A really nice example of KIA doing bits, it is a shame about them not selling well - tough market at that price point. If it had a BMW badge etc..., people would be losing their minds.
Exactly. Biggest selling point of sport sedans is the fancy brand name for most people. Why would you really need this over a wrx if you wanted a fun practical sedan? Is it worth like 20k more? To me it’s an easy no
@@everydaybodybuilding2282 new wrx is ugly. stinger has more room for me being 6 foot tall, broad shoulders. also interior of wrx looks ugly as well. quality not as good as stinger. theres a reason why it cost less than a stinger. and theres a reason the stinger cost less than a comparable audi or bmw
@@allenstevenson5986 I’m 6ft 216 into bodybuilding and drive a gti just fine lol. I’m just saying I don’t think it’s worth it. There’s a reason it’s not selling obviously.
This car is a unicorn, that’s why I traded in my 2018 for a 2022 model. Styling, hatch back, power, rear drive architecture, sized a little bigger than other luxury compact sport sedans, and warranty. It’s the perfect daily driver for me.
@@EOtekk Exactly. People hear Hyundai isn’t selling Kia Stingers and actually think this car is some sort of “hidden gem” 💎. That would be the farthest thing from the truth. It’s plenty of them on the road, just not nearly as many as the company thought it would be. Anyone with a RU-vid account are well aware of the Hyundai/Kia lineups as they are amongst the few whose products are advertised so heavily as if they’re the only things worth your money outside of normalities from Germany. Like you’ve said, these are everywhere. Almost as common as a Dodge Charger. The car just ain’t nearly as special as reviewers try to make it out to be and it’s disappointing in person since the quality is still KIA but the price has left the brand behind. Nice car, but it’s a rental that nobody wants to own with or without a warranty. It’s a worse performing BMW with a Kia badge and South Korean quality, reliability, and resale value. Kias and Hyundais are loaded with cheap tech that’s doomed to fail, they’re nice rental cars to me but nothing I’d bring home to deal with.
@@alh06 Lmfao! Go spec out a similarly optioned C43 AMG, M440i, or S5 Sportback Compared to the GT2 Stinger, all of those cars hitting pretty much 69k+ with similar options. Arguably the only thing those cars have above the the Stinger is ever so slightly better materials, full digital dash displays, ever so slightly better noise isolation and ever so slightly faster by like 0.2 seconds to 60 mph which in my opinion does not come close to a near 20k price tag difference. Then if you start adding the muscle cars into the picture, all of them are at least 2k more expensive, sure they are slightly faster to 60 and perform better on the track (Camaro and Mustang respectfully) but all of those cars lack the options the Stinger does, don't drive as nice as the Stinger does as a daily, and have less tech, features, and a much worse interiors compared to the stinger.
“Let’s throw it into sport… it’s properly quick!” I really enjoyed that part. It’s sick that the Sport mode also adjust the driver ergonomics. I’ve never had the pleasure of driving a car that has that feature, but it does seem pretty dope.
Love how your videos are very straight to the point, but most importantly you give us real footage from a daily driver's perspective without the salesman like gimmicks.
Stinger owner here! There is an actual launch control mode, you just have to hold the TCS until stability control also turns off and it'll prompt you on the screen
Own a 2020 Stinger GT with downpipes, intercooler, JB4 tune on map 5, CAI, BOV’s, & muffler/cat delete. The launch control isn’t actual launch control. You have to do a brake snip to get it to fully be in launch control since it won’t build enough boost in stock form.
@@lamont23able1 The "brake snip" disconnects a signal line going to the ECU that tells it when the brakes are applied. Allows you to rev higher and build more boost in launch mode, with much better acceleration. You can run a switch to turn it on/off as well
I just sold my 2020 Stinger for a profit and bought a MAzda CX-30 turbo.Stinger is a nice car but sits too low and like many in this class the low profile rims make it a great canyon carver and street car--but a track will tear it up.Also the paint is weak.I went to public drag and I had ceramic coated the car and the chunks of rubber made small permamnet black marks along the door sills--but I looked and other cars also had it like M3s.From now on I think I will get performance SUV/CUV to better avoid damage and nicks on low cars.I also had 3 flats in the year I owned it.No rattles and everything worked great.It also ran a 12.7 at the local track--I had an exhasut on it.It is a great 40k ca--but they are marked up to over 50k now--get one when the price setlles--but remember it sits very low for a sedan.
