Hey guys and gals. Today I finally took the time to spend some time at the Kia dealership with the Stinger. My GS lease is coming up and I am starting to look at my options, though I am having a terrible time coming up with other choices to consider (hate the E Class, not taken by the 5 Series, don't like Audi, etc.).

My license tabs are due on the GS in December ($700 or so) and I don't want to pay those then turn around and turn in the car a few months later, so I am thinking the time to replace the car is near.

I drove a 2018 Stinger GT2 AWD today. Red with black interior. I get the hype about this car...

The good:

- The styling is beautiful to my eyes. Very low, wide, and aggressive.
- The power. Great torque at any speed.
- The features and technology. I'd be hard pressed to name one thing that it didn't have. Seriously impressive.
- The interior was made of good quality materials and seemed roughly comparable in size to my GS. Should work for my family of 4 (kids are 4 and 7 but the Highlander does most family duty).
- The handling was fantastic.
- Real cooled seats!!
- Good cargo room.
- Great exhaust note.

The not so good:

- A lot more noisy and stiff than I am used to. Worried it will get tiring over time.
- After being spoiled by my GS 12.3" display, the 8" unit in the Stinger seemed cheap, not to mention it's a touch screen, and I hate touch screens.
- The combination of black leather, black headliner, high belt line, and dark tint made the interior pretty dark.

The deals out there are great right now. Before negotiations, current rebates and such knocked the price down from $53k to $46.5k.

So it was a fun car and probably my current top choice for my GS replacement. It'll be sad not to have a Lexus in the garage (used to have two), but that's life. I'll try to decide in the next few weeks.

 

 

 

The 540i does have some great deals, no doubt. I've loved the 5 series for years but not that excited by them lately. Not really sure why.

I like the looks of the G80, but they weigh nearly as much as my Highlander... I want something with sportier handling than that.

 

 

 

There is a G80 Sport and it sounds like it's somewhat similar to the Stinger in terms of performance, maybe a little more luxury oriented. According to a Genesis forum I visit now and then Genesis inventories are kind of limited until they get their dealerships in place and up and running.

 

I've never driven one, but I sat in one at the Philadelphia Auto Show. I would think one of the bigger issues is that the interior would definitely be a step down from the GS (the sea of black aside). I suppose you could forego the hatch, and also consider the Genesis G70?

 

 

You might want to PM corradoMR2 and get his take.....he owns one. Also, I did a full-review on a turbo-four version some time ago, if it will help any.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...a-stinger.html



IMO it's hard to beat the material quality of Korean-designed vehicles today. They are, essentially, providing the type of quality today that we saw from Honda and Acura back in the 1980s, when they led the industry in material quality.

That's why I drive a Lacrosse...I don't like noisy, stiff cars, either.

Seriously, if you like the car, go for it, and don't worry about whether it has an "L" on the grille or not. Probably half of the people here in Car Chat (even moderators) do not drive Lexus products.

 

I don't know. I am not a brand snob by any means, but at the end of the day, you will still own a $50,000 KIA. That just sounds weird. I know the kia and hyundai lineups have come a long way since the 90's, but at the end of the day, its still a Kia. Kind of like driving a Neon SRT-4 is still...driving a neon.

 

I'm not quite sure I follow. If we're going to talk about nameplates, how is that any different from a 50-60K F-150 King Ranch or Ram 1500 Longhorn/Southfork? Either way, you still are paying that kind of money for a Ford or a Dodge (which the Ram nameplate split off from). The Dodge Hellcat and Demon muscle-cars can also run that much, or more. So......why would it be any different for a Kia?

 

Have you given up on buying out the lease and keeping your GS?

I would find the refined interior and ride hard to give up.

Your Highlander's central screen is smaller than the GS' screen and it is also a touchscreen. I guess the question is if you could get used to it if you had 2 similar screens in your driveway.

Are there no other colour choices? These (all-black interior plus high beltline) would personally be deal-breakers for me, but could you get used to it?

 

Yeah, I don't really care about that. I'm fine with the Kia badge.

I wouldn't actually be against this, but I am severely upside down on it, so my buyout is close to $35k and the blue book is around $29k. It's just not a smart decision, though otherwise I'd be fine with this approach.

The ride may indeed be hard to lose, but there are clear tradeoffs. The Kia interior was fine for me, and had a ton of tech my GS does not have. Lots to think about.

Not a deal breaker by any means, but you touched on the one thing I do not like about my Highlander.

They do have the red interior, but I like the red exterior so that is limited to the black interior. My GS interior is black with a black headliner, and it bothered me at first but then I got over it. I suspect I'd adjust to the Stinger as well.

Thanks for the comments, everyone.