dunc69

@pist0nbr0ke Great choice of car. I hope you don’t have to wait for too long! Oh, and Battleship Grey is a winner! 👍

@shyVRS245 now that I’ve got the hang of / am more comfortable with the Stinger, I don’t think I’d be disappearing behind you 😉 On a serious note, I am very, very impressed with the car. The V6 sounds incredible under power, but is very smooth and quiet under light loads. So far, interior quality is impeccable. Everything that you touch feels just right. I love the steering wheel. Feels similar to my vRS wheel and looks similar too, just slightly nicer leather. Harmon / Kardon is incredible now I have the settings all sorted. Infortainment is very good. Not hugely better than the Columbus, but very happy with it. Apple Car Play (which I didn’t have before) is great. The head up display is very cool and hugely helpful. Speed limit and current speed is the default, Nav instructions appear when Nav is in use. The fuel economy is 5-7 mpg less that the vRS. I’ll take that for the performance on offer. Hardly a day has passed without someone asking me about it. An Audi A5 driver was pouring all over it today, asking me loads of questions (school car park). He loved it. And the ultimate test, one of my boy’s 11 year old mates told his Dad this morning: ”I love Dunc’s car! It looks so cool. I will buy one of those when I grow up!” Really made me smile!

Very sad that the huge reduction in police numbers has led to such unhindered criminal activity. It isn’t right that people can’t save for and buy what they want because of the fear it will attract criminals, and all the grief that goes with it.

Pricing and value aside, the Stinger is a wonderful machine. I know it’s not the last word in saving the planet, but as a petrolhead, the V6 burble (2019 cars have a new exhaust), the interior quality, the pace and power, and the toys make this a very special thing to spend time in. To resurrect and possibly put this thread to bed, thank you for your comments all, and let me say that I really do think that some aspects of the current Kia brand do echo where Skoda were a few years ago. At my local Kia dealership this morning it reminded me of my times with Skoda Watford 10 years ago. A small family dealer slowly expanding into something more. Lots of models, genuinely excellent poster explanations as to the different models and engine options available (e.g. Kia Niro = petrol, mild hybrid, hybrid and full electric) and a genuine feeling of looking after the customer. To be honest, Skoda (locally to me at least) has lost that feel, almost as if they think they are VW or, God forbid, Audi now.

Hi all, As per title, can anyone recommend a reliable and good quality detailer in the North Somerset or Bristol areas. Ideally someone mobile who can come to me? Also, what should I be paying for a proper deep clean and wax? A job that will make the car easier to hose down / clean in future. With two jobs and two kids, I really haven’t got the time to buy the necessary products and do it myself. Thanks in advance.

Top man and huge congrats! Great spec and will be an awesome motor! Sunroof is a great shout.

Duplicate post? Think you already asked this in another thread.

Yep, colour / cleanliness is definitely an issue. My white one is the same as black. Gorgeous when clean, looks crap five minutes later (muddy Somerset roads). Mrs Dunc’s Tungsten Silver Golf and the Stinger in Ceramic just don’t seem to show the dirt - until the wheels get covered in brake dust!

Haha (the reed) but a bit harsh! Welcome Sean and nice car! White ones are the best!! Revo Stage 1 would be awesome! Others will have better advice than me for the other parts! Enjoy your new car!

@vRSAnt buddy, stunning car!! If you love it, keep it!

Haha, @teescom09, do you work for WBAC? 🤣

Cheers buddy!! Fingers crossed.

In the meantime, my vRS is now advertised in the Briskoda ‘Cars for Sale’ section. A strange and slightly sad moment, but I hope someone else can enjoy the car as much as I did!

Will definitely keep you all posted. So far so very good. I remember that depreciation banter @vRSAnt. Re-read the thread yesterday. Didn’t depreciate as much as I had hoped! Hopefully that won’t change now I have bought one!!

Sooooooo true!!

Go to Autotrader, click on ‘sell’, put in your reg and mileage and they will suggest a selling price. Shouldn’t be too far off the value in my experience. Obviously, if in mint condition, you might get a little more.