If the kia dealership experience treated you like you bought a $50k car then I'd consider one but when I went in to look at one I was treated like was buying a Kia Rio
Interior rattles is one thing i cannot live with. Thats one of the main problems with kias, I had a optima turbo and it was the same thing. The rattling sunroof drove me crazy.
Here in Australia, I have the top of the range GT which comes with everything standard. The equivalent for a German vehicle is almost double the price. In my humble opinion, when everything is considered, price, performance., standard equipment, driving experience and warrant, there is nothing close to it on the road today. Love my GT. Cheers from Oz
The only issue is low standard of paint quality , fit and finish and other issues down the line as there are plastic components in the fuel filter for instance where other cars use alloys. There are reasons why they could make it on the cheap. Unfortunately for Aussie buyers it's still not a cheap car though as everything is overpriced here. If it was $10,000 less it would be a bargain but it's a bit overpriced considering the lack of interior quality and a pretty ordinary stereo for the price of the car here. I'll stick to Lexus because of the quality and much better front end suspension set up personally
It’s really nice… but, I really think I’m going with an M340i over this. Or, if the back seats are negligible, the new M240i. Ik, I sound like a BMW shill right now, but those two cars are really attractive at their suggested prices.
I was looking to get a kia scorpion in grey in jan but haven't heard anything in months soo im bout to pick up my m240i on Wednesday in the peanut butter and jelly combo 🥜🫐
14:16 you had to keep holding the traction button for 3 seconds to completely disable it. That way, when you brake and floor the pedal it'll say "launch control ready" in the cluster screen.
I had a 2021 Kia Stinger GT1 AWD in Ceramic Silver, which I later replaced with a 2021 Audi S5 Sportback in Turbo Blue. Had absolutely no problems with the Kia. Haven't heard a single rattle in it. The only thing that was weird to me (not that it mattered) was that the start/stop button would glow brighter during the day then other buttons (heated seats, etc), but at night it would switch vice versa, where the start stop button was dimmer than the rest of the buttons😄 The range was also very small. My best was 320 miles (vs. 420-430 miles in the Audi). Beside that, excellent car. Unlike many competitors, it was instant on throttle response, no delay/lag off the line. Some things that I noticed with the Audi was that it does not have a floor mounted pedal, which I did miss. Also, the Audi had a much more noticeable delay if the gas pedal was pressed down quickly from a start. Launch control gave the S5 incredible off-the line performance. The Stinger did not have a "from boost" launch control. Also, you could not feel any speed in the Audi, and triple digits felt like a 40 mph cruise, whereas on the Stinger you felt you were going fast. The sound isolation was also much better in the Audi. The comfortable sport suede massaged seats in the Audi were many more times comfortable than Kia's seats. Despite the $10,000 difference on the price at the time, I would still say if your paying that much, the Audi will offer a more refined and luxurious experience. It's a much better highway cruiser. For its price, the Kia was a great performer. Can't really go wrong with any car in this class.
Totally agree, though I have no experience with the Audi. That's the thing though, you're right; you really can't go wrong with any car in this class lol
Great review by the way...most people spend way too much time talking outside and inside the car and that test drive was awesome. Greatest part of owning these cars.
Hey Topher, could you get a S5 sportback to review? I'd love to hear your thoughts, that and the m340i and TLX type s are my favorite performance sedans at the moment.
@@goynwa7110 I mean in Canada a loaded stinger is like $53k a loaded S4 is $74k.. Stinger is a bargain in comparison to the S4, C43 & M340i. Idk if Canadian prices are just whack or what.
great review, however it's price is NOT Competitive......forget 55,000, 70,000 plus plus out the door because dealers are jacking up the price.....it's very expensive, thats why sales are very slow.....Dealer pricing is killing this car.....Kia will end this car because of what the dealers are doing.....it's called GREED!
