New '22 Stinger GT1 AWD owner. First Kia.

[zmarko]

Greetings everyone. I'm a (relatively) new '22 Stinger GT1 AWD owner. Picked it up 2 weeks ago, and have been enjoying it thus far. I'm 50 and have owned 35 cars or so over the years. Lol. Sports cars, sedans, econo coupes, hot hatches, SUV's, convertibles, everything really. I traded in my 2015 Acura TLX V6 Tech package car in for the new '22 Stinger in Aurora Black (which was not my first choice, or even my third...but they had 3 on the lot, and they made me an extremely good deal).

I'm really enjoying the power of the Stinger, although there are a few things I'm missing with the GT1 package.

1. Memory seats. As a short guy, having a memory of my seating position is sorely missed as while cleaning my cars, I like to move the seats and vacuum under as much as I can, and doing that with my TLX was easy, just press the memory and voila back to normal. I have purchased a GT2 memory seat button set, but after removing the drivers door card yesterday, my suspicion that Kia would have one wiring harness for both GT1/GT2 packages was not confirmed. I'm still hopeful that the door wiring harness may be a separate entity from the main car wiring harness, and I can find a door harness from a GT2 to experiment with. Anyone know if there are FSM's (field service manuals) anywhere online for both GT1/GT2? I find it inexcusable that a car at this price point doesn't have memory seats. I mean, my 2004 VW Passat had memory seats.

2. A Sunglass Holder in the overhead console. This is honestly mind boggling for a car of this caliber and cost. I understand they need to have discernible "packages" for cars, but what a disappointment. I'll be picking up a used one from a GT2 to swap in to my GT1.

3. Cooled Seats. Would have been nice in a car of this price point, but again, I 'get it'.

The only one I knew weren't on the GT1 while doing research was #3, and while not deal breakers, it is disappointing that 1 & 2 weren't included on the GT1.

All that being said, it's not souring my experience with the car. They are small things, and 1 is easy to remedy, the other 2 would take some extensive research/work/time/cost. But we'll see how that goes. Lol.

Looking forward to discussing other things about the car with you fine folks.

-Mark

 

[Kia Stinger]

Greetings everyone. I'm a (relatively) new '22 Stinger GT1 AWD owner. Picked it up 2 weeks ago, and have been enjoying it thus far. I'm 50 and have owned 35 cars or so over the years. Lol. Sports cars, sedans, econo coupes, hot hatches, SUV's, convertibles, everything really. I traded in my 2015 Acura TLX V6 Tech package car in for the new '22 Stinger in Aurora Black (which was not my first choice, or even my third...but they had 3 on the lot, and they made me an extremely good deal).

I'm really enjoying the power of the Stinger, although there are a few things I'm missing with the GT1 package.

1. Memory seats. As a short guy, having a memory of my seating position is sorely missed as while cleaning my cars, I like to move the seats and vacuum under as much as I can, and doing that with my TLX was easy, just press the memory and voila back to normal. I have purchased a GT2 memory seat button set, but after removing the drivers door card yesterday, my suspicion that Kia would have one wiring harness for both GT1/GT2 packages was not confirmed. I'm still hopeful that the door wiring harness may be a separate entity from the main car wiring harness, and I can find a door harness from a GT2 to experiment with. Anyone know if there are FSM's (field service manuals) anywhere online for both GT1/GT2? I find it inexcusable that a car at this price point doesn't have memory seats. I mean, my 2004 VW Passat had memory seats.

2. A Sunglass Holder in the overhead console. This is honestly mind boggling for a car of this caliber and cost. I understand they need to have discernible "packages" for cars, but what a disappointment. I'll be picking up a used one from a GT2 to swap in to my GT1.

3. Cooled Seats. Would have been nice in a car of this price point, but again, I 'get it'.

The only one I knew weren't on the GT1 while doing research was #3, and while not deal breakers, it is disappointing that 1 & 2 weren't included on the GT1.

All that being said, it's not souring my experience with the car. They are small things, and 1 is easy to remedy, the other 2 would take some extensive research/work/time/cost. But we'll see how that goes. Lol.

