Rethinking my relationship with cars.

[veeman]

I'm confused.  Did you get a Kia Stinger or Kia Optima?  Your post indicated it was a Stinger but a lot of replies have said they like the styling of the Kia Optima?

[12,000 RPM]

I got an Optima. I saw the review of the Stinger and started looking at Kias.

[veeman]

Ahh.  A forced self imposed celibacy from the track. 

I'm surprised you didn't get something like a Maxima or Lexus.  Didn't realize Optimas had an option of cooled seats.  When I was younger I used the cooled seats all the time when driving with my wife who liked the ambient air temp very warm.

Optimas are good looking.  It's too bad as a 2nd owner you don't get the 10 year 100,000 mile powertrain warranty, but since you're not going to be tracking it anyways, I'm sure your engine and transmission will last a good while anyways

Congratulations!!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n8YXHLQiBbI

[Onslaught]

As a body man I'm happy to hear another Korean car is on the road. Hyundai's and Kia's are the easiest cars in the world to work on. I'd do nothing but them all day if I could.

[12,000 RPM]

Hopefully I never need your services

You know what, I forgot you are a body man. We need to talk offline.

[Morris Minor]

2013, 78K, fully loaded... heated/cooled seats, panoramic roof, nav etc. etc.

Needs some detailing before I post exterior pics

Well there's a ton of detailing info & advice on this forum.
(Best thing I got was the mitt that does the work of a clay bar.)

[Lebowski]

Multiple estimates came in for more than what I paid for it
Thousands... as Jack said I went through the 5 stages of grief. I knew whatever replaced it couldn't be as enticing or exciting so there was no joy in that decision process.

Welp... here it is:



savageese posted a review of the Stinger and it got the gears turning. Obviously not the G but it's as nice inside for sure. Pretty sure they gave me a tank of 87 which sucks but I drove some other ones and it does OK. It's just enough power wise. Panoramic roof, vented seats... very cool. The wheel gap does bother me but other than that I'll leave it alone.

Very nice choice. Good luck with it, it's amazing how nice the Korean cars have gotten.

[68_427]

Yes H/K cars come apart very easily.

[Raza]

Good choice, Sporty. More pics, please!

[shp4man]

Any Kimchi with the deal? ....Ha, just kidding. 

[12,000 RPM]

Good choice, Sporty. More pics, please!

Thanks! I want to get the paint right before I take pics. Just needs a polish I think.

Bit by bit I'm more and more impressed with the car. Steering is pretty nice though a bit lacking in feel. Engine feels about as quick as the G up to like 4500 which is fine for the street. Interior is every bit as nice if not nicer. Only big meaningful downgrade surprisingly is the infotainment. Going to have to go aftermarket which will get me Android Auto and general 21st century functionality. Some odds and ends here and there and I do need to change the pads and close the damn wheel gap, but outside of that it's pretty good.

I will say as heavy as the G was it was definitely a much more serious platform. This feels a little noodly and cheap by comparison, but hey, it's a mainstream sedan. I think they made the most out of it and in any case that's not what I'm using it for.