Sad to hear the interior rattles issue is still not revolved as it is also a major deterrent for me to get one; roads here are horrendous to start with yet our A4 is still rattle free 4 years later. The Stinger GT has always been on my short list as an alternative to a potential future S5.
the g70s are nice..i wanted the launch edition Satin grey color with the red interior...heard they all sold out in a week ( when it came out).im waiting on Scorpion package stinger I order last month..should be here in 3 to 4 month
I absolutely love this car. Picked up a sweet deal on a 2023 Stinger GT2 from a Cadillac/Buick/Dodge/Jeep/Ram/GMC dealership where I had bought my 2017 Ford Fusion from. They were badgering me day and night to try and buy back my Fusion for about 3k less than i paid for it 3 years ago. The only thing they had in their lot that I was interested in trading in for was the 2023 Stinger. I really loved my Fusion SE though, and I really didn't think it was worth it while they were asking 50k for the 2023 Stinger. I asked if I could go look at it, maybe go test drive it but turns out the manager of the place had driven it home that night since he was considering buying it 😂 I turned them down and expected to just drive the Fusion into the ground until I donated it towards a tax writeoff. Two weeks later, I'm napping on my couch after working an all nighter when some chick from the dealership calls me up saying she knows I had expressed interest in the Stinger, that the price had dropped and she was wondering if I wanted to go test drive it. Since I had worked all night before I didn't have work that day so I was like " Heck yeah why not." I drove over there and they just handed me the key and said "see you when you get back." Connected my phone up to the car seamlessly and started bumping my shit, thinking about where I wanted to take it. Found one of my favorite freshly paved county roads with fields on either side for about a half mile. Pre-cruised it to make sure everything was kosher before turning around. I stepped on the gas and I STG not 6 seconds later I was doing a buck thirty without realizing it (wasn't even in sport mode either). I'd never gone that fast in a car ever up to that point. I'm pretty sure I subconsciously decided I was going to buy her then. After some hemming and hawwing back at the salesman's desk I decided to just keep renting instead of getting a house in the current market and sealed the deal; 36k for a brand new sports sedan with 4k miles after trading in my 2017 Fusion SE. The previous owner had even installed weathertech floormats that just came with the dang thing for no extra cost after he had sold it to the dealership for a Cadillac instead (he bought it new from the KIA dealership not knowing it was a sports car 😆) The Stinger GT2 is an absolute joy to drive and I can't recommend it enough. It sounds good, feels good, and is, like the video said, just a awesome all around option that fuckin' ZOOMS when you put your foot down. Nothing but constant complements on how nice it rides and how comfortable it is as a passenger. 👌🏻
I have had 2 in less than 3 years. 2019 gts lost with less than 10k miles due to an inattentive driver turning into me going through an intersection. Now a 2023 gt2. Amazing car and very hard to find right now.
Great review as usual. Love that exhaust sound. Gorgeously designed car inside and out. On long drives you could sleep in it at rest stops with rear seats down. With a more aggressive financing options more people might be willing to sign on the dotted line.
@@bmwmsport11 I have driven just about every car it competes with and more and I agree with his statement specifically for the GT2. For 15k-20k more on average with similar options the German cars have a ever so slightly better build quality and slightly quieter, and a slightly more "wow" gauge clusters but those are all they have going for it. They are not enough to justify a 20k price tag difference if you ask me for the similar driving experience.
if every manufacturer uses the same buttons and switches from lower models, wouldnt that make it par for the course? no one is going to voluntarily spend money on something if none of the other automakers are..
Anyone complaining about the price needs to properly research. A similarly optioned s5 sportback or m340i will push north of $70k. The GT2’s $55k is loaded so I suggest anyone interested dig into every feature you get for that. Of course the Audi and BMW will be a little tighter with superior build and handling. But if you want good power, all options in an attractive looking car, the $55k is still a bargain imo if you don’t want to pay an extra $15k for features.
