sister act: santa fe - sorrento twins

**yebo** · July 7th, 2012 12:09 PM

ok guys, i finally made the decision to replace my "aged" 2009 santa fe. it was flooded, i got it repaired, but hell yeah it's true what they say about damaged goods - it's just a head ache waiting to happen. and it just made a hit again yesterday. i'll be selling it to whatever the highest bid made by a second hand dealer (and let someone else's head ache!)

the thing is i like my santa fe. but thing is there are things on it i do not use. say the 7 seats, the 2 at the back are folded all the time. 4wd, i only used it once, to put a block of cement under the tyres when i was doing some diy (yeah baby! no mud, no sand, just to climb atop a 4" cement block so i can crawl underneath.)

so i'm thinking, do i get a 2012 2wd santa fe for P1.558M? or it's twin, the 2wd sorrento LX for P1.330M? is the build quality so far off that hyundai can justify the price difference? or put in another way, did kia do so much cost cutting that it was able to lower the price by 220k? will it be more adviseable to buy the lower price sorrento and then use the price difference for upgrades? what obvious differences, quality wise, can you guys see between the 2? the plastics for example, does the kia shout "cheap" the minute you open the door?

i was hoping to get the ford explorer ecoboost next year but i will just have to shelve that idea as this purchase just became urgent. i'm not looking at the new 2013 santa fe, either, too expensive for the class it is in.

**GTi** · July 7th, 2012 01:28 PM

The biggest deciding factor, I suppose, is that the 1.3M Sorento only has 5 seats. Plastics quality should be the same as the higher variant Sorento's as it would be uneconomical for them to do otherwise. They just deleted some features, but the basic car is still the same. If you have those features reinstalled, I'm sure it wouldn't cost as much as 220k. And if someday you truly have the need for the 3rd row, I'm sure you can have one installed somewhere.

For your requirements, I'd suggest the Sorento.

**niky** · July 7th, 2012 01:56 PM

The Sorento third row isn't as good as the Santa Fe third row, if you're actually thinking of.a retrofit. Five or seven seats, I think the cheap Sorento is a fantastic deal.

**renzo_d10** · July 7th, 2012 02:03 PM

Get the cheapest 5-seater diesel Sorento you can find then call it a day...

Or, why not consider CUVs since you'll be just needing 5 seats. And a lot can fit your given budget, a diesel Sportage maybe?

**yebo** · July 7th, 2012 02:56 PM

my wife likes the tucson, but somehow it does not attract me. that is why i'm considering the sorento. i was even considering the new subary xv if there is any truth to the 12 km/l FC. any new offerings coming in 2013 in the 1.3-1.6M price range? must be diesel, seats 5 comfortably.

the thing is, if i can only postpone this purchase by 6 months it will definitely be something else. taxi na lang muna kaya sila pag coding day ng GS hehehe!

**Walter** · July 7th, 2012 03:10 PM

Buy a cheap 500T econo car then sell it after 6 months and buy the car that you want.

**renzo_d10** · July 7th, 2012 03:18 PM

Originally Posted by Walter

Buy a cheap 500T econo car then sell it after 6 months and buy the car that you want.

Or, buy the sub-1M Sportage then buy a cheap 500T econo car so when gas prices shoot up, hinde ka magaalala...

1 in exchange for 2. Sounds good, eh?

Pero seriously, if you're considering gas-fed CUVs, the sub-1M Sportage looks good enough.. saw one in person. Pero kung diesel, yun nga Sorento or Sportage. :classic:

Btw, no.. the Kia doesn't feel cheap inside. Yun santa fe kasi mapapalitan na yan eh ng all-new. At least yung Sorento facelift/mmc lang

**Gerbo** · July 7th, 2012 04:11 PM

Sorento is designed to appeal to Americans/Australians. The Sta Fe is made with the European market in mind.

Is your choice.

**yebo** · July 7th, 2012 04:17 PM

my wife just told me to go buy what i really want (an explorer ecoboost), but my wallet right now says no hahaha! i'll definitely test drive the sorento. and the tucson, baka sakali magustuhan ko. yung sportage kasi puro gasoline lang yata ang meron? ewan ko ba di na kasi ako nasasayahan sa hatak ng gasoline engine. nasanay na sa GS kasi na umaakyat ng kenon road kahit hindi naka-apak sa accelerator. my last gasoline car was a 2001 lancer and it was so anaemic going up it was on 1st and 2nd gear all the time.