Quality of materials

[hej]

I discovered a red Stinger GT when I stopped by Shawnee Mission Kia in Kansas today. Some aspects of the car surprised me by exceeding expectations (e.g. the alcantara headliner), but others disappointed.

In particular, I was quite disappointed to see the extremely hard, cheap, low quality plastics that were used for the center of the steering wheel and the bottoms of the interior of the doors. When you've already put so much into the rest of the car, the amount of money you've saved by skimping on these plastics has to be absolutely minuscule and I feel like you're loosing far more in perceived value than you are gaining in money saved on production. The only areas where I would consider it to be acceptable to use such low end materials would be places that people are rarely looking at or touching, such as the hunks that cover the lower B pillar.

Even though these bits are a tiny part of the car as a whole, encountering such low rent parts are what will cause people to look at it and say "it's ok, but it's still a Kia" rather than saying it's a fantastic car without qualification. It's also what will stop people like myself - who would otherwise be considering premium brands - from seriously entertaining a Stinger. If it's not too late to improve upon this, I seriously encourage you to consider doing so.

For the members that are reading this and aren't quite sure what I'm talking about, I'm going to attach a picture I took of the bottom of the door. While these parts look like higher quality rubberized or otherwise coated plastics in pictures, they're actually rock hard, uber cheap plastics that get marked up extremely easily and will have actual permanent scratches the moment anything at all sharp rubs across them. Keep in mind, this car has been there less than a week. Imagine how scratched up and worn these parts will look in three to six years.

 

[hereward]

I discovered a red Stinger GT when I stopped by Shawnee Mission Kia in Kansas today. Some aspects of the car surprised me by exceeding expectations (e.g. the alcantara headliner), but others disappointed.

In particular, I was quite disappointed to see the extremely hard, cheap, low quality plastics that were used for the center of the steering wheel and the bottoms of the interior of the doors. When you've already put so much into the rest of the car, the amount of money you've saved by skimping on these plastics has to be absolutely minuscule and I feel like you're loosing far more in perceived value than you are gaining in money saved on production. The only areas where I would consider it to be acceptable to use such low end materials would be places that people are rarely looking at or touching, such as the hunks that cover the lower B pillar.

Even though these bits are a tiny part of the car as a whole, encountering such low rent parts are what will cause people to look at it and say "it's ok, but it's still a Kia" rather than saying it's a fantastic car without qualification. It's also what will stop people like myself - who would otherwise be considering premium brands - from seriously entertaining a Stinger. If it's not too late to improve upon this, I seriously encourage you to consider doing so.

For the members that are reading this and aren't quite sure what I'm talking about, I'm going to attach a picture I took of the bottom of the door. While these parts look like higher quality rubberized or otherwise coated plastics in pictures, they're actually rock hard, uber cheap plastics that get marked up extremely easily and will have actual permanent scratches the moment anything at all sharp rubs across them. Keep in mind, this car has been there less than a week. Imagine how scratched up and worn these parts will look in three to six years.

Yes, good observation and comment. Objective material quality is subpar, as hej says. In fact, the whole ambiance when you sit in the car is rather underwhelming. One just doesn't get a feeling of quality. The seats are wide and comfortable, though, but my opinion is that the passenger leg room is troublingly narrow, considering the 114 in. wheelbase. I think Kia had to cut costs somewhere while concentrating on handling prowess.

 

[david norman]

I discovered a red Stinger GT when I stopped by Shawnee Mission Kia in Kansas today. Some aspects of the car surprised me by exceeding expectations (e.g. the alcantara headliner), but others disappointed.

In particular, I was quite disappointed to see the extremely hard, cheap, low quality plastics that were used for the center of the steering wheel and the bottoms of the interior of the doors. When you've already put so much into the rest of the car, the amount of money you've saved by skimping on these plastics has to be absolutely minuscule and I feel like you're loosing far more in perceived value than you are gaining in money saved on production. The only areas where I would consider it to be acceptable to use such low end materials would be places that people are rarely looking at or touching, such as the hunks that cover the lower B pillar.

Even though these bits are a tiny part of the car as a whole, encountering such low rent parts are what will cause people to look at it and say "it's ok, but it's still a Kia" rather than saying it's a fantastic car without qualification. It's also what will stop people like myself - who would otherwise be considering premium brands - from seriously entertaining a Stinger. If it's not too late to improve upon this, I seriously encourage you to consider doing so.

For the members that are reading this and aren't quite sure what I'm talking about, I'm going to attach a picture I took of the bottom of the door. While these parts look like higher quality rubberized or otherwise coated plastics in pictures, they're actually rock hard, uber cheap plastics that get marked up extremely easily and will have actual permanent scratches the moment anything at all sharp rubs across them. Keep in mind, this car has been there less than a week. Imagine how scratched up and worn these parts will look in three to six years.

Maybe that is why people are buying these on eBay.

 

[hej]

Yes, good observation and comment. Objective material quality is subpar, as hej says. In fact, the whole ambiance when you sit in the car is rather underwhelming. One just doesn't get a feeling of quality. The seats are wide and comfortable, though, but my opinion is that the passenger leg room is troublingly narrow, considering the 114 in. wheelbase. I think Kia had to cut costs somewhere while concentrating on handling prowess.

For me, the astounding thing is just how little must have been gained in cutting these particular costs. Cutting costs doesn't alway have be be making it feel "cheap".

 

[hej]

Maybe that is why people are buying these on eBay.

An after market fix is actually something that crossed my mind while I was looking at it, and something I wouldn't be opposed to if the end result was good. In this case, it looks like it still doesn't cover the speaker cover (which is what's most likely to be kicked and knicked), and the issue of the steering wheel center being the same low grade plastic is still unresolved.

