2018 Stinger 2.0T AWD vs. New AWD Buick Regals

Just joined to see what this comparison was all about. I appreciate all the discussion. I own a 2006 Saab 9-3 with 167,000+ miles and plan to get a new car in a couple of years after the Stinger and Buick have been out for awhile and the quality has settled down. I will compare the two at that time as for me, absolute performance is not the selling factor living in CT on a small mountain and traction to get home in the winter is paramount. The front drive Saab with all weather or snow tires barely gets it done, and our other car an AWD Subaru is much preferred. I see both the Buick Regal and the Kia Stinger as possible answers. Not sure yet what version I would be getting - probably would compare the 2.0t to the Essence first and then the GT to the GS. I do like the idea of a hatch but don't want to pay what the European models want for it. I also like the idea of staying on regular fuel and not paying 40 cents more a gallon for premium (have done that in the past, and love I don't have to do it now). I know the Buick runs on regular, does the 2.0t also do that? Thanks.
 
Sam S said:
Just joined to see what this comparison was all about. I appreciate all the discussion. I own a 2006 Saab 9-3 with 167,000+ miles and plan to get a new car in a couple of years after the Stinger and Buick have been out for awhile and the quality has settled down. I will compare the two at that time as for me, absolute performance is not the selling factor living in CT on a small mountain and traction to get home in the winter is paramount. The front drive Saab with all weather or snow tires barely gets it done, and our other car an AWD Subaru is much preferred. I see both the Buick Regal and the Kia Stinger as possible answers. Not sure yet what version I would be getting - probably would compare the 2.0t to the Essence first and then the GT to the GS. I do like the idea of a hatch but don't want to pay what the European models want for it. I also like the idea of staying on regular fuel and not paying 40 cents more a gallon for premium (have done that in the past, and love I don't have to do it now). I know the Buick runs on regular, does the 2.0t also do that? Thanks.
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Yes, you can run on regular gas on both models, but you take a minor performance hit. I know the manual says premium gas recommended (or preferred).
 
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Sam S said:
Just joined to see what this comparison was all about. I appreciate all the discussion. I own a 2006 Saab 9-3 with 167,000+ miles and plan to get a new car in a couple of years after the Stinger and Buick have been out for awhile and the quality has settled down. I will compare the two at that time as for me, absolute performance is not the selling factor living in CT on a small mountain and traction to get home in the winter is paramount. The front drive Saab with all weather or snow tires barely gets it done, and our other car an AWD Subaru is much preferred. I see both the Buick Regal and the Kia Stinger as possible answers. Not sure yet what version I would be getting - probably would compare the 2.0t to the Essence first and then the GT to the GS. I do like the idea of a hatch but don't want to pay what the European models want for it. I also like the idea of staying on regular fuel and not paying 40 cents more a gallon for premium (have done that in the past, and love I don't have to do it now). I know the Buick runs on regular, does the 2.0t also do that? Thanks.
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Welcome Sam! The Buick Regal Sportback was going to be my car of choice. Then Boom! The Stinger came along and it was game over for Buick. I encourage you to go watch several reviews on the Regal and the Stinger from the same reviewers (Alex on Auto's, etc...). You'll get a great feel for both vehicles.

What I just learned about the Buick Regal – Ouch! So the Continental tire they have chosen, is a new design the has a foam layer inserted into the tires themselves. It GREATLY reduces noise into the cabin as a result. In fact, it's been tested to reduce the noise in the baby by 2db! That is a HUGE different (considering it's like the richter scale - NOT linear).

Now, this begs a BIG question. How would anyone know the tire makes the cabin the much more quiet? The answer is Continental has a limited amount of foam-laiden tires they can produce for GM. And so GM, in their infinite "wisdom" is ONLY equipping FWD versions of the Regal with the tires!!! The AWD cars will get non-foam, non-quiet tires. The result is that one reviewer so far has said the car is actually loud and annoying on any form of road trip. This is like blasphemy for a Buick, who has built a big part of their brand on being library quiet. A BIG reason I had previously considered the Regal. Now? Sheesh. I was sold on the Stinger before, but now? Wow...

With the car now coming fairly de-conteted and starting below $25,000, Buick feels the higher volume seller will be the FWD versions, and if any version is to get the tires, and Continental can provide enough, then give them to the high-volume seller.

Meanwhile, those paying a premium for the higher-end, AWD equipped cars will be getting gipped on the tires and be "enjoying" a lot more cabin noise. Sheesh.
 
2db lol. Another bs marketing attempt. Too bad it takes 3db or more to notice a perceived difference. Maybe the pyscho acoustics in your mind will lead a person to believe its better but I wouldn’t be bragging about my quiet tires in this scenario.
 
