The Other Side of “It’s a KIA”?

[CaliSting]

I’d offer to 440 driver that Stinger GT RWD with LSD on track is actually very capable. Not loose at all. Car in stock form has set some very respectable times on Laguna Seca. And with very cheap spring and sway bar mod it’s even faster.

Most people don’t know how well car handles. And even people who are used to firm German ride won’t be able to calibrate their driving style to Stinger with only a couple of drives. Took me a month before I could ignore some of strange feedback car gives that makes it feel loose but ultimately car stays hooked up very nicely. Has way better steering feedback than bmw too.

 

[Lawrence Williams]

I’d offer to 440 driver that Stinger GT RWD with LSD (Limited Slip Differential) on track is actually very capable. Not loose at all. Car in stock form has set some very respectable times on Laguna Seca. And with very cheap spring and sway bar mod it’s even faster.

Most people don’t know how well car handles. And even people who are used to firm German ride won’t be able to calibrate their driving style to Stinger with only a couple of drives. Took me a month before I could ignore some of strange feedback car gives that makes it feel loose but ultimately car stays hooked up very nicely. Has way better steering feedback than bmw too.

All truths but point being hardly anyone is worried about tracking this car.....very,very low %

 

[CaliSting]

All truths but point being hardly anyone is worried about tracking this car.....very,very low %

Yes but the track tuning that Kia did is what makes car as fun as it is one the street. Some real thought went into suspension tuning and into how car turns. And for those who do track the car it doesn’t disappoint. Especially in RWD.

 

[CaliSting]

I’d offer to 440 driver that Stinger GT RWD with LSD (Limited Slip Differential) on track is actually very capable. Not loose at all. Car in stock form has set some very respectable times on Laguna Seca. And with very cheap spring and sway bar mod it’s even faster.

Most people don’t know how well car handles. And even people who are used to firm German ride won’t be able to calibrate their driving style to Stinger with only a couple of drives. Took me a month before I could ignore some of strange feedback car gives that makes it feel loose but ultimately car stays hooked up very nicely. Has way better steering feedback than bmw too.

More I think about it is this part of problem with Stinger? If you read majority of posts here many here say this isn’t a track car and vast majority would never drive car on track. Yet Kia spent lots of money on track tuning and features focused on track.

Perhaps they should have spent less on track focus and more on luxary features like heated wheel, nicer interior, more leather interior bits, more sound insulation?

Make it more of a GT and less focused on track? I have seen reviews where test driver indicates steering is too nervous . That’s track tuning to give car great turn in on track. For average street driver Mechanical lsd isn’t a needed feature yet it adds to cost.

I personally liked all track tuning in my GT2 . But think most drivers could care less and would never take car to track.

 

[Lawrence Williams]

More I think about it is this part of problem with Stinger? If you read majority of posts here many here say this isn’t a track car and vast majority would never drive car on track. Yet Kia spent lots of money on track tuning and features focused on track.

Perhaps they should have spent less on track focus and more on luxary features like heated wheel, nicer interior, more leather interior bits, more sound insulation?

Make it more of a GT and less focused on track? I have seen reviews where test driver indicates steering is too nervous . That’s track tuning to give car great turn in on track. For average street driver Mechanical LSD (Limited Slip Differential) isn’t a needed feature yet it adds to cost.

I personally liked all track tuning in my GT2 . But think most drivers could care less and would never take car to track.

Gt2 has heated steering wheel ,no?

 

[westcoastGT]

Gt2 has heated steering wheel ,no?

Lawrence he is a 100% troll , dont play with him

 

[robz32]

Only the AWD

 

[CaliSting]

Only the AWD

Damn I didn't know that! Still would have bought RWD but seems strange they deleted heated wheel from RWD car. Gets plenty cold in Nor Cal . Heck its lightly snowing where I live 5 miles from ocean at 1500 feet this morning!

 

[MerlintheMad]

Damn I didn't know that! Still would have bought RWD but seems strange they deleted heated wheel from RWD car. Gets plenty cold in Nor Cal . Heck its lightly snowing where I live 5 miles from ocean at 1500 feet this morning!

You're criticizing Kia for not including the expense of a heated steering wheel in a RWD which is arguably focused on Track more than gran turismo, so would be a waste, an added cost to the owner that a RWD doesn't need. The AWD is by far the most popular variant, because gran turismo focus demands AWD for safety in open road conditions year round. RWD is going to mostly be sold in warmer climes, and thus no need for heated steering wheel in the first place.

