At (Long) Last ...US Official Pricing

[Jayce]

Thanks! I'll have to do a line-by-line later, but this looks like what I downloaded before. No 360º mentioned, or did I scan too fast? This is still so frustrating.

Nope, it's not mentioned. I just did a line by line. Not much changed other than that sunrise yellow being mentioned.

 

[Gilgamesh]

I thought the panthera metal wasn't going to be coming to the US? That was my preferred color until I heard it wasn't going to be an option here..

 

[Bamm1]

Nope, it's not mentioned. I just did a line by line. Not much changed other than that sunrise yellow being mentioned.

That is correct. Another revision and still no mention of 360 camera, wireless charging and heated rear seats. Not looking promising.

 

[Bamm1]

I thought the panthera metal wasn't going to be coming to the US? That was my preferred color until I heard it wasn't going to be an option here..

Sorry to say, it is not.

Kia listed all the colors on their US website. We were surprised to see yellow when the site launched but that has since been confirmed by the updated "Features and Options" list on Kia's website. So I suspect the choices at the link below are accurate:

https://www.kia.com/us/en/vehicle/stinger/2018/style

 

[Jayce]

Sorry to say, it is not.

Kia listed all the colors on their US website. We were surprised to see yellow when the site launched but that has since been confirmed by the updated "Features and Options" list on Kia's website. So I suspect the choices at the link below are accurate:

https://www.kia.com/us/en/vehicle/stinger/2018/style

​

Well that sucks. Look like I'll be stuck at black. That's very disappointing, especially with the omission of wireless charging, heated rear seats, and 360 cam. Could have sworn that someone said that Panthera Metal was coming. I wonder if dealers just don't know yet. Someone was even told that Dark Blue would be available.

 

[netmag]

Wait, I thought that sales guy on here mentioned that Panthera Metal was selectable in their system. Also, someone just mentioned today that a dealer told them that the Dark Blue was in the first shipment. There's so much confusion, who knows what the truth is. All I know is if they don't have one of those two colors available then I'll keep waiting for something.

Also, I can't imagine that they would leave out the 360 feature. They have it and the wireless charging available on the highest trim in Canada and Australia. I don't think they would exclude it here. Yet it is strange that they're explicitly not mentioning it. These are some of the highest profile features they have. Perhaps they just don't know exactly how they want to position it.

 

[eljay]

I apologize in advance for my rant.

I hate buying cars anyway (obviously--only 3 cars since 1973), but Kia is NOT making this any more pleasant. I visited the dealer that called me this morning. First, it's obvious that he really expects to sell to me from the stock they receive in a couple of weeks, and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to want what they get. I know they've accepted pre-orders (I think this was done by the manager who quit), but no one seems willing to allow me to do that. It's always, "I'll get back to you." I know I'm possibly not pushy enough, but surprisingly (haha), that generally has the opposite of the desired effect for us older women, so I'm trying to control myself.

It's pretty obvious that their knowledge of the car is not based on fact, but on the Deep Chroma Blue 2.0 Korean spec that's on display. I pointedly asked about the 360º cam, wireless charging, and even the DCB paint, despite the fact that I want white, saying that the info uploaded this a.m. by Kia didn't back up that these features were available. The young guy who stood by while I started the engine, played with the rear seats and hatch, etc., looked clueless when I pointed this out, and just kept pointing to the features on the car, and I kept saying, "But this is Korean spec. We're not getting the same car here. How do I know it will have these features?" No attempt to step in and call the district rep, or Kia corporate, or consult their computers--bupkis as far as the kind of customer service that would instill confidence.

And while I was told this a.m. that I would probably be test driving by the middle of next week, when I went in I was told a week-and-a-half "or so."

I would like to tell my friends that they are wrong about my getting this lousy service because I'm a woman, but twice today reps said things to me that made it sound like they expected me to discuss this with my non-existent husband. By the time I left, I was ready, if I'd had time, to go to the Buick dealer across the street to ask about the GS.

But the real point I wanted to make before going on this rant is that if I were you all, I wouldn't count on Deep Chroma Blue, and probably not on a 360º cam or wireless charging, either, unless you plan to move to another country.

 

[Bamm1]

Wait, I thought that sales guy on here mentioned that Panthera Metal was selectable in their system. Also, someone just mentioned today that a dealer told them that the Dark Blue was in the first shipment. There's so much confusion, who knows what the truth is. All I know is if they don't have one of those two colors available then I'll keep waiting for something.

Also, I can't imagine that they would leave out the 360 feature. They have it and the wireless charging available on the highest trim in Canada and Australia. I don't think they would exclude it here. Yet it is strange that they're explicitly not mentioning it. These are some of the highest profile features they have. Perhaps they just don't know exactly how they want to position it.

It has been my experience that sales reps are not very reliable sources of information. We are getting the colors on the website. There is no reason to leave out a color as a surprise for later.

We are not getting the 360 degree camera either. See my post in this thread: https://stingerforum.org/threads/us...nt-screen-on-the-stinger.870/page-3#post-8783

Today Kia made a big presentation. You don't put rear view camera with guidelines on your slide instead of 360 degree camera by accident.

 

[unintelligible]

Aaaaand here it is, just came across this GT2 interior pic on Twitter. Note the storage bin ahead of the shifter - no QI wireless charging mat. Man, they really decontented this thing for the US. Shame.

