thinks the rear is hideous?? It looks too skinny or something, doesn't fit the large profile of the vehicle at all.

I think it's the tiny taillights. It makes me think that it skipped leg day

 

[westcoastGT]

Saw my first Telluride last week, the front and side profiles looked good, but am I the only one that thinks the rear is hideous?? It looks too skinny or something, doesn't fit the large profile of the vehicle at all.

................Funny . I like the rear and sides but still not sold on the front , waiting for the Pally to compare ..................

 

[MerlintheMad]

I think it's the tiny taillights. It makes me think that it skipped leg day

https://st.automobilemag.com/uploads/sites/10/2019/01/2020-Kia-Telluride-rear-side-view-motion.jpg
I don't see it.
http://2019carscomingout.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/2018-Kia-Borrego-Rear-Side.jpg

 

[Optima Mystic]

Sat in a base Telluride a couple of weeks ago. I hope the interior of the SX is better. While the interior layout is fine, the controls felt cheap and wiggled easily as I used them. Though the interior space is quite impressive. They did a good job of utilizing every inch for roominess. If I were in the market for an SUV, I'd hold out for a higher model to see if the interior component quality is slightly better.

 

[Socalstinga]

I think people miss the point KIA was trying to make with the stinger - they wanted to show and prove they could make a quality vehicle the likes of which could be on par with the BMWs and Audi's of the world. Really meant to show that KIA has the engineering savvy and know how of a quality manufacturer to up the perception of the brand. The stinger was the proof, and the Telluride was the one that was meant to be the sales monster by virtue of the SUV/crossover crazed market..

 

[MisterMac]

Relative to the overall market segment and the associated demand, it seems both vehicles did very well last month. U.S. new auto sales are down relative to 2018 in both the first quarter and March of 2019.