Thoughts on new 22 Gt-line

[Gary Geisler]

Just purchased a 22 GT-line rwd in green with a beige interior. Love it so far. The 2.5 turbo has good performance and enables the car to feel very light and agile on the road. I am uncertain what fuel grade to use in the car. When the same engine is used in the 21 Sorento SX and K5 GT, Kia recommends 87 octane but the GT-line manual recommends premium or 91 octane fuel. Other than the loss of a few horsepower, the 2.5 turbo seems to run fine on regular fuel. No knocking or hesitation on acceleration and good fuel economy. I think most drivers would be happy with my car's performance.

 

[JSolo]

I've been running premium in mine so far. Will switch to reg at 2K miles, run that for a few tanks then switch back and forth. For more spirited driving, stick to premium.

Note the other vehicles you mention are rated at lower hp (same torque). Which is interesting. Is it due to fuel recommendations or the fact the stinger has a liquid cooler intercooler while the others are air cooled........

The green is a great color. I prefer darker interiors as they don't show dirt as well. Which tires did yours come with?

Location?

 

[Kia Stinger]

Just purchased a 22 GT-line rwd in green with a beige interior. Love it so far. The 2.5 turbo has good performance and enables the car to feel very light and agile on the road. I am uncertain what fuel grade to use in the car. When the same engine is used in the 21 Sorento SX and K5 GT, Kia recommends 87 octane but the GT-line manual recommends premium or 91 octane fuel. Other than the loss of a few horsepower, the 2.5 turbo seems to run fine on regular fuel. No knocking or hesitation on acceleration and good fuel economy. I think most drivers would be happy with my car's performance.

Welcome aboard! And thank you for signing up. Congratulations on your brand new Stinger! What did the Stinger replace for you? I’m glad you found us. Moving this discussion into the main area.

 

[Gary Geisler]

Bridgestone Potenza
Southeast Florida
Point taken on interior. I actually wanted a red interior but got seduced by the hunter green color.

 

[Gary Geisler]

The GT-line is repacing a 2009 BMW 128i with a 6 speed manual and 121,000 miles. Loved that car too but the repair expenses wete never-ending. Tires on the GT-line are Potenza RE-71R. Much better than the Kumhos I was expecting.

 

[RedCal]

Welcome to the hive! Post up some pics of the green hornet ;-)
You can ceramic coat the leather to keep it from picking up stains, or just hit it with a cleaner/conditioner on a regular basis

 

[Gary Geisler]

Oops on the tires. Bridgestone Potenza RE980as.

 

[JSolo]

Oops on the tires. Bridgestone Potenza RE980as.

I guess that's somewhat better than what comes on the gt-lines in the states - bridgestone re97as-02's.. Junk

 

[Dan00Hawk]

I'm quite happy with mine! It's quite a potent 4 cylinder. It certainly doesn't have the oomph of the 3.3, but that's obviously going to be the case. For me, it hit the sweet spot of affordability and performance.

 

[Gary Geisler]

There are some advantages of the new 2.5 turbo four. It has port and direct fuel injection, thus negating the concern for carbon buildup. In this regard, the 2.5 turbo four follows the more advanced 3.5 turbo six used in the Genesis rather than the 3.3. The Stinger feels very composed and manueverable even without AWD. It also appears the 2.5 turbo operates fine on regular fuel while getting better fuel economy.

 

[RM7]

Having lived with it for several months (using premium fuel though), I'm happy. I like to use sport mode a good deal of the time and when I do, it accelerates nicely. Launch control works. It definitely has a lot more push than my Elantra GT N-line did and while it may not have much top end acceleration, those kind of illegal speeds will get you in trouble fast, so it's the down-low stuff that I care more about with this car. It's good, it's smooth and it's fun.

 

[RM7]

It also appears the 2.5 turbo operates fine on regular fuel while getting better fuel economy.

I would take that with a grain of salt. Hyundai specifically put out with my Elantra GT that the 1.6T powerplant was intended to run on regular fuel. It's also not tuned excessively hot, although there are some aftermarket things you can do to make it more potent, but at that point, you probably should move to premium. My point being, they usually have a reason for recommending it, whether it's to make the rated power, eliminate knock or give the best efficiency. You don't get "better" efficiency by putting in premium in a car designed for regular, but some people think the opposite is true as well, that the manufacturer specs premium as part of some giant conspiracy. It's extremely rare for high compression engines and any high performance turbo engine to NOT require premium. In some of these cases, yes, you can use a lower grade with no ill effects (but some do have a minimum grade spec), but you are going to be trading something, efficiency, power, hopefully not knocking...

 

[Gary Geisler]

You are probably right. Prudence suggests that I should run premium on my 22 GT-line, so at the next fill-up ...