 

[Merkur720]

Aaaaand here it is, just came across this GT2 interior pic on Twitter. Note the storage bin ahead of the shifter - no QI wireless charging mat. Man, they really decontented this thing for the US. Shame.

Yep. You can also see the surround view (360) monitor button is missing next to seat heaters....it’s just crazy my ‘17 Sedona SXL minivan has this feature and the Stinger being compared to Audi/BMW doesn’t at a $50,000 GT2 price point.

 

[netmag]

I'm not too worried about what is said because in the end I would only buy based off what is actually available. It could be that they just wanted to keep the price down a little bit, but I think they're missing an opportunity. They could also be worried about Genesis encroachment, but I thought they had Genesis in Canada and were planning to launch in Australia.

I don't really know how production goes, but it seems odd to have like 90% of the highest end features, but then exclude a couple just for the US market. Again, I'm not saying they're not doing it (based on the pic above, they obviously did). I'm just having trouble grasping what would warrant what seems like the extra effort of exclusion compared to what is shipped to other countries.

 

[unintelligible]

Yep. You can also see the surround view (360) monitor button is missing next to seat heaters....

Right. I'm starting to consider paying off my Mustang and keeping an eye open to see if Kia makes amends in the 2019 model year. I just think these are bogus moves considering the car was announced at the Detroit show in US spec with all of these features included and now they remove them while still coming in slightly over their initial $50k fully-loaded estimate.

 

[Jayce]

I'm not too worried about what is said because in the end I would only buy based off what is actually available. It could be that they just wanted to keep the price down a little bit, but I think they're missing an opportunity. They could also be worried about Genesis encroachment, but I thought they had Genesis in Canada and were planning to launch in Australia.

I don't really know how production goes, but it seems odd to have like 90% of the highest end features, but then exclude a couple just for the US market. Again, I'm not saying they're not doing it (based on the pic above, they obviously did). I'm just having trouble grasping what would warrant what seems like the extra effort of exclusion compared to what is shipped to other countries.

I don't understand it either. My guess is that they wanted to keep it less than 50k and for some reason they felt that they would have to charge us extra for that to make whatever margin they want. It's got to either be that or worried about Genesis like you said. The fact that it doesn't have either of the colors I really like nor those features makes me want to see what features the G70 will have and how it'll be priced even though it's smaller.

 

[netmag]

Aaaaand here it is, just came across this GT2 interior pic on Twitter. Note the storage bin ahead of the shifter - no QI wireless charging mat. Man, they really decontented this thing for the US. Shame.

Just to noticing some other things:
The Nav shape looks like the one in the G70. Ie. more angular than rounded.
Also, no cup holder cover.

 

[Chris]

I don't understand it either. My guess is that they wanted to keep it less than 50k..

Well that seems like a lame a$$ BS excuse. Canada gets all those options for 8k less?
No thanks.

 

[Merkur720]

I may be waiting for a “special edition” 2.0T with GT Line trim. I hesitate to be impulsive when:

1) My first two color choices are not available (one is on display everywhere)

2) Certain desireable 2018 features are missing that are found on lower models in the Kia line TODAY

3) Pricing is certain to be at or above MSRP with no finance or lease promos.

 

[eljay]

I don't understand it either. My guess is that they wanted to keep it less than 50k and for some reason they felt that they would have to charge us extra for that to make whatever margin they want. It's got to either be that or worried about Genesis like you said.

I'm guessing it's the former, but if so, why not offer a package for those of us who want the missing features? Yeah, yeah, I know, maybe they're trying to simplify initial production, limited to certain trims with no real options other than AWD, but for people like me who can't limp along with their current car and aren't willing to afford an interim car, this is disappointing and will be a constant disappointment every time I pull into my tight garage without that 360º cam. I curse the guy who test drove a Cadenza with me and forced me to back it into a parking slot, thus making me fall in love with the feature!

 

[netmag]

Just to noticing some other things:
The Nav shape looks like the one in the G70. Ie. more angular than rounded.
Also, no cup holder cover.

In addition to the 360 button, there's another button missing in between the seat heaters. I can't quite make out if it's the Steering Wheel heater or the Auto Brake. I think the Steering Wheel heater was listed in the excel doc though. Don't recall seeing anything about the Auto Brake in the document so maybe that's the missing button?

 

[Bamm1]

In addition to the 360 button, there's another button missing in between the seat heaters. I can't quite make out if it's the Steering Wheel heater or the Auto Brake. I think the Steering Wheel heater was listed in the excel doc though. Don't recall seeing anything about the Auto Brake in the document so maybe that's the missing button?

Autohold is on the left side of the drive mode selector knob.

ROW cars had seat temp, heated steering wheel, parking sensors, SVM, auto start/stop and seat temp.

The heated steering wheel does show as standard for GT2. Maybe the control has moved to an alternate location?

Genesis links AWD and a heated steering wheel. It looks like Kia is linking rain sensing wipers and AWD....but who knows for sure.

 

[Jayce]

Tho

Autohold is on the left side of the drive mode selector knob.

ROW cars had seat temp, heated steering wheel, parking sensors, SVM, auto start/stop and seat temp.

The heated steering wheel does show as standard for GT2. Maybe the control has moved to an alternate location?

Genesis links AWD and a heated steering wheel. It looks like Kia is linking rain sensing wipers and AWD....but who knows for sure.

Maybe it is on the left side of the steering wheel, that's where my Optima has it. Do you think the left out features will be in for 2019?