 

[david norman]

For me, the astounding thing is just how little must have been gained in cutting these particular costs. Cutting costs doesn't alway have be be making it feel "cheap".

Yep I know what u mean.

 

[Taimaishoo]

While I agree with your assessment of the plastic, keep in mind that these are pretty much the kick plates of the door and probably are easily replaceable. Weight is probably an issue as well.

I could see some sort of vinyl film that could go there, though I wouldn't be patient enough to line up those speaker holes just right, but OCD enough that if one of those holes didn't line up just right, it would bug the crap out of me but to get something to stick to the grooves of that plastic is another story.

Those types of panels are in my current car and they don't damage all too easily. Yes, there are scuff marks and dirt skid marks from my shoes/boots that I found that a simple damp cloth will wipe away most of the noticable dirt marks and a sponge dampened with a little bit of dishsoap and water will get the rest. The scrapes are still there if you look hard enough but not noticeable unless you look for them.

I'm more bugged about the back and the ice-slick of a covering for the trunk area. I'm going to have to get some of that non-skid padding stuff that I have in my kitchen cabinets so that the groceries and dead bodies (hahaha) don't slide around. Ok, and the steering wheel center that was mentioned earlier...

 

[eljay]

Hmmm. I'll have to look at that next time I'm visiting a Stinger. But you did inspire me to walk downstairs to the garage and look at the doors on my current car. Looks like the same panel and speaker cover (or maybe even cheaper, since it's American-made and by no means a luxury car). After 20 years, 5 months and 97,000 miles of wear and tear and not-always-benign neglect, there's not a mark on it. So until I see the Stinger again and verify the similarity of materials, I'm not worried about this.

 

[tom]

the hard plastic on the doors is pretty much a given at this price point. Under 40/50k you won't find soft touch materials that low on the door. As another user explained, this is pretty much a wear area and its easier to wipe a scuff off hard plastic than replace a gashed piece of trim that is upholestered or soft touch. Maybe you might have a felt liner on the inside of the map pocket. The steering wheel hub on the other hand should have been rubberized at the least.

 

[Kia Stinger]

What I've always thoughts is - if it costs an extra $5 per car, just charge $5 more for the car. I mean - who's going to notice? I've had to say this for decades as a Cadillac owner and enthusiast. How much could soft-touch materials have costed for these pieces? Per vehicle? Weight savings? I guess that's possible but how heavy could the soft-touch materials be? I'm not sure I'd personally notice scuffs in this area but luxury buyers probably do.

 

[ralzod]

I'm more bugged about the back and the ice-slick of a covering for the trunk area.

What part are you referring to? The tilting cargo lid is coated with a carpet-like surface.

 

[Taimaishoo]

What part are you referring to? The tilting cargo lid is coated with a carpet-like surface.

Nah. The "floor" carpet of the cargo area; usually slick as hell. When I go grocery shopping, it's just enough to be too much to fit into my cargo netting but not enough to fill the trunk and items go sliding all over the place, even when puposefully taking it easy on the throttle. I don't think the Stinger cargo is much different. Since it comes in many colors, I will probably get one that closely matches the inside of the cargo area. Oooh! Or maybe put white in the cargo area with blue LEDs.... hrmm.

 

[ibmaxx]

For the members that are reading this and aren't quite sure what I'm talking about, I'm going to attach a picture I took of the bottom of the door. While these parts look like higher quality rubberized or otherwise coated plastics in pictures, they're actually rock hard, uber cheap plastics that get marked up extremely easily and will have actual permanent scratches the moment anything at all sharp rubs across them. Keep in mind, this car has been there less than a week. Imagine how scratched up and worn these parts will look in three to six years.

These plastics are easy to maintain. My 21 year old Holden (Buick/Opel) had not a mark on these same spots due to using this -


It covers a lot of scuffing and works wonders all over the interior.

 

[corradoMR2]

The Stinger's lower door panel looks pretty good in the picture to my eyes, similar to my IS, RC F and RX's lower door hard plastic. However, the Kia's might "feel" thin and look cheap in person which I have yet to experience.

 

[Kia Stinger]

Well. ArmorAll seems like a good, quick fix in the event of scuffing...

 

[voon]

I don't mind the lower parts being hard myself .... even my 1 Series BMW has fairly hard lower parts, even the entire lower part of the middle console etc.

But one thing you mention irritates me: The streering wheel center is really odd with it's hard palstic round shape. I geuss that's a candidate for aftermarket work

 

[Larry Denen]

I never really thought about this bottom part we're referring to here. I know that's the kind of thing Lexus was applauded for paying extra attention to years ago. But I don't think it's something I can or will appreciate either way. It doesn't matter to me. But maybe it's important to luxury buyers. I would never pay a dime more for something like ceramic switch gear. Some things seem way over kill to me.

 

[hej]

Seems I'm not the only one. Skip to 2:07, and then again at 5:19...

 

[westcoastGT]

so hej , what do you drive now..............and are you really serious about buying a Stinger ?

 

[tom]

I take serious issue with this review, the review comes off as a total badge snob. The Alfa is know to have a substandard interior and the 3 series is no longer the handling standard it once was. Personally I think most people romanticize the 3 series interior into something better, i dont think its appealing or high quality at all. Too many different textures, cutlines, and the seats look cheap and flat to me. My brother in law leases them because they're subsidized like crazy and I get to drive his cars every so often.
Remember, in Europe, the 3 series is the equivalent of your Chevy Cruze.