Kia Stinger GTS 2019
Discussion
All, so I thought I'd provide an overall update after 15 months and 13,000 miles for me (car now on 15,000).
It will be no surprise to anyone who has read this thread that I love the car, but as the honeymoon period has passed, I thought I would try to be as objective as possible.
First the things I enjoy, and this may be slightly repetitious in terms of the thread overall:
I love the way the car looks. I am always looking out of the kitchen window or turning to look at it as I walk away after parking.
It still gets as much attention on the road as it did when I first had it. I guess this is due to the low numbers of cars out there. People just don't know what is it. Heads turn every day. People ask about it once a week at least. Kids and teenagers in particular really like it and aren't fazed by the badge. School pick up is always amusing. Older car enthusiasts are more often in the, "wow, that's really nice.................for a Kia" camp.
But, just walking up to it every single morning and hearing the cold start-up is an event and makes me smile every time.
As I have said on here before, I love the toys, and everything is standard. They are listed on p1 of the thread I think.
My favourites are the 720W Harman Kardon with a sub under each front seat. It still sounds fantastic after 15 months and is also very popular with the kids. Tunes via Spotify is such a great way to listen to literally anything.
I also really like the bird's eye view camera system. You can have the reversing camera on when driving forwards too which is fun. The wing mirror cameras are selectable / moveable so you can look at each wheel individually which is brilliant for parking next to kerbs.
As winter approaches, heated seats x4 and the heated steering wheel are great. Cooled front seats were good during the lockdown heatwave (I was still going to work 2 or 3 times a week).
The engine: this is the defining feature of the car for me. 3.3L V6 Twin Turbo 365 bhp 376 lb ft. It is incredibly smooth in a way a 4-pot can't manage. When just driving gently in Eco or Comfort, it just purrs away in the background, barely audible until you ask it for more. In Sport or Sport+ (I rarely use Sport+ as it pretty much disengages the traction control systems and I'm no hero) the car just surges forwards with the lightest throttle touch. So much so that anything over 2/3 throttle is almost scary in terms of how quickly you gather speed - scary and addictive!
As the revs rise the exhaust sounds amazing too. It is the upgraded March 2019-on exhaust and it also sounds wonderfully mellifluous at idle (once the cold-start has passed because that it pretty loud).
The driving modes are spot on for me. I pretty much use Eco 80% of the time but still drive the car pretty hard. The throttle is less urgent and the suspension softer, but it will get moving easily well enough for normal traffic conditions with a little more throttle. Sport for the other 20%. Usually when I'm on my own. A different car and very quick as I said above. The turn in feels very sharp to me, especially for a 1.7 tonne car, but I have come from front wheel cars before this one. Certainly motoring journalists think it drives pretty well.
As a family car it coped really well with a 7-day road trip in August. Roof box on and full, hatch boot full, four up. 600 miles or so without missing a beat. Averaged 28 mpg for the trip. Normal commuting mpg (A and B roads, 6 miles each way) is about 26-27 mpg. I can get 34 on a run to my folks (about 120 miles) without the roofbox on.
Negatives to follow...................
It will be no surprise to anyone who has read this thread that I love the car, but as the honeymoon period has passed, I thought I would try to be as objective as possible.
First the things I enjoy, and this may be slightly repetitious in terms of the thread overall:
I love the way the car looks. I am always looking out of the kitchen window or turning to look at it as I walk away after parking.
It still gets as much attention on the road as it did when I first had it. I guess this is due to the low numbers of cars out there. People just don't know what is it. Heads turn every day. People ask about it once a week at least. Kids and teenagers in particular really like it and aren't fazed by the badge. School pick up is always amusing. Older car enthusiasts are more often in the, "wow, that's really nice.................for a Kia" camp.
But, just walking up to it every single morning and hearing the cold start-up is an event and makes me smile every time.
As I have said on here before, I love the toys, and everything is standard. They are listed on p1 of the thread I think.
My favourites are the 720W Harman Kardon with a sub under each front seat. It still sounds fantastic after 15 months and is also very popular with the kids. Tunes via Spotify is such a great way to listen to literally anything.
I also really like the bird's eye view camera system. You can have the reversing camera on when driving forwards too which is fun. The wing mirror cameras are selectable / moveable so you can look at each wheel individually which is brilliant for parking next to kerbs.
As winter approaches, heated seats x4 and the heated steering wheel are great. Cooled front seats were good during the lockdown heatwave (I was still going to work 2 or 3 times a week).