As for handling being worked out at the Ring, it is plenty good enough as-is, with the capability to take modifications like springs and sway bars as the first step to even greater handling and cornering speed. Anyone with a RWD is probably leaning that way going in when they choose RWD over AWD; less weight, more performance balance, ergo more benefit from springs and sways. Anyone seriously tracking a Stinger is going to choose RWD. Anyone seriously picking a gran turismo focused Stinger is going to choose AWD and the tracking of the car will in all likelihood amount to just driving their GT around a circuit for the hell of it with no competition in mind.

 

[CaliSting]

Anyone seriously picking a gran turismo focused Stinger is going to choose AWD and the tracking of the car will in all likelihood amount to just driving their GT around a circuit for the hell of it with no competition in mind.

Uhhhh ......think that applies to most sedans and in reality for most street cars sold in US. As a percent, very very few cars ever end up as race cars used in circuit competition Maybe 1% probably less for high volume models. Stinger doesn’t have hold on not being used on the track much. Most Audi’s, BMWs and Mercedes never ever see a track. And most big GT Sedans that do are just at for fun DE events. Stinger doesn’t hold some sort of special grand Turismo license that precludes it from going to track just as other sedans don’t. Even cars you see raced in big series come as special track only versions that race teams buy. Very few race cars in big series start off as a car sold to general public.

I will challenge your assumption however that Stingers are never seeing competition. We see many of those lazy AWD Stinger Grand Turismos all hopped up and hitting drag race circuit all across the country. I wish I knew why anyone buying a safe comfortable AWD Gran Turismo would wreck safety and touring capability with drag race setup. ...crazy right? Probably even more crazy than taking stock Stinger out on a road circuit according to you.

 

[CaliSting]

You're criticizing Kia for not including the expense of a heated steering wheel in a RWD which is arguably focused on Track more than gran turismo, so would be a waste, an added cost to the owner that a RWD doesn't need. The AWD is by far the most popular variant, because gran turismo focus demands AWD for safety in open road conditions year round. RWD is going to mostly be sold in warmer climes, and thus no need for heated steering wheel in the first place.
.

GTs throughout history have been front engine RWD not AWD SUVs. Heck even you had to add a rear sway bar to get handling you desired. So much for perfect GT balance in AWD variant of the true GT.

I have no idea why my RWD Porsche Boxster and cayman had a heated wheels? Guess Porsche thought they would only sell them in cold climates. lol!

 

[MerlintheMad]

I wish I knew why anyone buying a safe comfortable AWD Gran Turismo would wreck safety and touring capability with drag race setup. ...crazy right? Probably even more crazy than taking stock Stinger out on a road circuit according to you.

Well, I can see myself driving "fast" on a circuit; and I would never drag race my car. But some drivers who demand AWD for all the gran turismo and four seasons reasons () can't resist drag racing anyway. So they do the best they can with the compromise they have bought.

GTs throughout history have been front engine RWD not AWD SUVs. Heck even you had to add a rear sway bar to get handling you desired. So much for perfect GT balance in AWD variant of the true GT.

I have no idea why my RWD Porsche Boxster and cayman had a heated wheels? Guess Porsche thought they would only sell them in cold climates. lol!

We were talking about Kia not Porsche; and about the Stinger not some SUV. I'm just making sense out of the way they included features like a heated steering wheel in some trims/variants and not in others.

I put in the sway bar not because I found the handling deficient, but because I had reached a point where I wanted to try for more secure feeling before I pushed harder. I trust Pobst's assessment of the Stinger, which was praise not denigration/criticism. What others express as "floaty", or Biermann describes as "playful", Pobst passed over entirely, and simply took the car around and around like a pro who knows his craft. Since I am no high speed driver, yet I am playing around with cornering at speeds I have never had available before, I don't want to feel something and interpret that as a problem and over correct and then wind up doing something really stupid. So having the rear end more "planted" is so that I can go faster as a tyro without scaring myself!

 

[Crisis]

Today I had a guy at the gas pumps ask me what type of car my Stinger was (I just have the Stinger script on the back). "Is it at Porsche?", he asked - not the first time I've heard that. Not surprisingly, he was blown away when I told him it was a Kia, albeit a $50K Kia. He then asked me questions about it for a couple of minutes.

I had an old Porsche 928 for a decade and have had more people talk to me about the Stinger in 8 months than I did with the 928 in 10 years. Then again, that car was a money pit that was often broken (beautiful, but terribly unreliable) and I've already put more miles on the Stinger than I did in the entire time I owned the 928.

 

[GenesisG70]

I am a type of person that

Gt2 has heated steering wheel ,no?

Its an option your dealer puts, it is also available on RWD cars.

