Will Kia feel pressure to change its name , or add a premium tier ?

[Kia Stinger]

That is funny, I currently have a Golf R and am very interested in the Stinger. I do like the fact that with the Golf, only those who really know cars understand what it is. I suspect the Stinger will be the same way. Those that own one or are shopping one will know immediately, but to everyone else, they just think it is just another Kia......

Welcome aboard, @Habu968! Thank you for signing up! You're right - it's generally only car enthusiasts that know what the Golf R is. Surprisingly, the exhaust doesn't give it away to anyone else. The Stinger looks more aggressive than the Golf R (to me) but it will probably be a similar situation...

 

[Dick Dastardly]

That is funny, I currently have a Golf R and am very interested in the Stinger. I do like the fact that with the Golf, only those who really know cars understand what it is. I suspect the Stinger will be the same way. Those that own one or are shopping one will know immediately, but to everyone else, they just think it is just another Kia......

Habu, I think that there will be no confusing the stinger with any other Kia model - or any other car for that matter!
The great thing about the R is it being so understated - everyone knows the GTi but few know what an R is until you hit the accelerator!
Interestingly the R has no badge on it anywhere saying Golf - it only has a discreet R logo but everyone calls it a Golf.
BTW, if you are thinking of a Stinger take out a 3.3, the power / performance (not quite handling) could easily tempt you out of your R.

 

[Euljiro1ga]

Habu, I think that there will be no confusing the stinger with any other Kia model - or any other car for that matter!
The great thing about the R is it being so understated - everyone knows the GTi but few know what an R is until you hit the accelerator!
Interestingly the R has no badge on it anywhere saying Golf - it only has a discreet R logo but everyone calls it a Golf.
BTW, if you are thinking of a Stinger take out a 3.3, the power / performance (not quite handling) could easily tempt you out of your R.

I remember the first time getting on the first gen R32 over 10 years ago - what a car. We were doing 250km/h on the German autobahn and it felt like 120, it was so stable.

 

[Kia Stinger]

...it's definitely a serious challenge to out-handle that little Golf R! Volkswagen did VERY good with that car...

 

[YEH]

It is pretty clear to me what is going on. Senior management at Kia and Hyundai are the same people. They are positioning Hyundai as the value brand, Genesis as the premium brand and Kia in between them. The telltale sign is that you can get Nappa leather on an Optima or Sorento but not on a Sonata or Santa Fe.

Each brand has separate leadership at the very top. President. CEO. Chairman. CFO. Etcetera. Similar to how brands like Ford and GM do things. If the Buick Regal is built on the same platform as seven other cars - they're not going to have seven different people lead that team. That's where the similarity comes into play. The decision making is done by different people at each brand. Certain aspects of the business like the engineering of platforms is naturally handled by one person or one team. It wouldn't make sense any other way.

This.

Kia and Hyundai (and now Genesis) have completely separate management aside from specialty engineering (w/ Biermann) and oversight of design (w/ Schreyer).

Things are separate enough where if Hyundai runs into issues w/ a new shared component, Kia won't know about it (Hyundai won't tell them) unless they run into the problem themselves (the exception being if its something Biermann and his team had been working on).

If Kia is going to be a spin off brand, they better fully move away from the Kia brand. Meaning, not sharing the showrooms with Kia. That's something I did not appreciate Hyundai doing with the Genesis brand. I don't have a problem with sharing Hyundai service centers though, just the buying experience was too... Hyundai.

If the Hyundai Genesis spawned the Genesis luxury brand, will Kia Stinger spawn the Stinger brand?

Doubtful that Kia will spin off a luxury brand (like what Hyundai is doing w/ Genesis) any time soon.

Kia simply doesn't have the resources to develop a (basic) full luxury line-up, much less endeavor to build out a separate luxury dealer network (have enough problems right now trying to fix/improve their dealer network).

Aside from maybe a Stinger-based crossover, probably not going to see any further additions to the line-up; altho, one possibility (not a great one) would be a smaller RWD sedan (and w/ that, a corresponding CUV) based on the Novo concept.

The Novo concept was supposed to indicate a possible design direction for the Forte/Cerato, but Kia didn't exactly go in that direction.

Personally, thought the Novo was too good of a design for a FWD econobox (thought the same way about the previous gen Optima in SX/SXL trim), so maybe Kia has similar thoughts?

 

[Waynerm002]

They should build it as a premium RWD sporty sedan to compliment the Stinger and K900. Some where between the Forte and Optima. The Stinger occupies the space between the Optima and the Cadenza, they could also do something between the Cadenza and K900, much like BMW dropped some even numbered vehicles in their lineup.

 

[Kia Stinger]

Aside from maybe a Stinger-based crossover, probably not going to see any further additions to the line-up; altho, one possibility (not a great one) would be a smaller RWD sedan (and w/ that, a corresponding CUV) based on the Novo concept.

