Kia Stinger Experience Tour

[Merkur720]

Just got back from mine and I really enjoyed it. Coming from already knowing everything and owning one, it was great to see what it really can do. And they really wanted you to drive it like your stole it. I was pretty impressed but I’ve also never done an experience quite like this. I also drove the A5 by request as it was a top 3 contender of mine. It felt a lot softer in the turns and the engine needed more time to put the power on.

 

[Kazz]

I've attended these things put on by Audi, Mercedes, Acura, Cadillac and others, and they're mostly about the same. But I will say Audi and M-B both let us drive on public streets, and I thought they were the most useful ones.

And if Kia had had more cars and "co-pilots" available, we could have had more wheel time. They had only about 4 or 5 Stingers along with the 3 competitor cars for the whole group (which consisted of 4 groups of about 5-6 people each).

Not just being critical, but having done a number of these things, I felt Kia cheaped out a little on theirs. And if they hadn't used up 3/4 of the time on non-driving stuff, we could have driven more.

Just got back from mine and I really enjoyed it. Coming from already knowing everything and owning one, it was great to see what it really can do. And they really wanted you to drive it like your stole it. I was pretty impressed but I’ve also never done an experience quite like this. I also drove the A5 by request as it was a top 3 contender of mine. It felt a lot softer in the turns and the engine needed more time to put the power on.

Something I was going to mention, as well: I don't need to drive them around on the street. As an owner who's been driving one for a couple of months now, I want to be able to get in one and push it more than I'm willing to do on the streets.

 

[Merkur720]

Something I was going to mention, as well: I don't need to drive them around on the street. As an owner who's been driving one for a couple of months now, I want to be able to get in one and push it more than I'm willing to do on the streets.

Exactly. I would NEVER drive (or really have the opportunity to) mine the way I drove it. And then as the passenger, see the professional drive it. It was great and I would encourage an owner to try to participate in one if you can.

 

[Mike_TX]

Something I was going to mention, as well: I don't need to drive them around on the street. As an owner who's been driving one for a couple of months now, I want to be able to get in one and push it more than I'm willing to do on the streets.

That's a good point. You wouldn't treat your own car like that, but Kia lets you flog theirs at these events! Lol.

I laughingly asked the guy if they clean these cars up after tour and sell them as CPO's, and he said they'll probably crush them.

 

[Merkur720]

Yes. I was told they would be destroyed. I was a little bummed my tester only had 180 miles on the odometer. I was “hoping” to see how it looked/sounded/drove with several thousand HARD miles on it.

 

[Kazz]

Exactly. I would NEVER drive (or really have the opportunity to) mine the way I drove it. And then as the passenger, see the professional drive it. It was great and I would encourage an owner to try to participate in one if you can.

That's a good point. You wouldn't treat your own car like that, but Kia lets you flog theirs at these events! Lol.

I laughingly asked the guy if they clean these cars up after tour and sell them as CPO's, and he said they'll probably crush them.

I strongly recommend any owner find a nearby autocross run by competent, insured groups (often SCCA)! You can just bring your car as-is. It's going to rank up there in the top two of things you've ever done in a car!

 

[Mike_TX]

Here's a question for those who have gone to the Tour:

What is the "Chalk Ink Pen" intended for? Maybe marking on the black bottle to personalize it?

 

[jrhodes87]

Signed up for Chicago, I'll have a GT by then...

just nervous I'll enjoy the LSD on the GT2's they'll have to much

 

[Kazz]

Signed up for Chicago, I'll have a GT by then...

just nervous I'll enjoy the LSD (Limited Slip Differential) on the GT2's they'll have to much

Agreed 100%! I'll be there 4/7.

 

[davebo]

Had a great time at the Stinger Experience Tour at the D.C. stop today. They had me drive an Audi around the track, which to be fair I didn't hammer because I was familiarizing myself with the layout. Then I drove a base GT RWD Stinger around and maybe wasn't giving it 100% yet, but felt I got through pretty quick and hit the apexes okay. Then the professional driver Paul drove me around and man was he quick. I couldn't believe how well a 3,800+ pound car could handle in these tight turns. Definitely a lot of Optima owners present. Good times, highly recommended.
(left photo is of some other guy, not me)

 

[Luminary]

I too had a great time. Mine was yesterday, and I think I had the same driver - Paul. Yeah my tummy was in the back seat when he drove. I wanted to go again and again. I drove the Porsche first, and I was a bit timid in it as I did not know the course and was trying to figure out where I had to go to follow it. The second run I opened up the Stinger GT2 AWD as much as I could. Was so much fun.

