Personal thoughts after 4 months of ownership

[Weareblondi]

Well, after 4 months of ownership, I figured I would give a real world, to me, review of my stinger
Color: still rocks. No regrets in choosing yellow. The Mrs and I love the sunset yellow
Exclusivity: +1, sad on one hand that we haven't seen any. Happy that we haven't seen any. There is something to be said about having astons, porsches and Alfa owners stop you to ask about performance/price. Not to mention all the other kia owners who will drive up close and tell their significant other that they should have bought the stinger instead of......their model.
Performance: still makes me grin and the Mrs is trying to burn the tires off. Mpg is good, for the way we drive.
Interior: okay, this is where I might start kvetching. Fit and finish are spot on. No rattles, no squeaks. Would love a different material for headliner. Would also love some type of a trim piece that extends around the screen that stands up on dash. Also, dash material is a little on the chintzy side. Feels nice, but I am eyeing how long it will last. Seats are comfortable to my 6'3" frame. Leather has a nice supple feel with all the seat time. Don't like the edge of console hitting my right knee. Stereo pumps. Have only had the fade shift twice. No loss of signal for the Xm Sirius. Location of fuel door is slightly silly. The Mrs has bumped it twice with her knee and I have to get out to see it. Needs a tougher sounding horn. Exhaust note has deepened, but would still like something growlier.
Tires/rims: rims are awesome, love their look. Tires bite, and not in a good way. Feel greasy as they heat up. And yes, I have always used summer/performance tires for heated driving, and never had that sensation.
Various safety features: dislike the steering granny thing. Disconcerting first time it kicked in. Start/stop has always been turned off. Parking distance finder also turned off.
Exterior: beautiful. Spot on. Great profile. Front fascia just mean enough to make people get out of the way and the rear is portioned right. Agree with the badging making the rear too busy. I find the extended reflectors on the side are growing on me. Huge blind spots, but side sensors are a welcome addition. Would love to have those driving lights that turn Amber that one of our forum members posted, front needs something else.
All in all, we love this car. First year production, I was expecting some growing pains. I am slightly offput by some owners here that badmouth kia about trunk rattles, etc. This is a first year car. They should have waited for the second generation. I have owned plenty of first year cars and dealt with their little annoyances, but this is my opinion. Thoughts about your own experiences?

 

[Waynerm002]

Thanks for the review! Happy you are loving your car and happy to hear that you haven't had any issue with yours. There are always going to be folks that will complain about little issues with a new vehicle. Folks may not have had any issue with other brands but every brand has their kinks when they introduce new vehicles, KIA will make sure these things are handled and that the next batch is better. Keep enjoying that Stinger!

 

[ScottM]

Well, after 4 months of ownership, I figured I would give a real world, to me, review of my stinger
Color: still rocks. No regrets in choosing yellow. The Mrs and I love the sunset yellow
Exclusivity: +1, sad on one hand that we haven't seen any. Happy that we haven't seen any. There is something to be said about having astons, porsches and Alfa owners stop you to ask about performance/price. Not to mention all the other kia owners who will drive up close and tell their significant other that they should have bought the stinger instead of......their model.
Performance: still makes me grin and the Mrs is trying to burn the tires off. Mpg is good, for the way we drive.
Interior: okay, this is where I might start kvetching. Fit and finish are spot on. No rattles, no squeaks. Would love a different material for headliner. Would also love some type of a trim piece that extends around the screen that stands up on dash. Also, dash material is a little on the chintzy side. Feels nice, but I am eyeing how long it will last. Seats are comfortable to my 6'3" frame. Leather has a nice supple feel with all the seat time. Don't like the edge of console hitting my right knee. Stereo pumps. Have only had the fade shift twice. No loss of signal for the Xm Sirius. Location of fuel door is slightly silly. The Mrs has bumped it twice with her knee and I have to get out to see it. Needs a tougher sounding horn. Exhaust note has deepened, but would still like something growlier.
Tires/rims: rims are awesome, love their look. Tires bite, and not in a good way. Feel greasy as they heat up. And yes, I have always used summer/performance tires for heated driving, and never had that sensation.
Various safety features: dislike the steering granny thing. Disconcerting first time it kicked in. Start/stop has always been turned off. Parking distance finder also turned off.
Exterior: beautiful. Spot on. Great profile. Front fascia just mean enough to make people get out of the way and the rear is portioned right. Agree with the badging making the rear too busy. I find the extended reflectors on the side are growing on me. Huge blind spots, but side sensors are a welcome addition. Would love to have those driving lights that turn Amber that one of our forum members posted, front needs something else.
All in all, we love this car. First year production, I was expecting some growing pains. I am slightly offput by some owners here that badmouth kia about trunk rattles, etc. This is a first year car. They should have waited for the second generation. I have owned plenty of first year cars and dealt with their little annoyances, but this is my opinion. Thoughts about your own experiences?