The engine: this is the defining feature of the car for me. 3.3L V6 Twin Turbo 365 bhp 376 lb ft. It is incredibly smooth in a way a 4-pot can't manage. When just driving gently in Eco or Comfort, it just purrs away in the background, barely audible until you ask it for more. In Sport or Sport+ (I rarely use Sport+ as it pretty much disengages the traction control systems and I'm no hero) the car just surges forwards with the lightest throttle touch. So much so that anything over 2/3 throttle is almost scary in terms of how quickly you gather speed - scary and addictive!
As the revs rise the exhaust sounds amazing too. It is the upgraded March 2019-on exhaust and it also sounds wonderfully mellifluous at idle (once the cold-start has passed because that it pretty loud).
The driving modes are spot on for me. I pretty much use Eco 80% of the time but still drive the car pretty hard. The throttle is less urgent and the suspension softer, but it will get moving easily well enough for normal traffic conditions with a little more throttle. Sport for the other 20%. Usually when I'm on my own. A different car and very quick as I said above. The turn in feels very sharp to me, especially for a 1.7 tonne car, but I have come from front wheel cars before this one. Certainly motoring journalists think it drives pretty well.
As a family car it coped really well with a 7-day road trip in August. Roof box on and full, hatch boot full, four up. 600 miles or so without missing a beat. Averaged 28 mpg for the trip. Normal commuting mpg (A and B roads, 6 miles each way) is about 26-27 mpg. I can get 34 on a run to my folks (about 120 miles) without the roofbox on.
Negatives to follow...................
Edited by dunc69 on Sunday 4th October 13:07
Edited by dunc69 on Tuesday 6th October 22:13
So, the not-so-good parts – some to be expected with such a car, some less so!
The brushed aluminium centre console surround isn’t hard enough and marks too easily. It has picked up a few small marks / dents. They are not easy to see, but I know they are there.
The metal strip under the glove box which also houses the ambient lighting is prone to handbag buckle / school bag damage too. There are a couple of small scratches there too. Unfortunately, I am a perfectionist, but am trying hard to learn that, although my pride and joy, it also a family car.
In time, a brushed aluminium wrap will both cover and protect both areas whilst hopefully looking 90% OEM.
Tyre wear – so you guys might be able to help me here. I drive quite hard, start off my commute and every journey in fact with 2 miles of twisty A-road, but it is really almost B-road territory with lots of acceleration and braking (I do let the car warm up before pushing it). The first set of Conti rear tyres were done at 10k miles. I put this down partly to the fact that the car had been a demonstrator for nearly 2k miles.
I replaced them with GY Eagle F1 Assy 5s and they are at about 4mm after another 5k miles, so looking like also lasting 10k. The fronts (still the OEM Contis) are hanging on, but may not quite make 20k. So, is this about right for a 365bhp 1.7 tonne car, or should I be expecting the tyres to last longer? I’m guessing I should either drive more slowly or accept the tyre costs? Any views would be great……..
Servicing is every 6k miles or 6 months. Cost-wise this is fine (£1000 for three years at under £170 per service) but it is slightly irritating – although it’s only an extra day with the dealer every year compared to annual servicing. Also, fresh oil every 6k miles is probably good for it, especially with my driving style. I have always subscribed to new oil / filters annually or 10k miles before, so can wear this.
The HuD started rattling on poor road surfaces in the summer. Kia had one go at fixing it. The rattle came back. I was disappointed. However, no quibbles from the dealer or Kia themselves and a new HuD was sent (by sea, so slowly) from Korea. This is now fitted and so far, so good.
The sunroof saga……………this rattled from the off. Not badly, and not all the time, but enough to irritate after what I had spent on the car. When wet, the roof was silent. When dry, light creaking occasionally. When in direct sunlight, especially after the car has been sitting still, it creaked badly until it cooled down with the air passing over it.
It was attended to at all three services thus far. Service one, re-greased. Better but not fixed. Service two, frame loosened and realigned. Much better. Almost forgot about it and was happy to live with it. Then service three – unprompted, it was re-greased. That set it back to where it had been before.
I have now ‘kicked off’ and demanded it is resolved. It goes in for 3 days in early November. They will take it completely apart and then liaise with Kia. Looking forward to 3 days in a Picanto or, if I’m lucky, an e-Niro or new Sorento…. no chance! Anyway, updates to follow. (Meanwhile it rains and so the roof it silent for now…………….)