@@IScoreUnderPressure4 completely disagree. You'll find most stinger owners cross shopped the two and there's tons of former red sport owners in the stinger owner forums. The Q50 is pretty much worse in every category.
@@TB-yj4xg well the q50 is faster, looks better, and doesn't rattle after 30,000 miles. The Kia does have more interior features though. Nissan is always 5 years behind on that.
@@IScoreUnderPressure4 the Q50 RS actually isn't faster especially from a dig. from a roll it's a little more even. The gear ratios and transmission allow the stinger to be ever so slightly quicker stock v stock. And once again the rattles are really exaggerated. My IS350 and C43 rattled way way worse.
If it's like my 2019, you have to hold down the traction control button for a couple seconds to really turn it off and enable the launch control. There is a second beep when you've held it down long enough, and a second orange light indicator displays on the dash, instead of just the one that displays in this video when you turn it off with a single short press. This is also not just for launch control, but to really disable the traction control and assisted braking and stuff. If I don't have it fully disabled, with both orange lights on, I get some really annoying braking at times when I don't want it.
I recently purchased a 2023 Kia Stinger G2 after finding out this car was being discontinued. I had been seeing this sexy car on the road for several years. When I had a hard time locating one, I ended up going over to check out the Audi A5. After telling the saleman what I was comparing it to, he was like "It's a nice car but it's still a Kia." I politely told him "Sir, I don't care. I like what I like." Luckily, I found the car I wanted in the color I wanted and now I own a Kia Stinger. Sleep on Kia if you want. I think this car is going to become a coveted model.
There is LSD For the RWD. Torque Vectoring for AWD which is what I have, GT1 AWD (2019). Glad you loved the car man! I love driving mine. Also for the excitement factor, there’s alot of tuning around for these now and you can get them up to 500hp easily which wakes it up even more.
@@bkhavityoway23 mine feels just fine to me! I have a slight rattle in the trunk lid now but I actually tried to force it shut with a big box in there… after that one side seemed to rattle a little so this is probably my fault. Otherwise no rattling or isssues at all. I think it depends what you’re coming from too, I came from a scion and a mustang eco boost so either we’re super high build quality. If you’re coming from bmw or Lexus or something you may question more. But overall I really love it. Open air intake and borla cat back exhaust it sounds absolutely phenomenal.
55k? I think they overdid it, that's M340i territory, which is a much better put together car. Might be one of the reasons why it did not sell well. If I'm forking out that kind of cash, extra 5k will not kill me to get better car. This thing would be a competitor in high 40's not at this price point. No matter how good it may initially appear, it's still a kia. If they want to get a foot in this bracket they need to lure people with price.
Here I am two years later eating my own words. Having gotten BMW out of my system I found myself in the same exact car, LOL. Irony, but I've seen the light. This is a great car that went underappreciated by many.
I raced 2 of these so far, In my infinit g37 sedan, I can say honestly, these cars are quick, I’m always behind them about a car length away or 2, but wow they are fast, I did not expect that the first time I raced one, why? Well my g37 almost always beats any v6 car that I usually race here in Florida, I want a stinger now!!
I don't believe that the rattle can be actually attributed to the car build, but rather the result of the hatchback trunk cover. If you remove it the rattle is gone. You can also use some velcro to better hold it in place.
Saw a girl driving her stinger earlier and it looked so cool I had to find a pov video😂 hers was debadged and had an E emblem, on the tires too , exterior grey, was so so beautiful I couldn’t believe it was a kia
So there's something I've noticed with the transmission after driving the Stinger a few times. If you have your foot slammed all the way down on the gas pedal, the upshifting manually is quick. However, if you are not flooring it, upshifting is slow. I know the car tries to keep the shifts smooth but it's somewhat annoying to have the timing of the shifts be different every time, unless I'm just flooring it. It's not just either really fast or really slow either, it varies in between that as well. It feels like there is a strange disconnect since I just can't anticipate the shifts. Other than that, it's a good car with good value.
