I totally disagree with this. The Stinger was always aimed at the Sport sedan market with rear-drive builds. Accord/Camry do not fit into that market, nor do they come anywhere near equipped or built for it.
It’s closest comletition, price-wise is the Charger Scat Pack and Infiniti Q50S 3.0T.
It’s been benchmarked against the 4-series Gran Coupe and Audi A5 Sportback, even if it is closer in size and weight to an A7.
It really is in a different league than the entry level mid-size sedans. This comes from my research of the Stinger into it’s development and product goals.
The residual is in their (Kia’s and Genesis’) control. They set the residual for the vehicles. If they want them out there for people to drive, they can inflate them initially to get them in the market. Most luxury sport sedans are leased, and every manufacturer knows this. If they want to be able to compete with BMW, they need to do what BMW did and artificially inflate the residuals to get more people in the cars. Yes, they are going to be stuck with lease turn-ins in 3 years that are worth less than their residual values, so they’ll take a loss on those cars. However, if they get them in the hands of enthusiasts, and they are really as good as they say, they will have established their brand and make up for the initial loss in new volume at more realistic residuals. No company can compete against the 3 Series without getting their cars out to compete against them. BMW has a 30+ year head start on them.
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But they are trying to establish themselves in a crowded market. See my other reply. They need to inflate the residuals to get the cars in the market.
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They also need to work on that MF. I can see that working on a Kia Soul, Forte, and even an Optima since the price point is so much lower. The Stinger really gets hit hard by the MF. I could do without the massive rebates with a much lower MF. It seems like KMA just doesn’t care about the lease programs, which is unfortunate. It’ll catch up to them one day.
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I was talking about a $39k Optima. The Stinger is a fantastic car period. Yes. If they slapped a German badge on it and charged $20k more it would sell like crazy.
It seems like they don’t care about the volume of sales for the Stinger or entire Genesis lineup. It’s like they want to get more established first. The worst thing about my Genesis is the dealers and the support from Hyundai with dealer issues. The car itself is mostly excellent. If you have a problem it is like hiking up Pikes Peak while towing a Suburban behind you.
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I don’t think Kia is going for mass sales here. It is a niche product, and based on that, sales are good. They are trying to associate the brand with a superior high quality product, not dump an Optima style car on the masses.
Take a look at the Stinger numbers compared with some of the other 50K+ cars. They are actually positioned quite well.
The Stinger isn’t going anywhere, and it is doubtless that the price will change much in the next year or 2.
The 3/4 series outsells them 6:1in the U.S. If they are benchmarking themselves against that car, they aren’t going for niche appeal. They are looking to directly compete. They can’t do that without sales volume. I know there are people that will say having everyone driving a 3 series is someone diluting the experience for everyone else, but does a car company really care if it sells “too many” cars. Prop up the lease supprlort on these things and get them on the road. No one is hunks Genesis is in any way comparable to Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, or Audi. The only way to change that impression is to actually get people (not auto journalists) driving them.
If Kia would only get the paint under control and fix the transmission programming on the GT2 (so that it has a true manual mode)… Those are my two biggest worries. There are some others: brake rotors, radio, rattles, etc…
They did a great job benchmarking the germans for designing the car. Now they need to benchmark Toyota/Honda for build quality and reliability…
I think you are missing the point. They don’t care about being outsold at this point. They have the position they want in the segment they want, and will try to build on that at the 52k price point.
Why build a 52K car (or even price it at 52K) if you are just going to dump it for $350? BMW’s and the like are all well established luxury brands. This is what KIA is pushing with the car. A single lease or even a million is worthless at $350. The panache is what they are after.
The reviews are there, the car is a solid design, and in the long run, momentum will continue to build. This is an attempt to build a brand, not lease cheap cars.
I guess time will tell if they are ultimately successful, and if they fail, I will be there to pick one up at $350. 
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I think the key to Hyundai/Genesis and the premium Kia offerings is the BUT. There is always a BUT.