I think this is an issue that has affected too many Stingers if you look at the forums. Some cars are fine but many are not. I think a permanent fix (TPI) is needed or ultimately Kia’s long warranty may see them replacing quite a few large sunroofs (sunrooves?) which won’t be cheap!
Diamond cut alloys! Why? They do look good, but are so prone to damage. Both rears were damaged by the dealer when they put on the new rear tyres. Then their mobile wheel guy said he couldn’t guarantee to replicate the OEM finish. I ended up getting a local specialist (who I have used before and trust) to repair them and Kia paid for it.
The alloys will eventually start to pick up tiny nicks from stones etc and likely delaminate. I suspect I will have them all powder-coated within the next two years. Question is, what colour to go for?
Minor irritations – despite the incredible list of kit, I can’t close the windows or roof from the key fob. I’ve been able to do that for 10 years on two Skoda Octavia vRSs, so why not here and now on a halo Kia product? I have just learnt to close everything before I turn the ignition off.
Also the keyless entry key does not stop transmitting after being ‘idle’ for 5 minutes like many other marques’ keys do. Daft. I use a key pouch and, again, have got used to it.
Summary
Most of the above are minor and don’t spoil the car for me. I will, of course, be happier when the roof is resolved, but overall I am very pleased. Another PH-er, who has recently bought a Stinger GTS, priced up an Audi S5 Sportback to include the kit that comes as standard on the Stinger. He got up to £60k. The press have usually stated there is a £5-10k gap between the Stinger and a similarly specced Audi S5 or BMW 440! This is, in reality, nearer £20k.
Given that Stingers at about 12 months old (with the March 2019-on upgrades which are important IMO) can be had for under £30k with some haggling, I couldn’t imagine anything else replacing mine anytime soon.
TLDR: Fantastic fast, comfortable and well-equipped family car and easily worth what I spent on it in my opinion. Kia have supported me really well so far in terms of the niggles.
I hope the few who have bought their Stingers recently enjoy them as much as I am mine!
The brushed aluminium centre console surround isn’t hard enough and marks too easily. It has picked up a few small marks / dents. They are not easy to see, but I know they are there.
The metal strip under the glove box which also houses the ambient lighting is prone to handbag buckle / school bag damage too. There are a couple of small scratches there too. Unfortunately, I am a perfectionist, but am trying hard to learn that, although my pride and joy, it also a family car.
In time, a brushed aluminium wrap will both cover and protect both areas whilst hopefully looking 90% OEM.
Tyre wear – so you guys might be able to help me here. I drive quite hard, start off my commute and every journey in fact with 2 miles of twisty A-road, but it is really almost B-road territory with lots of acceleration and braking (I do let the car warm up before pushing it). The first set of Conti rear tyres were done at 10k miles. I put this down partly to the fact that the car had been a demonstrator for nearly 2k miles.
I replaced them with GY Eagle F1 Assy 5s and they are at about 4mm after another 5k miles, so looking like also lasting 10k. The fronts (still the OEM Contis) are hanging on, but may not quite make 20k. So, is this about right for a 365bhp 1.7 tonne car, or should I be expecting the tyres to last longer? I’m guessing I should either drive more slowly or accept the tyre costs? Any views would be great……..
Servicing is every 6k miles or 6 months. Cost-wise this is fine (£1000 for three years at under £170 per service) but it is slightly irritating – although it’s only an extra day with the dealer every year compared to annual servicing. Also, fresh oil every 6k miles is probably good for it, especially with my driving style. I have always subscribed to new oil / filters annually or 10k miles before, so can wear this.
The HuD started rattling on poor road surfaces in the summer. Kia had one go at fixing it. The rattle came back. I was disappointed. However, no quibbles from the dealer or Kia themselves and a new HuD was sent (by sea, so slowly) from Korea. This is now fitted and so far, so good.
The sunroof saga……………this rattled from the off. Not badly, and not all the time, but enough to irritate after what I had spent on the car. When wet, the roof was silent. When dry, light creaking occasionally. When in direct sunlight, especially after the car has been sitting still, it creaked badly until it cooled down with the air passing over it.
It was attended to at all three services thus far. Service one, re-greased. Better but not fixed. Service two, frame loosened and realigned. Much better. Almost forgot about it and was happy to live with it. Then service three – unprompted, it was re-greased. That set it back to where it had been before.