What about the Telluride?

 

[Dave Miller]

There will be a few more Kia releases coming shortly, but a lot of them are probably going to be based on current platforms. They are mostly focusing on hybrids and EVs though. They said at a recent auto show there will be 20 total hybrid/EV models in their lineup (10 in the USA) within a few years.

 

[MrSting]

I really, really do not want to see the brand diluted with any type of luxury sub-brand. That really only caters to badge snobs, and I believe Kia should be proud of their badge, the brand they are, and the brand they've become — just as I am proud to tell people about the Stinger. No need for all that fake pretentiousness!

 

[YEH]

They should build it as a premium RWD sporty sedan to compliment the Stinger and K900. Some where between the Forte and Optima. The Stinger occupies the space between the Optima and the Cadenza, they could also do something between the Cadenza and K900, much like BMW dropped some even numbered vehicles in their lineup.

Well, w/ how luxury sedans have been faring these days, highly skeptical that Kia will add a 3rd luxury sedan to its lineup; would be better off adding 2 luxury CUVs.

As I see it, the Stinger slot btwn the G70 and G80 (tho not necessarily on price) and the K900 slots btwn the G80 and G90.

Btwn the 2 brands, 5 sedans is probably enough.

Genesis HAS 3 CUVs slated, so wouldn't be a bad move for Kia to bring that # to 5.

What about the Telluride?

Don't really count the Telluride as a luxury offering as it is based on a FWD platform and is the cousin to Hyundai's upcoming (and larger) 3-row CUV.

Both will probably be near-premium/premium level when it comes to their interiors (the Santa Fe Sport replacement's interior is a good step up), much like the Mazda CX-9 or the Enclave; but a well-equipped Telluride likely will be getting up there when it comes to pricing.

 

[Kia Stinger]

Don't really count the Telluride as a luxury offering as it is based on a FWD platform

Maybe not technically luxury but perhaps in the same way Lincoln CUVs are considered luxury - or near luxury - depending on how you look at it. It's interesting that Hyundai (and I assume Genesis) will be getting an even larger version of the vehicle...

 

[westcoastGT]

Maybe not technically luxury but perhaps in the same way Lincoln CUVs are considered luxury - or near luxury - depending on how you look at it. It's interesting that Hyundai (and I assume Genesis) will be getting an even larger version of the vehicle...

The Telluride is based on an extended Sorento platform which is AWD , and from what I read it is going to be Luxury

 

[Kia Stinger]

The Telluride is based on an extended Sorento platform which is AWD , and from what I read it is going to be Luxury

That's where my opinion is leaning as well...

 

[westcoastGT]

That's where my opinion is leaning as well...

somebody needs to learn to say "please, thank you , IMHO etc etc etc !! I think , I feel .........geez

 

[YEH]

Maybe not technically luxury but perhaps in the same way Lincoln CUVs are considered luxury - or near luxury - depending on how you look at it. It's interesting that Hyundai (and I assume Genesis) will be getting an even larger version of the vehicle...

Well, maybe MKX level of luxury - which I suppose is around the level of the Avenir Enclave.

Which really isn't any better than the level of luxury found in the CX-9 w/ the wood trim accents.

So all in all, probably around the level of luxury in the Cadenza (w/ the SX-L trim getting more of a luxurious touch).

The Santa Fe Sport replacement is getting an upgraded interior in part due to mass market interiors just getting better and in part due to Hyundai wanting it to appeal more to the European market (the dashstrokers that they are).

Don't think Genesis will be getting a version as there's really no point to it if the Hyundai version already has a pretty nice interior.

The GV80 will have to make do and I suppose if Genesis thinks there's enough demand, they can always do the GV90 off the G90's platform.

 

[mldavis2]

I wonder if the UV fad will fade a bit in the future with more affordable sedans showing back up again. Or perhaps the public has become passengers and dashstrokers (I love that term, @YEH!) and only an inconsequential number of us gearheads remain to keep driving machines on the books. I'm a dinosaur, raised in the days of Detroit muscle, Richard Petty and the blue hemi that dominated NASCAR, ever-changing sheet metal and gradual acceptance of racing innovations like fuel injection, disc brakes and such. I'm too old for street racing or hanging out in the local parking lots and showing off my latest mod, but I still love driving, the manual gearbox in my GTO, and the anticipation of learning to drive a car with only two pedals when my Stinger gets here. I swore I'd never own a station wagon, and I'm swearing still that I'll never own a UV, either.

 

[Killianz26]

Funny I actually traded a q50 in for the Stinger

I don't care about brand perception for me the Stinger was perfect.

Family and friends can't believe it but they know very little about cars, those who do will see the Stinger is a hell of a car no matter the brand