Are Kia Stinger Sales Living Up To The Hype? Here Are The Numbers

[westcoastGT]

aside from missing the sound of a V8 , I'm totally impressed by the power, speed and smoothness of the V6 .

 

[Soca Boy]

aside from missing the sound of a V8 , I'm totally impressed by the power, speed and smoothness of the V6 .

Yeah does need a better exhaust note, I did a resonator delete on the exhaust and love the sound from it. It was a cheap way of getting that right note(for me), the K&N typhoon also helps. Power as you said is very impressive.

 

[p51]

A view of the other side of the fence: there are owners of 2015 and later mustang GTs and ecoboosts who are considering trading in the mustang for the stinger. Me personally, I daily a 2015 Mustang GT with the performance pack and I'm waiting for the 2019 GT1.

 

[YEH]

Curious why you dont believe Stinger has direct competition from Dodge Charger which is an american muscle car or even Caddy CTS? I wasnt cross shopping when I compared Dodge to the Kia. Both 4 doors, similar performance, similar size, similar cost, similar options. If Kia wasnt such an odd duck I would have bought the Dodge but I like having a very unique car.

I was speaking more about the 2-door pony cars (the discontinued Genesis coupe was kinda a competitor, altho it kinda sat in the space btwn the pony cars and something like the Infiniti G35/37).

As for the Charger, it simply isn't a luxury model (even entry-level) on the inside.

An Optima (esp. in SX-L trim) has a better interior, nevermind something like the Cadenza.

The corporate cousin of the Charger, the 300, would be more akin to what the Stinger is on the inside, but a major difference is that the 300 (and Charger) splits the difference in size btwn the Cadenza and K900, so it's a good bit larger than the Stinger.

The 300 is only a couple of inches shorter than a SWB RWD full-size sedan, whereas the Stinger is shorter than not only the G80 and Cadenza, but the Optima as well.

The closest thing to the 300 in the Kia lineup in terms of size, bodystyle and powertrain/layout would be the K900, but the K900 (talking about the new one) simply destroys the 300 when it comes to the interior (the interior of the K900 can hold up to the LS 500 before you add the $10k+ interior upgrade).

I still contend for a car that has been gushed over by press, super bowl adds, shopping mall and airport exhibits, Sema drift events, track events tons and tons of PR. Then given huge discounted incentives on the cars. 1500 units a month is ...well ...pee pee Will be interested to see what they do this month. If its down again car is doomed. They have already slashed prices.

The discounts are no more than for other cars and it's primarily have been in terms of cash for leasing in order to get the lease terms more amenable.

Still, one can lease an Infiniti Q50 RS for a good bit less than a GT2.

Also, have to take into account that the Stinger is a fastback/liftback which still is not as popular as the box sedan bodystyle in the US; hence, why the 3 Series and A4/S4 outsell the 4-door versions of the 4 Series and A5/S5.

tell you what if Kia had put V8 in the car made it a little lighter 3600 lbs with aluminum doors and hood and kept price to say $45K car probably would have sold like hot cakes. Biggest complaint from all reviewers. "Car sounds like shit". Everyone who buys it is changing exhaust system . Also introducing car with 2.0 was mistake. Shoiuld have made 2.5 T a base model.

Going to disagree w/ some things.

Sales of the Tau 5.0 for the G80 have dropped ever since the G80 Sport was launched w/ the 3.3TT.

Plus, w/ the latest indication being that the 3.3TT will be upgraded to 3.5L (pushing 400+ HP), a V8 in what is essentially the entry-class isn't necessary (add a 48V system which can provide some instant torque and we're talking enough power to satisfy most).

Kia had no choice but to offer the 2.0T as the base engine as there was no other option. As previously stated, there is a new 2.5T (300+ HP) on the way, but it's slated for the new G80 first (new base engine trim) - so probably will see the Stinger get it when it undergoes its facelift.

Agree that the 3.3TT is too quiet, but that was primarily due to the sound ordinances in Seoul and other cities in Korea, in addition to the fact that that it was developed primarily for lux duty in the G90 and G80.

Hopefully, for the 3.5L, Kia implements a bi-modal exhaust system from the start.

Also agree that Kia should have made the hood and liftback aluminum, but that may have driven the price up even further (putting aside that the US pricing was probably a couple grand more than it should have been).

 

[MerlintheMad]

... the Stinger is shorter than ... the Optima as well.

Not really. Outside dimensions don't count. Optima is only one inch longer than the Stinger, but is a whole four inches shorter in wheelbase, where dimensions count most inside the car. The Stinger is also wider and noticeably lower without losing headroom. The trunk space is not comparable either. The Stinger has just about every four door luxury sedan beat in the cargo area.

 

[YEH]

^ Re the wheelbase, have to keep in mind that the Optima is FWD so has a more efficient packaging than the RWD Stinger, even if the Stinger has a longer WB (that's why Acura was able to advertise 7 Series-like rear passenger space for the price of a 5 Series when the RLX was launched).

The Stinger only has 1 cu ft more cargo space in the hatch than the A5/S5 and w/ the 2nd seats folded, has less cargo room than the 4 Series GC.

The fact that due to its bodystyle, the Stinger has more cargo room than the sedans isn't as big of deal since more buyers still prefer the sedan bodystyle and/or prefer the added security of having a trunk instead of a liftback/hatch.

Going back to the CTS, the Stinger is a tweener in terms of size (in part due to its fastback bodystyle), but the replacement for the ATS, the CT5, also be a tweener in size and will be a more appropriate comparison to the Stinger.

 

[Soca Boy]

3.5L pushing 400+ HP, might be a GT3 Stinger. I wonder if they have plans to go electric, would be sweet.

 

[MerlintheMad]

3.5L pushing 400+ HP, might be a GT3 Stinger. I wonder if they have plans to go electric, would be sweet.

Not this car. Some other derivative perhaps, since Kia is positively into developing electric cars for availability no later than 2020. But the Stinger as a gran turismo on the "70s retro" style would betray that concept if it were a hybrid. The deliberate focus on fastback and RWD and power/performance is antithetical to a hybrid, imho. Making AWD available is almost a betrayal of that concept: but modern car tech demands AWD anymore. Too many buyers would have turned away from a Stinger that didn't offer AWD.

 

[westcoastGT]

From early days Kia stated that the Stinger platform was capable of , and they were mindful of , embracing Electric ..........given what Porsche , BMW , Audi and Tesla plus all the Japanese are doing I'm betting they will bring an E version in the not so distant future , I'll also bet a higher performance derivative will come to market as well . Panamera would be an example of a platform that embraces a full range of tiers within a single model ...........................my $.02

 

[jchan_stinger]

I've seen more of the Infinity Q60 than a Stinger in NY. Kinda disappointing but at the same time feels good to be the only one around. Although I spotted a white stinger in parking lot of Roosevelt Field Mall once!

 

[MerlintheMad]

I've seen more of the Infinity Q60 than a Stinger in NY. Kinda disappointing but at the same time feels good to be the only one around. Although I spotted a white stinger in parking lot of Roosevelt Field Mall once!

That counts! Not sitting on a car sales lot always counts.

 

[Lynnette Miller]

The Stinger is selling above what they predicted and it’s selling on par with its competitors. They didn’t build this car to sell like hotcakes, if your looking for a car like that it’s called a Corolla.

Now that's funny!! I absolutely love my GT-2 AWD.....more than my 2006 Corvette!