I have now ‘kicked off’ and demanded it is resolved. It goes in for 3 days in early November. They will take it completely apart and then liaise with Kia. Looking forward to 3 days in a Picanto or, if I’m lucky, an e-Niro or new Sorento…. no chance! Anyway, updates to follow. (Meanwhile it rains and so the roof it silent for now…………….)
I think this is an issue that has affected too many Stingers if you look at the forums. Some cars are fine but many are not. I think a permanent fix (TPI) is needed or ultimately Kia’s long warranty may see them replacing quite a few large sunroofs (sunrooves?) which won’t be cheap!
Diamond cut alloys! Why? They do look good, but are so prone to damage. Both rears were damaged by the dealer when they put on the new rear tyres. Then their mobile wheel guy said he couldn’t guarantee to replicate the OEM finish. I ended up getting a local specialist (who I have used before and trust) to repair them and Kia paid for it.
The alloys will eventually start to pick up tiny nicks from stones etc and likely delaminate. I suspect I will have them all powder-coated within the next two years. Question is, what colour to go for?
Minor irritations – despite the incredible list of kit, I can’t close the windows or roof from the key fob. I’ve been able to do that for 10 years on two Skoda Octavia vRSs, so why not here and now on a halo Kia product? I have just learnt to close everything before I turn the ignition off.
Also the keyless entry key does not stop transmitting after being ‘idle’ for 5 minutes like many other marques’ keys do. Daft. I use a key pouch and, again, have got used to it.
Summary
Most of the above are minor and don’t spoil the car for me. I will, of course, be happier when the roof is resolved, but overall I am very pleased. Another PH-er, who has recently bought a Stinger GTS, priced up an Audi S5 Sportback to include the kit that comes as standard on the Stinger. He got up to £60k. The press have usually stated there is a £5-10k gap between the Stinger and a similarly specced Audi S5 or BMW 440! This is, in reality, nearer £20k.
Given that Stingers at about 12 months old (with the March 2019-on upgrades which are important IMO) can be had for under £30k with some haggling, I couldn’t imagine anything else replacing mine anytime soon.
TLDR: Fantastic fast, comfortable and well-equipped family car and easily worth what I spent on it in my opinion. Kia have supported me really well so far in terms of the niggles.
I hope the few who have bought their Stingers recently enjoy them as much as I am mine!
Edited by dunc69 on Sunday 4th October 12:52
Edited by dunc69 on Tuesday 6th October 22:22
So, I have had the car in with Kia for the last three days in a new attempt to get the rattling sunroof sorted. This is the only thing that is spoiling my enjoyment of the car.
Here’s how it went:
Into Kia. “We have taken the glass off, loosened the rails, made sure they are spot on, lubed all the contact points, re-tightened the rails and we are happy with it.”
Me, “Okay, thank you, but you have done all that before!”
“Yes, but we can only report what we find to Kia and they will then recommend what we do.........”
Me (slightly resigned and exasperated), “Okay, let’s see how it goes..........”
When I got into the car the blind was back. A good sign. The roof is silent so far. Well, one tiny very quiet creak over a big road imperfection which I took slowly. Silent again since. I haven’t dared open the roof yet as I’m enjoying the rattle free drive...... I have closed the blind and intend on forgetting it for a while and just enjoying the car properly again.
Will get the roof opened up this weekend and assess things properly.
if the roof starts rattling again, I’ll cross that bridge then. But, I will be speaking to Kia UK CS directly for sure.
Everything remains crossed.
(I have also cleaned the lube ‘over-spray’ off the front seats, headrests and centre console ......)
Here’s how it went:
Into Kia. “We have taken the glass off, loosened the rails, made sure they are spot on, lubed all the contact points, re-tightened the rails and we are happy with it.”
Me, “Okay, thank you, but you have done all that before!”
“Yes, but we can only report what we find to Kia and they will then recommend what we do.........”
Me (slightly resigned and exasperated), “Okay, let’s see how it goes..........”
When I got into the car the blind was back. A good sign. The roof is silent so far. Well, one tiny very quiet creak over a big road imperfection which I took slowly. Silent again since. I haven’t dared open the roof yet as I’m enjoying the rattle free drive...... I have closed the blind and intend on forgetting it for a while and just enjoying the car properly again.
Will get the roof opened up this weekend and assess things properly.
if the roof starts rattling again, I’ll cross that bridge then. But, I will be speaking to Kia UK CS directly for sure.