Interesting stats. So only c.800 Stinger GTS registered 2017 & 2018. If 2019 cars are included, I imagine we’re sneaking towards 1100. Suits me. The rarer the better now I have bought one! The amount of attention the car has had in my first 5 days is staggering. More than my TVR Chimaera ever had. Interesting times!

Yes, took the plunge. Over £30k, but not by much. 4 1/2 months’ old. Under 2k miles. Huge saving off list. 6 1/2 years’ warranty left. Yes, of course I would have preferred to pay less, but I ended up very happy with the deal. To add, it’s a 2019 model (MY20 I guess) with several upgrades from the 2017 & 2018 cars.

Tried to upload a video (and failed).

Thanks @maffyou. Understand the first part - have my iPhone at about 2/3 volume on BT normally. The line level part is interesting but now can hear it in practice. Cheers.

@logiclee just tried Apple CarPlay (been a busy week). Was playing a song via Amazon Music when I plugged it in. There was an instant increase in sound quality and volume once BT was taken out of the equation. Suddenly felt properly like a 720W 15-speaker system. I’m sure it could sound even better with a lossless source, but for now I think I, and crucially my daughter, will be very happy with what we have. Appreciate your advice though buddy. Also having Waze or google maps or Apple maps gives me lots of choice for my navigation now. I guess lots of you will have had Apple CarPlay or Android Auto for a while, but my vRS didn’t have it, so it’s an exciting novelty!

100% agree. You could say, “I appreciate the offer so far but I’m not prepared to pay for the labour either - it’s a very well-known issue” !! Push them for every penny.

So, early driving impressions vs the vRS. Initial thoughts on taking the Stinger away were that it felt very quiet, heavy and solid. In comfort (Skoda = Normal mode) it really is a GT type of car. The weight, obvious easy power and torque-converter auto reminded me very much of my brother’s (Canadian-spec) 2013 E-Class 550 V8. But, as soon as you put your foot down even a little, it seems to really up the speed quickly, with little drama. Not a surprise I guess with 365bhp. I initially thought though that it didn’t feel quicker than the vRS (which I have always thought had more than 220PS) but loved the way the Stinger felt sooo torquey, like only heavy powerful cars can. But then, Sports mode (haven’t tried Sports+ yet!) changes things. Subtlety, but still noticeably. It doesn’t halve the throttle travel response like the vRS, but rather just tightens everything up by, say, 20%. Steering, throttle and suspension. If you half open the throttle in Sport, it simply flies forward at an incredible pace. Rear wheel drive traction is stunning after the front drive Skoda. I haven’t checked yet (tmw morning!) but I’m pretty the sound actuator is off. The V6 exhaust under power (and at start up) sounds epic. So much so, that I’m convinced the internet rumours that Kia have listened to criticism about the quiet exhaust and made it louder for MY20 are true. The steering is very, very quick and accurate. It obviously helps that the front wheels don’t have to pull the car along too! As I said, brief early thoughts. Today, I took the vRS to work. I was hoping to get it washed and valeted prior to taking the ‘for sale’ pics (but failed as ran out of time!) Although it instantly felt like a faithful and familiar old friend, it also felt (sorry guys) suddenly very noisy, in a different class and quite slow. It still goes very nicely, of course, but doesn’t have that inexorable pull that the Stinger has. Of course, this isn’t a surprise, the cars are at different price points. I love my vRS, and will always miss it (when it goes!) I have said this on here before, but I still think the Mk2 vRS 200 (197bhp) DSG was the high point of the range. More solid, better built. Less tech maybe, but a better car at the time. I had my Mk2 vRS for 7 years from new. That is now the plan with the Stinger.

They say 95 and up okay. But the forums and YouTubers say 97/98 will improve performance and mpg. But don’t they always!! 🤣 I’ve always gone 95 for my standard 220. Will probably go 97 for now with the Stinger and assess mpg. Too early to assess the average, but will post up soon. The vRS 220 easily does 40mpg on a decent run, especially with all the speed limits on the motorway network now, but I average 33-34. I do drive it quite hard! If I can squeeze 30 on average out of the Stinger, I’ll be delighted. Correct!

Cheers John, all done now!