@2.5 Months and 2500 miles

Pretty much my thoughts exactly...except I'm 5'7 ish, so it's right sized for me.

I smile now while I'm driving home from a long days work. Before, I just wanted to get home as I wore my "grunt face"...now I'm taking different routes home just so I can see how she handles as I'm wearing my "smiley face". There are always going to be things that we wish were better or made more efficient on our Stingers...I mean NO car is perfect! BUT... for a first gen car that has EVERYBODY looking and talking...I'm feeling good. Oh and I'm not sure about anyone else, but I still go out to my garage at least once before I go to bed just to give her another look.

 

[Socalstinga]

I’m actually pretty impressed with the fit finish and the build of the car. I don’t hear rattles or creaks and everything in the interior feels solid. One annoyance w/ the car is the inability to sunroof in tilt and adjust the cover manually. And whenever I open the sunroof or put in tilt, the vents open up.

Steering wheel and pedals feel good, I actually like the function of the touchscreen and the Navi but wish there was a console controller. Practicality while still being fun and sporty is why I got the car and the cargo room does not disappoint. I was able to fit two full size suitcases, a stroller, one rollaway in the trunk without folding seats down.

Power is excellent and acceleration smooth when pushing it although I’m barely reaching 1k and haven’t really had a chance to open it up. The torque had me at hello.

Taking a turnaround from LA to Vegas in a couple days so I’ll get some of that grand touring experience. Suspension is a minor gripe bc it does get a bit floaty and has some body roll but it is a big and heavy car, kind of expected. All the more reason I wish suspension could’ve been tightened up some but aftermarket stuff will take care of that.

Time will tell but it has exceeded expectations so far...

 

[mldavis2]

For my driving the suspension works nicely. A bit "soft" on the top in Custom mode, but in Sport, once you load it, the car handles very well and firmly. I think it's the slight softer upper feel that gives many driver the sense that it isn't as hardy as a car that rattles your teeth over every pebble. It is a GT, of course, not a track car. I'm in the middle of a long road trip, and it is just wonderful on the highway for long stretches of time behind the wheel.

 

[Merkur720]

Four Months in and 5K miles -- I'm still grinning from ear to ear. If the car was totaled out tomorrow and I had to do it all over again -- I would buy the EXACT same color/trim/year. I've been pleasantly surprised with the mixed driving MPG of 21.5-22.5; I was worried I'd be stuck under 20mpg in Dallas traffic and high speed tollways. I have found the engine runs best (best MPG too) with Shell 93 (V-Power Nitro+) compared to other 93 octane brands. And high cruising speeds don't really bother the MPG.

No rattles. No squeaks. No gripes with fit and finish. The suede-like headliner (found on non US models) would be have nice though. But it's solid and truly feels German.

Gripes are limited to (3) things:

• I "HATE" having to deactivate the auto start/stop each and every time. I wish you could include that in the "custom" drive mode and then make the "custom" drive mode default with each and every startup. I usually end up leaving it in Comfort mode as it always defaults back to it anyways.
  
• I still wish for the SVM (360 camera), as our Sedona SXL van has it and it's so nice when parking in tight spaces (dark parking garages especially). I find myself reversing into spots more than ever in this car.
  
• I wish for a larger fuel tank, as you really only have 13 gallons before the "low fuel, let me help you find gas" alerts start to activate. Therefore, the tank needs to be 18.5 gallons so you truly have 16 or so gallons of range. That would easily get you well over 320 miles in mixed driving.

I have not changed out the Kia badging. I'm really proud of the brand and their progress since 2010 especially. Being a territory sales manager, it's great to have an amazing car to drive, but still able to brush it off saying "it's only a Kia" (with a grin on my face) when I take clients out to lunch. An Audi or BMW equivalent would send the wrong message. I love how this car really confuses people and I think that's awesome. Especially when the light turns green!

 

[StingerGT68]

I have to say I disagree about the fit and finish of the interior. Coming from my 2014 3-series, I love the interior. The soft touch plastic is really nice and the seats are 1000% more comfortable than the BMW. I was actually getting back problems from the Bimmer.