Everything remains crossed.
(I have also cleaned the lube ‘over-spray’ off the front seats, headrests and centre console ......)
Edited by dunc69 on Friday 6th November 19:12
Just to add, after 3 days with a Kia X-Ceed 1.4 petrol twin-clutch auto (very well-specced and a surprisingly decent car with many, many toys) it was great to get back into the Stinger.
It’s easy to forget how much of a difference a big, powerful engine makes. Not just pace, but noise too.
I know it’s perhaps stating the obvious, but it helps me appreciate how good the Stinger is.
It’s easy to forget how much of a difference a big, powerful engine makes. Not just pace, but noise too.
I know it’s perhaps stating the obvious, but it helps me appreciate how good the Stinger is.
One more update, I have just replaced the original front Contis with GY Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3s. This was at 16,650 miles.
The Contis were under 3mm and the car was starting to feel a little light at the front under heavy braking in the wet.
Things are much improved now.
Of interest, the Asymmetric 3s with the MFS (max flange shield - basically tyre wheel rim protection) have a larger protective ‘flange’ than the Asymmetric 5s I have on the rear wheels.
The Contis were under 3mm and the car was starting to feel a little light at the front under heavy braking in the wet.
Things are much improved now.
Of interest, the Asymmetric 3s with the MFS (max flange shield - basically tyre wheel rim protection) have a larger protective ‘flange’ than the Asymmetric 5s I have on the rear wheels.
It’s worth the pain to have a sunroof like that - it’s a massive opening. Gummi pflege might be worth a go on all the seals you can get to as an ongoing maintenance thing.
Tyres - one car I test drove at a main dealer had a barely believable three types of tyre on it, and I don’t think they were balanced right. Even I could feel the thrumming and vibration at decent speeds.
It’s funny reading a Kia thread - the most exciting thing to happen is rattles and squeaks. No gearbox explosions, oil seal failures, repeated engine faults, the best drama you can write about is a couple of dealer visits to sort a squeak out.
Bodes well for long term ownership!!
Tyres - one car I test drove at a main dealer had a barely believable three types of tyre on it, and I don’t think they were balanced right. Even I could feel the thrumming and vibration at decent speeds.
It’s funny reading a Kia thread - the most exciting thing to happen is rattles and squeaks. No gearbox explosions, oil seal failures, repeated engine faults, the best drama you can write about is a couple of dealer visits to sort a squeak out.
Bodes well for long term ownership!!
andy43 said:
It’s worth the pain to have a sunroof like that - it’s a massive opening. Gummi pflege might be worth a go on all the seals you can get to as an ongoing maintenance thing.
Tyres - one car I test drove at a main dealer had a barely believable three types of tyre on it, and I don’t think they were balanced right. Even I could feel the thrumming and vibration at decent speeds.
It’s funny reading a Kia thread - the most exciting thing to happen is rattles and squeaks. No gearbox explosions, oil seal failures, repeated engine faults, the best drama you can write about is a couple of dealer visits to sort a squeak out.
Bodes well for long term ownership!!
Cheers Andy - agreed. I will get the roof sorted eventually, even if I have to do it myself. Tyres - one car I test drove at a main dealer had a barely believable three types of tyre on it, and I don’t think they were balanced right. Even I could feel the thrumming and vibration at decent speeds.
It’s funny reading a Kia thread - the most exciting thing to happen is rattles and squeaks. No gearbox explosions, oil seal failures, repeated engine faults, the best drama you can write about is a couple of dealer visits to sort a squeak out.
Bodes well for long term ownership!!
Several guys on the Kia forums have come up with their own fixes.
You are right, drama-wise. Everything else is spot on so far, fingers crossed.
Still loving it every time I drive it. I just figured repeated updates about how much fun it is, how capable it is, or how many people have asked me about it might get repetitive and irritating to some.
One more update:
Having had the engine sound enhancer firmly turned off for 18 months, I have now decided to leave it set to max volume for a while....... bear with me.
I am in Eco most of the time and I can’t hear it at all. But, when I select Sport and give it the beans, the extra sounds, working with the feeling of relentless acceleration, makes it even more exciting for me. And the sound is a really decent, deep one. Waaaay better than the sound actuator on my Mk3 petrol vRS.
Having had the engine sound enhancer firmly turned off for 18 months, I have now decided to leave it set to max volume for a while....... bear with me.
