eflyguy
2500 Posts Club!
Hehe... he gave them a gronk score..
Personally I drove the Lexus RC-F, BMW M3 & M4, and AMG C43. I also had the LS-500, C65 AMG, Mazda Q50 and Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio on the list.
This was before I knew the Stinger was coming, after which I also looked at the G80(V8) and Sport (TTV6), but didn't bother driving them until I had driven a Stinger.
The RC-F feels very heavy compared to the Stinger, and has no rear leg room. It feels like you would think the Stinger should, but doesn't.
M3 drives great, noticeably more agile, but is also too small. Sounds great.
M4 drives about the same as the Stinger, and sounds awesome. Stayed on my list.
C43 drives the same as well, and has a bi-mode exhaust with sounds lovely. Was at top of my list.
I didn't bother with the C65 as I wanted to wait until the LS-500 came out, but reviews of the LS were enough to turn me away, and so I scratched the C65 off as well.
Never bothered driving the Q50 or Alfa, no rear leg room. I won't bother with the G70 either, because I already know there's no rear leg room.
... and I scratched the bigger Gennys because they are no more roomy, and far less exciting, than the Stinger.
I'm single and rarely carry passengers BUT when I do, it needs to be comfortable and easy to enter/exit. I work in a high tech industry and occasionally drive executives to/from lunch, hotels, or the airport. Most of these that I say are "too small" allow most people to get comfortable for a long drive, but getting in and out is difficult. I tried with the Alfa, RC-F, Mazda and M3, and they just wouldn't work for me.
Personally I drove the Lexus RC-F, BMW M3 & M4, and AMG C43. I also had the LS-500, C65 AMG, Mazda Q50 and Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio on the list.
This was before I knew the Stinger was coming, after which I also looked at the G80(V8) and Sport (TTV6), but didn't bother driving them until I had driven a Stinger.
The RC-F feels very heavy compared to the Stinger, and has no rear leg room. It feels like you would think the Stinger should, but doesn't.
M3 drives great, noticeably more agile, but is also too small. Sounds great.
M4 drives about the same as the Stinger, and sounds awesome. Stayed on my list.
C43 drives the same as well, and has a bi-mode exhaust with sounds lovely. Was at top of my list.
I didn't bother with the C65 as I wanted to wait until the LS-500 came out, but reviews of the LS were enough to turn me away, and so I scratched the C65 off as well.
Never bothered driving the Q50 or Alfa, no rear leg room. I won't bother with the G70 either, because I already know there's no rear leg room.
... and I scratched the bigger Gennys because they are no more roomy, and far less exciting, than the Stinger.
I'm single and rarely carry passengers BUT when I do, it needs to be comfortable and easy to enter/exit. I work in a high tech industry and occasionally drive executives to/from lunch, hotels, or the airport. Most of these that I say are "too small" allow most people to get comfortable for a long drive, but getting in and out is difficult. I tried with the Alfa, RC-F, Mazda and M3, and they just wouldn't work for me.
My GF was turning in her lease 350 lexus...I never grasped the lease thing....so she needed a car that would fit her budget.....so a few Saturdays ago went and looked at Sonatas....it was raining so no test drive...Monday for sure....landed on the Kia site Saturday nite and then landed here and I was hooked....read all I could here and was ready for the car pusher on Monday....raining on Monday just as we rolled out of dealership in a gt2 for a test drive....once around the block for each of us....got sick Tues /weds...and Thursday drove the car off the showroom floor to our garage.....How in the heck did this happen? Got the badges from Sal on Saturday...ok my name is Wash..and I am an addict....how many steps are in this stinger program? lol Wash
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IMHO: I think the reliability score is bit low. Yes, it’s a first model year, but KIA is way up there in JD Power rankings, plus you get huge piece-of-mind with the KIA 10yr/100,000 warranty (I’ve had my GT2 since May, have put 12k miles on it, and not one problem, creak, or rattle). I also cross shopped the A5 Sportback, and yes, the Audi’s have great interiors, but again, I think your score for the Stinger – especially the GT2 - is comparatively too low. Bigger deal for me was that the Stinger GT blows the doors off the A5 power-wise. You’d have to move up to the S5 for the same power, and you’re going to pay $15-$20k more for the S5. Oh, and I believe the Genesis 3.3T will go from $52,000 - $57,000. I also cross-shopped the Infiniti a Q50 3.0 V6 turbo. First drive was the same day as my first drive of the Stinger GT2. The Q50 was nice/snappy, but the Stinger absolutely blew it away, in my opinion. Like I said, I’ve had mine since May and have driven it a lot. I love the car, especially for it’s true GT characteristics: power, performance, style, luxury – plus, the added utility of the hatch and room for 4 adults. Absolutely no regrets. Some of the tech is a bit quirky to me, but that would also be nit-picking.