I had one for a year--the car is meant to accelerate a little briskly--btw the DCT trannies are also bad--any of these 8 to 10 speed--dct all hunt gears when you tool around.Sold the stinger and have a MAzda CX-30 turbo and the old 6 speed auto in the mazda is way better for daily driving--2nd gear is also tall covering about 10 mph to like 60 and third can get you to 80 or so--so you get up to speed very quick with little shifts.But on the HWY my stinger at 80 to 90 was getting the same MPG as my CX-30--so it pays for efficiency on the hwy since a 3.3TT getting the same MPG as a 2.5 T>Hopefully next cycle they put AWD in a KONA N and the prices settle--but until then I will enjoy the mazda.Main reason I sold the stinger was it went up in value and second reason was it sat too low and I could never risk going to the mountains in it
@@khronin idk, good DCT don't really hunt gears or do weird shit unless they aren't made well. Just my two cents. But for comfort, traditional torque converters will definitely do what you want. DCT mainly feel jerky or clunky to some, but as far as hunting gears, if it's tuned shitty, yeah. But bmws, Mercedes, and even my SST in my Evo X never gave me that impression. Can put them in normal or sport and cruise around and they almost read your mind
@@yo-yojoe2576 Honestly don't buy the Mercedes, specifically that Mercedes is a terrible choice. It's not a true Mercedes, it's a lame excuse to get into the Mercedes brand and the quality is absolutely terrible considering the brand.
I will never step foot into a Kia dealership. They wouldn't even let sit inside a car without running my credit first. Notoriously terrible dealerships.
I visited one that was like that. That same day I went to another, they let me sit in the car, drive it, and I loved it so much I bought it. I then proceeded to go back to the other dealership that wanted to run my credit first, gave me a hard time thinking I'm not a true buyer and showed them my new car they lost out on :P
We bought a 2020 GT2 kind of on a whim. We tend to go through cars about every two years and the Stinger came up on the lifecycle back in February. We can't find anything out there that we would rather have and there sure as heck isn't anything out there that is as good an all-rounder in my opinion. The biggest problem I have is that the wife has a bit of a lead foot and loves to take everyone and everything out at the stop lights. I've owned a Mercedes and Jaguars and they were great cars, but I was over them and ready to move on...I feel more connected to this car for some reason....maybe it's because there just aren't that many out there and I appreciate what Kia is trying to do. A couple other things to consider. Service is a fraction of what a European car costs. I don't get a loaner and the dealership doesn't have an amazing lounge, but I don't see the value in paying hundreds of extra dollars for a Kuerig coffee and a granola bar. The warranty is best in class. The trunk is ridiculous; the crap that we have crammed into this thing is alarming. The backseat room is better than most in this class as well. But the one thing that no one talks about here is insurance. It's like they don't realize that this thing is a mid 4 sec 0-60 car and treat it like a hatchback for pricing. I don't think that there is anything in this level of performance that can be insured as cheaply. I don't think that it does any single thing "best in class", but I can't find anything that ticks as many boxes as well and I think that if there is we're probably looking at twice the cost between initial cost, service, and insurance and even then I don't think that you're looking at more than just a modest gain. I think that this is going to be our last ICE vehicle unless I win the lottery at which point I'll have McLarens and Porsches and all kinds of other stupid cars.
Drove it 2017 when it just came out and had 370 HP It was so fun to drive, in my opinion its the perfect GT for the price. But as you said: The pricetag in combination with its brand name KIA hold back some of the interested buyers who went to Audi S4 or other competitors.
If they had a manual trans option, I'd consider one. Otherwise I'll keep my 10 year old Honda V6 with a 6 speed manual. Naturally aspirated, and not as fast, but more fun to drive. Regular unleaded too, no premium.
These things are much more affordable here in Korea, I’ll probably end up getting a used one with low mileage for around 35k. Can’t go wrong at that price
In terms of performance, AWD to AWD. This Stinger or the CT5 V? Not just straight line performance, but all metrics. Turn in, corner exit, which drive modes differs the most.