I am in Eco most of the time and I can’t hear it at all. But, when I select Sport and give it the beans, the extra sounds, working with the feeling of relentless acceleration, makes it even more exciting for me. And the sound is a really decent, deep one. Waaaay better than the sound actuator on my Mk3 petrol vRS.
I am getting pretty keen on one of these but one issue I can't easily establish is the Auto gearbox type.
I tried one at a dealership the other day and the gearbox struck me as definitely being a twin clutch automated type rather than torque converter one and although I normally prefer torque converters I did think this was pretty good. Definitely didn't feel like a torque converter. It was a 68 Reg.
So did the car start with a torque converter when first launched and change to dual clutch by 68 Reg? I read a few reviews when it first came out and they criticized the gearbox in such a way it made me assume it was torque converter but in my 30 min drive I was pretty impressed with whatever it had
Finding specific info on these is quite difficult. Even the dealers are pretty useless at giving me info. I asked 2 for a breakdown of the service costs for 5 years and neither have come up with it yet. I understand that service 11 is a biggie which would tie in with a dual clutch box as they often need an oil change but 4 or 5 years. VW/Audi DSGs do anyway
All input welcomed as I was really impressed with the car but don't want to buy one that isn't what I am expecting as I would prefer an earlier one due to cost
I tried one at a dealership the other day and the gearbox struck me as definitely being a twin clutch automated type rather than torque converter one and although I normally prefer torque converters I did think this was pretty good. Definitely didn't feel like a torque converter. It was a 68 Reg.
So did the car start with a torque converter when first launched and change to dual clutch by 68 Reg? I read a few reviews when it first came out and they criticized the gearbox in such a way it made me assume it was torque converter but in my 30 min drive I was pretty impressed with whatever it had
Finding specific info on these is quite difficult. Even the dealers are pretty useless at giving me info. I asked 2 for a breakdown of the service costs for 5 years and neither have come up with it yet. I understand that service 11 is a biggie which would tie in with a dual clutch box as they often need an oil change but 4 or 5 years. VW/Audi DSGs do anyway
All input welcomed as I was really impressed with the car but don't want to buy one that isn't what I am expecting as I would prefer an earlier one due to cost
The gearbox is an 8-speed Torque Converter built by Kia / Hyundai.
The only upgrade, from March 2019, was to ensure the manual (paddle shift) mode stays in manual mode once selected so long as the car is in Sport or Sport + mode. Pre-March 2019 cars revert to auto after about 10 seconds.
I have driven plenty of DSG / S-Tronic dual-clutch ‘boxes. Both types (DCT / TC) of ‘box have their pros and cons. One thing I like about the Stinger is the smoothness at parking speeds, when DCT ‘boxes can be really jerky.
At speed, the Kia ‘box is very smooth, if not DCT imperceptible.
In Sport and Sport +, upshifts can be felt, but I strongly suspect this is engineered in to complement the more aggressive driving expected in these modes.
Service-wise, I have the 3-year 6-service package at £1000.
(c. £170 per service). I’m not an expert on what is needed after that, I’m afraid.
The only upgrade, from March 2019, was to ensure the manual (paddle shift) mode stays in manual mode once selected so long as the car is in Sport or Sport + mode. Pre-March 2019 cars revert to auto after about 10 seconds.
I have driven plenty of DSG / S-Tronic dual-clutch ‘boxes. Both types (DCT / TC) of ‘box have their pros and cons. One thing I like about the Stinger is the smoothness at parking speeds, when DCT ‘boxes can be really jerky.
At speed, the Kia ‘box is very smooth, if not DCT imperceptible.
In Sport and Sport +, upshifts can be felt, but I strongly suspect this is engineered in to complement the more aggressive driving expected in these modes.
Service-wise, I have the 3-year 6-service package at £1000.
(c. £170 per service). I’m not an expert on what is needed after that, I’m afraid.
Edited by dunc69 on Thursday 17th December 07:42
Hey Dunc,
I love that you're loving the Stinger and seem to drive it properly. The HK system 'sounds' luxurious and is definitely something of which I'm envious as the standard system in my Merc is good but not great.
Whilst I'm very satisfied with my lovely big estate with a vee eight, I think that what we have in common is a love and appreciation of a 'partner' car which complements our requirements beautifully and really rewards an involving ownership. Granted, my in worth 10% of yours and costs far more on a monthly basis to maintain (I presume, pre-COVID), but the smooth low revving long distance character, comfort, poise and speed is something that I enjoy repeatedly.