Few pics from the event. The last pic is of the gift box all participants received. Nice stuff, but was really bummed none of it was KIA or Stinger branded.

 

[Waynerm002]

Just got back from the DC event today, it was a lot of fun but I wish I had more time or at least another run on the course. Drove a red AWD and got the back a bit loose on a couple of the turns, went in hot, jabbed the brake then hit the throttle to pull it through. Makes me want to get one of these earlier than I can but I'm gonna hold out.

 

[Mike_TX]

I too had a great time. Mine was yesterday, and I think I had the same driver - Paul. Yeah my tummy was in the back seat when he drove. I wanted to go again and again. I drove the Porsche first, and I was a bit timid in it as I did not know the course and was trying to figure out where I had to go to follow it. The second run I opened up the Stinger GT2 AWD as much as I could. Was so much fun.

Few pics from the event. The last pic is of the gift box all participants received. Nice stuff, but was really bummed none of it was KIA or Stinger branded.

View attachment 4522

View attachment 4523 View attachment 4524 View attachment 4525 View attachment 4526 View attachment 4527 View attachment 4528

What was in the little drawstring bag? Mine didn't have that! <pout>

 

[davebo]

These Jaunt VR fold-out 3d glasses that you can clip onto your cell phone. Imagine a Google Cardboard compatible device but that you had to manually hold your phone up to your face instead of just strapping it on like any VR headset. Nothing to be jealous of trust me.

 

[Mike_TX]

These Jaunt VR fold-out 3d glasses that you can clip onto your cell phone. Imagine a Google Cardboard compatible device but that you had to manually hold your phone up to your face instead of just strapping it on like any VR headset. Nothing to be jealous of trust me.

Well that's good. I felt deeply wronged, cheated and disrespected for a minute there.

BTW, I'm still not sure what the chalk pen was intended for ... ?

 

[davebo]

Theoretically it was to "collect signatures" on the S'ip bottle. Signatures of the pro drivers I guess? It said something about getting signatures but then said how it washes off easily, so what good would that be? No clue.

 

[A Member Who Left]

So my daughter and I are signed-up for Saturday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. I guess I was being naive to think we would actually get ONTO the racetrack. It is nothing but driving around cones in the parking lot. Now I’m just bummed about it. Not sure how we get to test the launch control fully in the parking lot. It’s a 120 mile drive for me to get there anyway so it is an entire day event.

 

[davebo]

Well ours was held in a huge parking lot, so we weren't expecting an actual racetrack. They didn't let us use launch control either, just set up a drag strip light and floor the gas, which is plenty quick. I assume you were hoping to drive one of the infield tracks at Charlotte? Just going around the perimeter like nascar wouldn't be a very good demo of the Stinger's handling. I imagine it's a liability thing since they're assuming everyone is an amateur driver and having a course in a parking lot means the worst damage anyone can do is run over a cone, whereas on the infield tracks you could easily run off the asphalt and start sliding on the grass for a while. I had a lot of fun at the D.C. one, and they did mention at the Dallas one someone drove from like four hours away, but I don't know if it's really worth that kind of time commitment. Maybe just go do some slightly spirited driving during a test drive of a GT model instead?

 

[Luminary]

I agree with @davebo - I had a great time. I managed not to hit a single cone.
I do wish they had let us test the launch control.

On a side note, I did ask what will become of all of the test Stinger's they had there, and was told they do not get crunched, that they will go to auction. That is all they would say though. I do not know if I would want one, the one I drove had less the 300 miles on it. So that means no engine break in.

 

[davebo]

That's so weird because the guy I was talking to Dana said he thought they either crushed them or kept them as demos because they couldn't be sold to the public due to the torture they're under. Maybe an auction is okay because you're allowed to sell as-is. I mean, I wouldn't want one that's been thrashed like these ones have, but hell if you could grab it for cheap enough just replace the engine if it goes bad. I think mine (the blue rwd base GT) had like 210 miles on it.