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Expert4 said:
2db lol. Another bs marketing attempt. Too bad it takes 3db or more to notice a perceived difference. Maybe the pyscho acoustics in your mind will lead a person to believe its better but I wouldn’t be bragging about my quiet tires in this scenario.
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Well, the report wasn't from Kia and it certainly wasn't from Buick. Rather, it was from The Detroit Free Press paper/publication from February 9th. You can read about it here: https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/mark-phelan/2018/02/08/gm-tires-buick-regal-tourx/313763002/
 
I appreciate the feedback. Trust me, owning a Saab, the driving factor is not going to be noise. It is going to be how well the traction control and the double clutch system works in the two models most likely. My small mountain is a pain in the neck - I have to climb just over 600 feet to get home every day. When I have five or six inches of snow or ice on the ground, it is next to impossible for the front drive Saab (despite being very good in the snow with the appropriate tires) to get back home. The AWD Subaru while not the best AWD system is definitely good enough to get my home under any circumstance. I like the hatchback and the price they both offer - I will definitely test drive both before I decide. Stinger is no doubt a good option as will be the Regal when the time comes.
 
Kia Stinger said:
It IS a pretty nice looking car. Inside and out. Not as much of a head turner as the Stinger, and favors luxury over performance. Buick is a good brand with good reliability.
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I agree with that. The "affordable luxury" has worked well for them, and with the Sportback they are making it more affordable than ever. Granted, they cut corners with plastics and the leather is never really all that good, etc... but everything the that the Regal is aiming to be, it will catch a wide swath of buyers I'm sure.

The Buick Regal Sportback is what makes me dig the Stinger so much. The Regal Sportback (even the GS), reminds me of a car that wishes it were a Stinger, but had to tone everything down in order to attract the averge sedan buyer. So the dash and such is mild mannered and pushes a luxury look, but to be sporty in the GS throws in sport seats that DO NOT match the rest of the entire interior - not even close. Performance-wise, decent, but not dramatic. A well done car, just a car that reaches for a wide bredth of buyers, while the Stinger is a focused vehicle that says "I am sport sedan, I won't compromise and people will love me." ; )
 
STNGRNV said:
Yes, you can run on regular gas on both models, but you take a minor performance hit. I know the manual says premium gas recommended (or preferred).
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Where do you see that in the owner's manual? My Stinger GT owner's manual says, "Your new vehicle is designed to use only unleaded fuel having a pump octane number of 87 or higher." It also says, "Kia recommends that you use good quality gasolines treated with detergent additives such as TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline, which help prevent deposit formation in the engine..."
 
All the mods and upgrades for your Stinger you could ever ask for. CLICK HERE!
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
Thanks for that. So both run on Regular which is fine by me. I do this currently on my Saab which Premium is recommended but not required. On a track I go from 0-60 in 7.9 seconds rather than 7.1 so I do take a hit as I tested it myself on my current car, but merging on highways is all I need (and short entrance ramps in CT on the Merritt Parkway) and it still is enough to merge into fast moving traffic from a stop. So I know both cars will be more than fast enough. If I were to take them to the track, I would expect in AWD format the Stinger would be the higher performance car than the Regal but that really is not my purpose anymore (although some of my friends at work would tend to differ).
 
Todd Piefer said:
Where do you see that in the owner's manual? My Stinger GT owner's manual says, "Your new vehicle is designed to use only unleaded fuel having a pump octane number of 87 or higher." It also says, "Kia recommends that you use good quality gasolines treated with detergent additives such as TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline, which help prevent deposit formation in the engine..."
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If I'm not mistaken, there aren't many places in America where you can buy anything lower than 87 octane. I've seen maybe 85 or 86 a couple of times while traveling - but that was very rare - and a long time ago. Maybe other states that I haven't been in still have a lot of those lower octane options. Regardless, 87 octane is regular unleaded...
 
Kia Stinger said:
If I'm not mistaken, there aren't many places in America where you can buy anything lower than 87 octane. I've seen maybe 85 or 86 a couple of times while traveling - but that was very rare - and a long time ago. Maybe other states that I haven't been in still have a lot of those lower octane options. Regardless, 87 octane is regular unleaded...
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Exactly. That's what I've been saying. All you need to use is regular unleaded. Premium is not required as was suggested upstream here.
 
Kia Stinger said:
If I'm not mistaken, there aren't many places in America where you can buy anything lower than 87 octane. I've seen maybe 85 or 86 a couple of times while traveling - but that was very rare - and a long time ago. Maybe other states that I haven't been in still have a lot of those lower octane options. Regardless, 87 octane is regular unleaded...
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85 is super common anywhere that has any kind of elevation. (Utah, colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, etc)
In these areas it is almost impossible to find 93. At higher altitude the higher octane is not going to do anything..
 
All the mods and upgrades for your Stinger you could ever ask for. CLICK HERE!
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
Todd Piefer said:
Correct. Premium is not recommended in the owner's manual.
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Not sure what you're talking about. The owner manual (in the USA at least) clearly says the fuel requirement being 91 which is Premium.fuel.webp
 
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There's a link to the owner's manual in PDF format in here. Once you bring up the doc, see section 1 (Introduction), page 2.
 
All the mods and upgrades for your Stinger you could ever ask for. CLICK HERE!
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
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