The interior was nothing special. It wasn't bad; there was just nothing compelling about it.

I suppose that if someone really wanted a RWD (or RWD biased AWD) family sedan, it would be a good choice. But in that price range, I thought the Accord Touring was just much nicer inside.

 

I have argued earlier that a loaded Accord would make a superior vehicle all around. Price, efficiency, reliability, roominess. I get the Stinger has a RWD set up and I do agree that RWD is better balanced and a better drive experience, but its hard to argue against a loaded Accord. Maybe even a Camry.

 

Seems to be a pretty good start for the Stinger seeing how the overall car market is shrinking. Also, the Stinger is supposed to be offered in other world markets, so it looks like it is off to a decent start.

 

In the recent Car and Driver comparison test the 2.0t came up a little short vs. the Audi and BMW in the Powertrain ratings. Audi 52 points, BMW 44 points and Stinger 38 points. In other areas the spread between the Stinger and the two German brands was closer.

 

 

The obvious answer is that, when a vehicle is up on a turntable, there isn't much you can do besides take pictures....and even then, the pictures often don't show that much inside the vehicle.

 

the interiors of the Stinger are more or less identical except for the GT2 trim, which has the nicer shifter.

The top two GT trims (GT1, GT2) have a flat-bottomed steering wheel.

 

Because you weren't allowed to sit in it. They didn't have another GT on the floor; I'd love to see if the interior of the GT was much nicer.

 

I can't speak for the 4-cyl models since they are not offered here in Canada. We get the top-end Limited which elevates the interior worthy of this price range thanks to the genuine brushed aluminum trim, Alcantara headliner, and Nappa leather 16-way power driver's seat, (among other features).

 

Hmmm....that's strange. Why not? Because of emissions?......probably the most likely reason.

 

...different and (much) smaller market here in Canada.

 

Maybe in some larger provinces. But no. Canadians are laggards to the Americans in terms of tech or emissions. In Western Canada AB, SK: there is no emissions testing. That's why redneck racers thrive with ridiculously modified jump trucks bellowing black soot as they race from stoplight to stoplight.

The more likely reason is that Canadians do not have the disposable income that Americans do. Higher cost of living, higher taxation, higher cost of goods. Kia is not seen as a downmarket brand here. Hyundai sold Ponys and Stellars here, when Americans wouldn't have touched those with a ten foot pole.

So pricing a Stinger at $50K is a smart move and sticking with the V6 is also a good move. The fact that Kia wants to try the market in the US at $50K USD is more of a, "if you got the dough, we'll take it'. You can't do that here in Canada because Canucks don't have the dough. You have to offer more.

It's a also a low volume market so you take your sales where you can. Tons of Hyundais, Kias in my redneck Detroit pickup truck town.

 

If I had a choice, I would choose the Canadian option: no 4 cyl models, but the top end GT is $9000 cheaper than in the US.

As far as the interior, the US GT2 is virtually identical to the Canadian Limited model. The base GT is very close to the base 4 cyl. interior. The GT1 is somewhere in between with most of the GT2 bits but without the Nappa leather or electronic transmission shift lever.

 

Because the Canadian auto market is so much smaller than the American market and because we tend to favour smaller cars over larger ones, the choices we have tend to be different from the Americans.

Because we tend to favour smaller cars, we may get more choices in models, and trim levels and/or have more *luxury* options in our smaller cars than the Americans. We got the old Mercedes-Benz B-Class hatchback, which the Americans did not get; and we will get the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class hatchback, which the Americans will not get.

Because our market is smaller and because we do not favour mid-size and larger cars, automakers limit our choices of mid-size and larger cars. For example, we did not get the Avalon Hybrid and will not get the new Avalon Hybrid either. With the previous-generation Camry, the XLE trim level was only offered with the V6 and not the I4 engine. This is similar to restricting our choice of Stinger models to V6 engine and only with higher trim.

Limiting choice keeps costs down and restricting choice to higher-end models, trims and engines tends to be more profitable than offering a basic trim, small-engine model. The Canadian mid-size and larger car market is not big enough for automakers to offer a model for everyone.