I had a 2008 Veracruz. Bought new. Motor Trend reviewed it well against a RX350 (which I later owned) Said the Veracuz stacked up very well against the RX350 BUT it wasn’t quite as refined. Very bad MPG. 16 Average. Thus the $10,000+ price difference. There was a BUT and a value prop. You gave up some quality for the price.
I had a 2009 Genesis 3.8 Ultimate. Great car. Bought it used for $23K. with 20,000 miles 2 years old. Not as good as a comparable E350 in many ways. Bad suspension, not as refined or quiet ect. BUT it was an amazing value.
2015 Hyundai Genesis 3.8 RWD Tech Package. Rides great. Comfortable, smooth and quiet. BUT dealer network sucks. Hyundai doesn’t treat me like I just dropped $45k on a luxury car. They treat me like a teenager that bought a used Elantra. Tire issues, brake rotors, backup camera have all been issues that the dealer has never really fixed. They even made it worse. Hyundai corporate will not jump in to assist. IE: Noticed a break vibration on my way home from the dealership when I bought the car. Called the dealer they said they would “turn the rotors” I wanted them replaced. In my experience if rotors warp they will warp again. I had a new car I wanted new rotors. They wouldn’t do it. They turned them, in 6 months the vibration came back. They now tell me if I want them replaced I need to pay for it. I can tell you that if that happened with my Cadillac, they would have replaced the rotors. Period. There is your big BUT.
I see that with all the previous gen cars. Almost as good with a big fat BUT. The trade off is the money saved.
It seems that right now, the vehicles are quite literally on par with the competition. I see the g90 and reviewers and customers they the like it better than the S550. The G70 is getting amazing reviews. The Stinger is an amazing car no matter the badge. All brand names aside there is still a huge BUT. The dealer network and product support. It isn’t there. I get that they are working on it. It takes time. They have vastly improved their cars. Great. Dealers suck major donkey balls. Maybe not all. Just the ones I have been to. These ones have been bad enough to write off the brands for now. I see their only play is still value. Right now it isn’t there though. Yeah, they are moving some of their new cars. Just not a lot. Genesis as a brand has tanked. The Stinger I feel is just a car that says “we can build something cool” and it elevates their other cars a little. In reality I doubt it will be a money maker for them. Look at the K900. These were cars that were in the mid 60’s just in 2005 and are for sale in the mid 20’s with under 20000 miles. I don’t know that I have ever seen a vehicle loose money like that. Its crazy.
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The dealer network and lack of support has been pretty crappy for me…
I like that Kia corporate has been trying to help me out with my paint issues, even sent me a free pair of headphones (not related to the paint issue).
The car is just too expensive for me to keep in the long run.
Haven’t had any of the issues people are complaining about with their stingers (except the paint). Had mine hour 10k miles already, no radio or brake issues, no rattles etc…
Drive an Accord Sport 2.0T 6MT. That’s what I bought, dealers are dealing - $27k is a reasonable sell price lately. IMHO it’s a heck of a lot of car for the money, and the aftermarket is starting to come in strong. FWD lotsa power with no LSD is equally amusing and crappy.
Does the Accord come with LSD? I’ve been looking for 2.0t sport manuals myself.
Nope. It just has the fake “brake assist” system. Pretty easy to light up the inside tire if you get into the turbo too much 
take one out for a drive. They’re a blast.
But the CTR has an LSD, and rumor is that the diff fits…that’s my first mod when warranty expires.
I can’t find an accord 2.0t manual to test drive within 100 miles of me… They seem to have stopped building 2018s to get ready for the 2019s.
I can’t even find a Civic Si to test drive…
Either way, I’m reaching out to local dealer to find out about the Honda Factory Performance packages. I wonder if it’s worth the 3500 dollar premium?
I’ve got the GT2 AWD at my house today. I’m going to drop it off tomorrow (Sunday) and have them prepare everything. It’s a fantastic car to say the least. It’s missing the surround view, and the wireless charging but I could honestly care less about that.
It does, however seem like I can’t park a car anymore without 4 camera’s haha (just kidding, sort of)
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Congrats. What was the final on the monthly and DAS?
take one out for a drive. They’re a blast.