I would go stinger on this one..full option stinger 55k.. fully option ct5 v 69 to 71k which for that price you could get charger hellcat..mid option m550i bmw..fully option s5..few more vehicle too.for what you get in a stinger at that price fully loaded..it would be the way to go
@@samuelreid603 Yeah I'm not the one for the features. About the only features I require is remote start to get it ready for the drive. And a sun roof to let more natural light in. If I'm looking for a feature packed car most likely its going to be for my wife. I'm more visceral, from my understanding the Stinger is slightly quicker in a straight line. But the Cadillac is the one if you want to maintain fun speeds in cornering. I've listened to a few audio clips of both cars and the CT5 V has the one of the better sounding 6 cylinders. Almost every up shift pops. And the launch control sounds amazing. If my budget was higher it would probably be the V BW. But as it stands AWD and the $60k mark is my budget. But the Stinger is a very good proposition. I've thought about getting the Stinger and getting a more sporty suspension setup and a better exhaust system for it. Maybe close the gap between the Stinger and CT5 V in terms of cornering and sounds.
@@99-Zulu im not much in to bmw but i also order the m240i along with my stinger.. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xAJBMTja88w.html but i would say definitely check out the m240i
@@samuelreid603 Bruh, did you really just compare a fully loaded Cadillac CT5-V to a Dodge Charger and a Kia Stinger?? Ha! Do you realize the joke in that? Apparently *not.*
Excellent, professional grade review! Interesting observation on the rattle issue. I've watched several reviews on this car and I believe this is the first someone commented on rattles.
I almost bought this car because the performance it offers is not matched anywhere but the overall built quality and poor customer service sent me away from Kia forever. The interior rattles are a major turn down for me. It's not a new issue and so far customer care has been silent and useless about this. Kia customer service doesn't match this car's price and the demography who buys cars at these prices usually have ZERO tolerance for this.
@@HarryTwatterNo, the Q50 base is only 300 hp for about the same price as the Stinger and the Red Sport is 400 HP for 10k more than the Stinger. In all cases, I hated my drive in both because of the steering feel and the car doesn't feel sharp at all. Last but not least, the design hasn't changed in 10 years.
Sad people care about brand name so much and don’t buy it just because it’s a Kia, if it had Benz or bmw on it they would sell . I love the Kia brand they make really good cars at a good price
Got the same model and year and I freaking love it. The rattles aren’t so annoying to me but I do hate one thing… it EATS FUEL! But take it on the HWY and it’s a breeze and everyone is looking at you giving you the thumbs up LOL. I love it! Get it!
If I hadn’t gotten the forte, I would’ve love this, even though I know these are priced more than the forte, of course but I would have definitely loved to have shelled out more money just to have the stinger
I am interested in possibly buying one of these for travel. Your video was helpful and well done. When you have a moment could you share what gear you used for the camera and mic? I have a car detailer client and this style of video would work well for showing their product and process.
My 2019 Kia Sorento has the same V6 engine it seems (albeit naturally aspirated) & the same 8 speed auto and that thing can really pedal to the metal. I can't imagine how a turbocharged, aerodynamic low to the ground sedan variant of it can be
Great review! Thanks! What are some common ways to fix interior rattles? My subarus and mazdas rattled above the glove box and my RS3 door panels rattled from the awesome loud exhaust.
Everyone always looks at purchase price but they don’t look at total cost of ownership. When shopping it’s probably a better idea to look at how much you’re going to be paying after about 5 years of ownership. I’ve had old used cars cost me just as much in repairs and ownership than brand new cars with higher price tags. Brands change over time. And if you ask me I’d rather own a Kia than anything the American brands currently offer.
I'm glad that you weren't afraid to mention the interior rattles. Seems like most of the other car reviewers (who act more like salesman) neglect to mention the rattles. One of the big reasons why I sold my 2019 GT2 AWD after a little over a year of ownership. There were other annoyances that made the car not feel like it deserved the premium price tag.
