MerlintheMad
10000 Posts Club!
"NAV" is the name I have given her since early July, when "she" led me to a playground in SE Oregon: where the traffic up ahead on Hwy 95 was being held back for construction, and I didn't know of that, and wondered why I had the highway all to myself: and I cut lose with some launches and high speed "tests" of the car and myself. Boy, that was fun!
On the 26th of March, 2018, three days after my test drive, my wife and I returned to Jerry Seiner Kia (South Jordan) just after the sales department opened for business. By mid afternoon I was driving away in my brand new Silky Silver AWD GT1, listening to Conan the Barbarian (Basil Poledouris) on the Harman Kardon surround sound (which has only gotten better since the subs broke in).https://www.dropbox.com/s/o3venj5y3vvnurr/MOV05355.MPG?dl=0
I was instantly satisfied and enthralled. And a year later, the "honeymoon" continues.
In 365 days of owning and driving the Stinger, not one thing has gone south or started to cosmetically wear out. Of course, I don't have teens and toddlers at home anymore, which helps. But I have had grandchildren in the back seats a number of times, though sans food or drink, and only for brief joy rides. They haven't kicked the seats, slammed the doors or mucked up the upholstery (at least not that I have noticed). The car has received very gentle treatment.
Everything that Kia hype claimed for the Stinger GT has proven to be real. It is actually more fun to just sit in and drive than I expected. I look forward to long road trips: unheard of!
I've added an Eibach rear sway bar. And a little while back I purchased TSW "Watkins" rims and had my Michelin Pilot Sport tires put on them. As winter ended, I put this setup back on and put away the stock GT rims and the Nitto Motivo UHP A/S tires that have carried me through the winter. That is all I've done as far as performance mods go.
PPF on the entire frontal area after the first couple of months or so has preserved it from road debris damage. The rest of the paint seems as smooth and shiny as when I first laid eyes on her.
I look forward to a second year of traveling and driving fast in the Stinger. The practicality of her size and hatch space is very much appreciated. I didn't want a sports car. I wanted the Gran Turismo that Kia hyped: the comfort, affordable luxury (the savings on materials are, imho, done in the right places), cabin quietude, and most of all the resulting reliability and delivery of a high performance, safe ride. I'm still amazed that I bought a brand new car for the first time in my life.
Here's how she looked when I first laid eyes on her (a trade by Jerry Seiner with Doug Smith, to get the Silky Silver color):
Here she is at Costco this afternoon, all gassed up and with her new wheels on:
And as I slid behind the wheel to run errands this afternoon, the odometer showed exactly 16,500 miles: 1,500 over what my lease would allow; but I did the buyout after three payments, so no problem; but it shows just one more reason why the buyout was a good idea: I can't keep my hands off my car.
(apologies for the lousy TracFone pic)
On the 26th of March, 2018, three days after my test drive, my wife and I returned to Jerry Seiner Kia (South Jordan) just after the sales department opened for business. By mid afternoon I was driving away in my brand new Silky Silver AWD GT1, listening to Conan the Barbarian (Basil Poledouris) on the Harman Kardon surround sound (which has only gotten better since the subs broke in).
https://www.dropbox.com/s/o3venj5y3vvnurr/MOV05355.MPG?dl=0I was instantly satisfied and enthralled. And a year later, the "honeymoon" continues.
In 365 days of owning and driving the Stinger, not one thing has gone south or started to cosmetically wear out. Of course, I don't have teens and toddlers at home anymore, which helps. But I have had grandchildren in the back seats a number of times, though sans food or drink, and only for brief joy rides. They haven't kicked the seats, slammed the doors or mucked up the upholstery (at least not that I have noticed). The car has received very gentle treatment.
Everything that Kia hype claimed for the Stinger GT has proven to be real. It is actually more fun to just sit in and drive than I expected. I look forward to long road trips: unheard of!
I've added an Eibach rear sway bar. And a little while back I purchased TSW "Watkins" rims and had my Michelin Pilot Sport tires put on them. As winter ended, I put this setup back on and put away the stock GT rims and the Nitto Motivo UHP A/S tires that have carried me through the winter. That is all I've done as far as performance mods go.
PPF on the entire frontal area after the first couple of months or so has preserved it from road debris damage. The rest of the paint seems as smooth and shiny as when I first laid eyes on her.
I look forward to a second year of traveling and driving fast in the Stinger. The practicality of her size and hatch space is very much appreciated. I didn't want a sports car. I wanted the Gran Turismo that Kia hyped: the comfort, affordable luxury (the savings on materials are, imho, done in the right places), cabin quietude, and most of all the resulting reliability and delivery of a high performance, safe ride. I'm still amazed that I bought a brand new car for the first time in my life.
Here's how she looked when I first laid eyes on her (a trade by Jerry Seiner with Doug Smith, to get the Silky Silver color):
Here she is at Costco this afternoon, all gassed up and with her new wheels on:
And as I slid behind the wheel to run errands this afternoon, the odometer showed exactly 16,500 miles: 1,500 over what my lease would allow; but I did the buyout after three payments, so no problem; but it shows just one more reason why the buyout was a good idea: I can't keep my hands off my car.
(apologies for the lousy TracFone pic)
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