I love that you're loving the Stinger and seem to drive it properly. The HK system 'sounds' luxurious and is definitely something of which I'm envious as the standard system in my Merc is good but not great.
Whilst I'm very satisfied with my lovely big estate with a vee eight, I think that what we have in common is a love and appreciation of a 'partner' car which complements our requirements beautifully and really rewards an involving ownership. Granted, my in worth 10% of yours and costs far more on a monthly basis to maintain (I presume, pre-COVID), but the smooth low revving long distance character, comfort, poise and speed is something that I enjoy repeatedly.
bolidemichael said:
Hey Dunc,
I love that you're loving the Stinger and seem to drive it properly. The HK system 'sounds' luxurious and is definitely something of which I'm envious as the standard system in my Merc is good but not great.
Whilst I'm very satisfied with my lovely big estate with a vee eight, I think that what we have in common is a love and appreciation of a 'partner' car which complements our requirements beautifully and really rewards an involving ownership. Granted, my in worth 10% of yours and costs far more on a monthly basis to maintain (I presume, pre-COVID), but the smooth low revving long distance character, comfort, poise and speed is something that I enjoy repeatedly.
Thanks Michael. Kind words and I totally agree. A ‘partner’ car is a great description. Every drive, slow or fast is an event! I love that you're loving the Stinger and seem to drive it properly. The HK system 'sounds' luxurious and is definitely something of which I'm envious as the standard system in my Merc is good but not great.
Whilst I'm very satisfied with my lovely big estate with a vee eight, I think that what we have in common is a love and appreciation of a 'partner' car which complements our requirements beautifully and really rewards an involving ownership. Granted, my in worth 10% of yours and costs far more on a monthly basis to maintain (I presume, pre-COVID), but the smooth low revving long distance character, comfort, poise and speed is something that I enjoy repeatedly.
Long may you enjoy your Merc.
And yes, the HK is amazing!
Thanks for the clarification. I must say I am surprised it's a torque converter as, before I drove one, I had been reading some reviews and the common negative was about the laziness of the auto but when I drove it I would say I thought it compared very favourably with other torque converters. So much so I assumed it must be twin clutch.
Anyway, after reading more I am thinking maybe go for '19 onwards cars as the nav screen looks bit less like a kiddy ipad and also some comments about a better sounding exhaust. The '18 year I drove was pretty quiet.
But then I read something about a GPF or OPF being fitted from '19? One of the reasons for prematurely getting out of my current car, Jag XJ portfolio, is problems with the DPF and figuring that as I don't like diesels anyway, this was the last straw. Mine went into limp home mode and Red warning without any prior Amber warnings in 10k miles. It was out of warranty and although Jag offered a 40% contribution towards a new DPF and throttle body it was still a huge amount so took it away, had the PDF bench cleaned and all is now well. But for how long? Lost faith in Jag diesels due to total lack of warning and ineffective diagnostics process by dealers
So, as it seems petrol engines now have an equivalent system of OPF/GPF now I'm thinking of avoiding post '19 cars (all makes inc) to have one less potential costly problem
Anyone heard of issues on the Kia with this item?
I also read that it saps some sound from the exhaust so maybe Kia upgraded the exhaust at the same time to compensate?
Anyway, after reading more I am thinking maybe go for '19 onwards cars as the nav screen looks bit less like a kiddy ipad and also some comments about a better sounding exhaust. The '18 year I drove was pretty quiet.
But then I read something about a GPF or OPF being fitted from '19? One of the reasons for prematurely getting out of my current car, Jag XJ portfolio, is problems with the DPF and figuring that as I don't like diesels anyway, this was the last straw. Mine went into limp home mode and Red warning without any prior Amber warnings in 10k miles. It was out of warranty and although Jag offered a 40% contribution towards a new DPF and throttle body it was still a huge amount so took it away, had the PDF bench cleaned and all is now well. But for how long? Lost faith in Jag diesels due to total lack of warning and ineffective diagnostics process by dealers
So, as it seems petrol engines now have an equivalent system of OPF/GPF now I'm thinking of avoiding post '19 cars (all makes inc) to have one less potential costly problem
Anyone heard of issues on the Kia with this item?
I also read that it saps some sound from the exhaust so maybe Kia upgraded the exhaust at the same time to compensate?
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