 

[Dochidalgo]

After high modifying (engine / transmission, cooling and braking system, suspension and the car's subframe) and enjoying a muscle car like my former 97 Trans am, in highways driving fast and never in drag races, I decided to buy a 4-door sedan so that my 4-legged friend, Junior, a Boxer dog could accompany me comfortably (my two sons had already left the home nest a long time ago) so I bought a 2016 Nissan Maxima in its "sporty" version, the SR, the first model of its eighth generation. A sedan with a balanced suspension between firm and comfortable with an excellent performance in speed bumpers, corners and curves and without the useless sunroof, but unlike the superior or premium model lacked several electronic features. A V6 with 300 HPs more than enough at this stage of my life. A year and a half later I fell in love with the design of the Kia Stinger and even more the high-end model that is sold in Mexico (GT2 RWD) only (the others models are the 4L and the 4L turbo). It brought all the electronic advances, RWD, 365HPs, biturbo, nappa leather (Alcantara leather is impractical and aesthetic only) not so roomy cockpit like the maxima's but confy seats, a fair price compared to an Audi, BMW or Mercedes, since with the price of the Stinger none of these competing brands included the complete features and HPs like the Stinger's. The only Stinger's problem or deficiency in my humble opinion is the suspension that for my quick handling habits the stock suspension performance disappointed me, so I replaced springs and sway bars acquiring the control, the confidence, the safety to handle fast .... as on rails, to what I was used to in my previous cars. It should be mentioned that in the region where I live is the only Stinger circulating, so it is an attraction wherever I go, or is it that Junior (my Boxer dog) is the one that attracts glances ??? ...

 

[Ecobust]

My two cents; WTF does "it's just a Kia" even mean? I see this in comments online all the time and just "SMH", as the kids say. So, I'm supposed to be "embarrassed" to drive a stylish car that's a head-turner, designed and engineered by world-renowned talents, offers respectable stock performance/incredible modified performance all for less than the germans charge for their weak 4-banger entry models, just because Kia made awful cars back in the 90's?

Sorry, 1995 was a LONG time ago and I don't live in the past. Funny, BMW/Audi/M-B all made awfuls cars in the 90s too, yet people still scoop them up today with no problem.

 

[Doel]

My two cents; WTF does "it's just a Kia" even mean? I see this in comments online all the time and just "SMH", as the kids say. So, I'm supposed to be "embarrassed" to drive a stylish car that's a head-turner, designed and engineered by world-renowned talents, offers respectable stock performance/incredible modified performance all for less than the germans charge for their weak 4-banger entry models, just because Kia made awful cars back in the 90's?

Sorry, 1995 was a LONG time ago and I don't live in the past. Funny, BMW/Audi/M-B all made awfuls cars in the 90s too, yet people still scoop them up today with no problem.

Do you remember when Kia was offering a buy one GET ONE FREE on their cars? That wasn't that long ago, less then a decade I think. All those German guys had fantastic vehicles at that time.

That's why there is the "it's just a Kia" perception, it's a brand perception and it's Kia's fault. They marketed themselves as chip shitboxes so everyone sees their brand as cheap shitboxes. Most people don't check out new cars on a regular basis, they have no idea what Kia is putting out these days. Just give it time, the perception will gradually change.

 

[NS_Stinger]

Do you remember when Kia was offering a buy one GET ONE FREE on their cars? That wasn't that long ago, less then a decade I think. All those German guys had fantastic vehicles at that time.

That's why there is the "it's just a Kia" perception, it's a brand perception and it's Kia's fault. They marketed themselves as chip shitboxes so everyone sees their brand as cheap shitboxes. Most people don't check out new cars on a regular basis, they have no idea what Kia is putting out these days. Just give it time, the perception will gradually change.

Some dealers are still offering a buy one get one incentive where you get a free Rio with the purchase of a SUV on year old models. They really need to drop the Rio, its one of their only remaining models where just hearimg the name makes you cringe, besides the Forte is a great car and its very close in price anyway.

 

[Bernie Fen]

Took my baby to Philly over the weekend and got a few thumbs up from Beamers (M3 and M4) and MB's (AMG's) along the way... I don't know what it is but it seems like whenever I go for a drive, car enthusiast's attention just gravitates towards it. I've had a couple of folks who nearly got into an accident breaking their necks just by checking it out kid you not. It's been well over 15 years since I've purchased a brand spanking new car (2006 Evo IX MRSE)... Purchasing this bad boy def reminisce that day. It's a pure joy just getting behind the wheel of this machine every time. Love it! The uniqueness combined with performance and safety features it packs with just can't be beat and not to mention the 10 yr/100k warranty.

 

[GenesisG70]

Parked my GT 2 at the mall and saw few people taking pictures of my car, this never happens with my Porsche they are quite common where I live. No one gives a s#$# if you drive Porsche but they seem to notice the Kia, very interesting.