Looking forward to discussing other things about the car with you fine folks.

-Mark

Welcome aboard! And thank you for signing up. I’m glad you found us! Congratulations on your new Stinger.

 

[Landshark]

2. A Sunglass Holder in the overhead console. This is honestly mind boggling for a car of this caliber and cost. I understand they need to have discernible "packages" for cars, but what a disappointment. I'll be picking up a used one from a GT2 to swap in to my GT1.

Looking forward to discussing other things about the car with you fine folks.

-Mark

my GT2 doesn't have a sunglasses holder, either
fixed with a $12 visor mount sunglasses holder from Amazon ...

my last car was loaded, so i didn't want to go backwards with all the gizmos i was accustomed to, but i was really looking forward to the cooled seats, and i like them as much as i thought i would. there are a few things i miss from my previous car, but overall i'm happy with the Stinger.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Howdy and welcome. Yes, the "refresh" for 2022 apparently "removed" more than it refreshed. My 2018 GT1 has both the sunglasses holder (which only my wife, the passenger, uses), and memory seats, which I am sure I take for granted by now.

 

[Blueangel]

Congrats and welcome
I thought they removed the HK sound system on the GT1 as well. In any case, enjoy…

 

[zmarko]

Congrats and welcome
I thought they removed the HK sound system on the GT1 as well. In any case, enjoy…

Yes, they pulled the HK system from the GT1, but since I never test drove a GT2 with the HK system, I really never had it to miss. Lol. The base system is 'ok', my TLX's system was better than this, and perhaps some day I will update speakers to something better...but that's a ways down the line, as the current system works 'enough' for me for now.

 

[zmarko]

my GT2 doesn't have a sunglasses holder, either
fixed with a $12 visor mount sunglasses holder from Amazon ...

my last car was loaded, so i didn't want to go backwards with all the gizmos i was accustomed to, but i was really looking forward to the cooled seats, and i like them as much as i thought i would. there are a few things i miss from my previous car, but overall i'm happy with the Stinger.

That's cool, glad you found something that works for you. I use my sun visior quite a bit, so I prefer something that puts the glasses completely out of the way. It's not a difficult mod to do, someone posted about it in the 'interior' forum I believe, and I'll be doing that mod at some point.

 

[RedCal]

Welcome to the hive!

 

[Redleg94]

I have the same car you do, and I find that the only thing that I've "missed" that I could have had on a 21 is the HK stereo.

 

[Blueangel]

Yes, they pulled the HK system from the GT1, but since I never test drove a GT2 with the HK system, I really never had it to miss. Lol. The base system is 'ok', my TLX's system was better than this, and perhaps some day I will update speakers to something better...but that's a ways down the line, as the current system works 'enough' for me for now.

Same as me when I purchased mine 2 years ago. Then last month I made the mistake of test driving a GT2. Damn the HK system is bangin but I love my car too much to trade it in. I’ll just upgrade the speakers sometime next year

 

[MerlintheMad]

Yes, they pulled the HK system from the GT1, but since I never test drove a GT2 with the HK system, I really never had it to miss. Lol. The base system is 'ok', my TLX's system was better than this, and perhaps some day I will update speakers to something better...but that's a ways down the line, as the current system works 'enough' for me for now.

The "factory" nine speaker system has a less powerful amplifier. The speakers, as far as quality goes, are identical to the Harman Kardon 15 speaker system. Volume isn't everything, of course: the surround sound granularity of the HK is probably noticeable too if you ever make a comparison. But I agree: if you never had "it" you won't miss it.

 

[clemson85]

I use my sunglass holder all the time and the 15 speaker HK system is very good. I don't need memory seats since I am the only driver and the memory seat does not function well on my Vette but you do have a new Stinger and that should be awesome for you. Congrats!

 

[Redleg94]

I could almost wish that Kia had simply offered the tinger in 2 basic trims, GT Line and GT, corresponding to the engine installed. Then offer 3 packages, Luxury (Nappa Leather, Memory Seats and Steering Wheel, Cooled Front Seats, and Heated Rear seats), Performance (ECS, Limited-Slip Diff, and Brembo Brakes), and the Sight and Sound Package (Hk stereo, Sunroof, and AFS Headlamps).