 

[bugaboo90]

3 months /6k miles in --
Instead of listing the pros, I will list the Cons since its such a shorter list --

Cons --
-- Needs to read text over bluetooth
-- surround view (360 camera)
-- Stop/Go thing which has to be turned off every time you turn on the car
-- Needs a bigger gas tank
-- Better adaptive cruise
-- Slightly bigger trunk opening so my Golf clubs can be put in and taken out easier

Pros --
Everything else!!!

 

[PHILIP THE BEARR]

Has anyone had any trouble with excess tire wear. AT 18000 the rear tires had cord showing on the inside edge and had to be replaced. I am wondering if the rear suspension could be adjusted to eliminate this type of tire wear. It's like there is too much toe in on the rear. The remainder of the tire still had OK tread and I probably could have got 5000 or 6000 more miles out of that set of Michelins Has anyone else had a similar problem and what was the solution?

 

[MerlintheMad]

Welcome, Bear. Michelins, they are only warrantied out to 15K miles treadlife. So if you got 18K out of your rear summer tires you did okay. But the uneven wear is troubling and I would get your alignment checked for sure. But even if perfect, I doubt that you have another c. 5-6K miles left (having already turned 18K). At c. 15K, I have less than 3mm in the center and c. 5mm on the edges; my front tires are at 5-6mm across the tread.

Has anyone had any trouble with excess tire wear. AT 18000 the rear tires had cord showing on the inside edge and had to be replaced. I am wondering if the rear suspension could be adjusted to eliminate this type of tire wear. It's like there is too much toe in on the rear. The remainder of the tire still had OK tread and I probably could have got 5000 or 6000 more miles out of that set of Michelins Has anyone else had a similar problem and what was the solution?

 

[Johnman]

3 months /6k miles in --
Instead of listing the pros, I will list the Cons since its such a shorter list --

Cons --
-- Needs to read text over bluetooth
-- surround view (360 camera)
-- Stop/Go thing which has to be turned off every time you turn on the car
-- Needs a bigger gas tank
-- Better adaptive cruise
-- Slightly bigger trunk opening so my Golf clubs can be put in and taken out easier

Pros --
Everything else!!!

What's wrong with the 360 Camera? I love mine.

 

[Kamauxx]

What's wrong with the 360 Camera? I love mine.

This thread is over a year old. There were no 360 degree cameras when he wrote that list.

 

[nhcowboy28]

Has anyone had any trouble with excess tire wear. AT 18000 the rear tires had cord showing on the inside edge and had to be replaced. I am wondering if the rear suspension could be adjusted to eliminate this type of tire wear. It's like there is too much toe in on the rear. The remainder of the tire still had OK tread and I probably could have got 5000 or 6000 more miles out of that set of Michelins Has anyone else had a similar problem and what was the solution?

Assuming you are talking about the pilot sport 4 tires. 18000 is considered excellent for a non rotatable (f to r) staggered setup. Pilot super sports ( predecessor ) barely would get 10000 in my prior RWD mustang.

And I’m sure you still blip it once in a while.

 

[AV8R]

My biggest issue is that i cant drive it like I stole it here. If I did the cops would pounce on me.

 

[Regs120]

My biggest issue is that i cant drive it like I stole it here. If I did the cops would pounce on me.

Lucky for me I live in central NJ where it's impossible to speed with all the traffic. Though I do get a few rips off of red lights.

 

[GenesisG70]

Yeah don't understand those who complain about the interior quality have you ever sat in a 3series? Well that's cheap.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Yeah don't understand those who complain about the interior quality have you ever sat in a 3series? Well that's cheap.

I never have. So I can't compare to "luxury" interiors. My Stinger cabin is luxurious. And good quality, too; nothing has scratched or started to come apart or come loose or fade, etc. It still looks brand new after fourteen months. Of course, 90% of the driving is just me, and I wear virtual kid gloves when I get in and out. My wife loves my car too and is very respectful of my feelings. Grandkids are a rare exposure to what our vehicles used to endure. And rarely do I give rides to others. So wear and tear is light.

Have you ever driven in a '94 Voyager? Now that is cheap but robust. Clearly, a Stinger is going to be like a rolling palace compared to my former ride.

 

[Regs120]

Yeah don't understand those who complain about the interior quality have you ever sat in a 3series? Well that's cheap.

Try any car made by Ford. My mustang is cheap - even the 350 GTs are plagued with plastic and cheap cloth. You also hear shake, rattle, and humming through the entire rev range.