I will be another that never considered a KIA brand vehicle, but will switch to the car company due to the Stinger. Until I discovered the Stinger on a car website in December, I had no idea about it, nor had I known how well Kia was now doing in initial quality with JD Power & Associates (#1).
Now, the thread's question does not ask why the Stinger is causing us to get into a Kia, just if it is, but it certainly begs the question...
I am one of those that is driving a mid-size sedan ? 2014 Mazda6. I typically hold onto my cars around 5.5 - 6 years at a time, and while I've eek'd out nice/average sedans, never paying over $25,200 for a car, suddenly the Stinger changed my game.
I drive about 24k miles a year due to my job. Since I often have customers or managers with me, I want something that is decently comfortable and can haul customers out to lunch, etc... I also like a sporty look, that isn't tacky, handles in a way that makes me feel connected to the road, but needs to be comfortable enough for 2-6 hours of driving at a time.
When I noticed the Stinger the look seemed pretty fantastic (because it's design is, well, fantastic). When I discovered it also started at $31,900 and was well equipped for that price, I figured I could get the car under $30k! Another one of my rules, never spend more than $30k for a car that turns to dust faster than just about anything you can "invest" in. Rapidly depreciating assets, not good!
I test drove a Premium 2.0L and was thoroughly impressed. Versus my 185hp Mazda6, despite it's weight, it was still WAY peppier, and the handling was more savvy. The interior may be on-par with current Mazda6's, but it's head and shoulders over my 2014 model and the seats are fantastic. It's a fairly large car but doesn't come across as such. Mazda makes their full-size sedan feel like my old pocket toy Ford Probe, so well done Mazda. But Kia manages to pull that of with the Stinger, while its weight also lets you know it's extremely solid and well planted.
In short, I was sold on the 2.0L. Plenty of car for me.
Then in early January I stopped by a Kia dealership to take another look. The manger suggest I take out the GT just for fun. I decided, even though I wouldn't buy it, I'd like to see the difference in the engines and power just for fun sake. The 2.0L is certainly peppy, but the 3.3L V6 GT is like a Taco Bell burrito vs a Chipotle Burrito. Both burrito's, burritos, but really, no comparison. The 19" rims, the Brembo's, and discovering the GT has a lot more in the way of features compared to the base 2.0L intrigued me greatly.
Boom! I shifted from thinking about getting a base 2.0L under $30k (this coming fall/winter timeframe), to a GT. Sheesh!...
What Kia has done is delivered a car that didn't lose focus. What do I mean by that? Put another way, let's take a quick look at the Buick Regal Sportback (is it EVER showing up? Nice job GM...). When it does arrive, I believe I'll be left with the same impression GM has always left me with: Low-grade leather, hard plastics, lame nobs, and the feeling of a company trying to scrape and skimp, because GM believes it can get away with it, but they are actually fooling no one. Well, at least not me... It'll drive so, so, be quite quiet and feel like a vehicle built on a Malibu frame. The Regal gets it's own skin and interior, it has some tweaks, yet the design is watered down, trying to satisfy a lot of people that buy mid-size sedans. In short, the new Regal Sportback will be just another GM Buick product. I'll get a nice rebate, it'll be well affordable and bore me to pieces. I'd rather get newer Mazda6 at that point.
Kia's Stinger is the exact opposite of the Buick Regal. That's what I mean by "focus" from Kia. The frame is going to be the Hyundai G70 and Kia Stinger - that's it. It isn't the Insigna, The Malibu, the Buick Regal Sportback and other variants world-wide trying to be a dozen things do hundreds of thousands of different people. The Stinger is designed to deliver true luxury sport performance. The Stinger did not compromise the drive by dulling down the suspension or tweaking the drive-train to get better gas mileage because commuters and family folk don't need 0-60mph in 4.7, but want Accord range per tank. Kia could have toned down the sculptured sheet metal, or, or, or... That's the great thing about the Stinger, Kia clearly did NOT compromise.
What Kia built is not unlike an Apple product, in that they built something they (Kia engineers) would want to buy. "How can someone not want this car? Because I want this car!" Albert and Gregory might say. The passion put into the car is clear, and middle-management - hands in the cookie jar - were kept at bay. It didn't get formulaic and screwed up. The Stinger stayed true.
And THAT is what I really find inspiring about the Stinger. Focused. Didn't deviate and get watered down. It stayed true, and for that Kia should be so proud and learn from. Will it sell? I should think so. But even if it meets only a niche of buyers, we might just be the most satisfied owners in the market.