A fully loaded car would be the equivalent of the GT2, but you could also have that equivalent with the base engine.

 

[Daniel @ K8 Stinger Store]

Hey zmarko,

Welcome to the Stinger Forum and congrats on the new car!

I love Honda/Acura but the Stinger is going to be on a whole other level.

The Aurora Black Stinger is such a good-looking car even if it is a pain to keep clean LOL.

if you ever are looking for aftermarket or OEM Kia Stinger parts, come check out our site www.K8StingerStore.com.

Feel free to reach out if you ever have any questions or if you would like a discount on your order!

Enjoy the new ride,
Daniel @ the K8 Stinger Store​

 

[Hiryuu]

I could almost wish that Kia had simply offered the tinger in 2 basic trims, GT Line and GT, corresponding to the engine installed. Then offer 3 packages, Luxury (Nappa Leather, Memory Seats and Steering Wheel, Cooled Front Seats, and Heated Rear seats), Performance (ECS, Limited-Slip Diff, and Brembo Brakes), and the Sight and Sound Package (Hk stereo, Sunroof, and AFS Headlamps).



A fully loaded car would be the equivalent of the GT2, but you could also have that equivalent with the base engine.

What makes sense to you and I, doesn't make sense from a business perspective. Packages don't really work for most auto manufacturers except for luxury oriented ones - BMW, Mercedes, Porsche that allow custom orders. You can theoretically order a Porsche 718 Cayman base model model for 64k or pimp it out with 20-50k in add-ons.

You'll find that economy brands like Honda, Toyota, Kia, Nissan, etc typically force you into trims for features because it simplifies their manufacturing process and reduces costs. Train a team or set up a machine to build the same spec every time with little to no variations (other than paint or interior color).

 

[7Andrei7]

I think it's not so much about production as it is about market position.
In the EU you had 3 basic packages: Trend Line (2.0 or 2.2 diesel), GT Line (2.0 or 2.2 diesel) or GT (3.3).

On top of that you had 3 more packages. Pk1 would take the Trend Line to a GT Line level. Pk2 would take a GT Line to a GT level and Pk3 (360 camera, blind spot, wireless charger) was on top of the GT.

I have the GT Line with Pk2 + Pk3 so my car came with the 2.0 engine but absolutely all the confort and technology options.

 

[JHolding]

I read somewhere that the sunglass holder had to be removed in order to fit the additional electronics for the lane keeping assist, and other safety features.

Oakley hard-shell sunglass holder fits just fine in the driver door cup holder, and is easily within reach.

 

[Redleg94]

What makes sense to you and I, doesn't make sense from a business perspective. Packages don't really work for most auto manufacturers except for luxury oriented ones - BMW, Mercedes, Porsche that allow custom orders. You can theoretically order a Porsche 718 Cayman base model model for 64k or pimp it out with 20-50k in add-ons.

You'll find that economy brands like Honda, Toyota, Kia, Nissan, etc typically force you into trims for features because it simplifies their manufacturing process and reduces costs. Train a team or set up a machine to build the same spec every time with little to no variations (other than paint or interior color).

That makes sense for high volume cars, but the Stinger was never going to be high volume. OTOH, when MINI was first reintroduced to the US, you could go the normal route of just buying packages, but you could also buy each option individually, and there was little to no restrictions of "mandatory" option bundling

 

[Redleg94]

I read somewhere that the sunglass holder had to be removed in order to fit the additional electronics for the lane keeping assist, and other safety features.

Oakley hard-shell sunglass holder fits just fine in the driver door cup holder, and is easily within reach.

I keep my sunglasses in the pocket just in front of the armrest because it is easy to access while I'm driving, and I can also put my regular glasses there when I have the sunglasses on

 

[7Andrei7]

I read somewhere that the sunglass holder had to be removed in order to fit the additional electronics for the lane keeping assist, and other safety features.

What additional electronics? Does the facelift come with any new lane keep / safety tech?