The Kia Sorento Thread [Merged]

[gregg_g]

any comments on fuel consumption?

Hi Radiazone,

Spinaxl and I, gave our feedback to your query in our previous posts in this thread, just review... thanks... Hope your a Sorento fan also...

[eggman]

Sorento with "X5" style grill spotted at WTC during the manila motorshow:

Yan yung bagong mukha ng 3.5 V.6 EX Gasoline dito sa Philippines,sabi ng taga ABBA Motors sa Makati.New looks,same price.Pero yung Sorento CRDi ay EX Version na at hindi na LX(starting this May).Ang nadagdag ay two tone body paint with cladding(YES!),power side view mirrors at colorkeyed door handles.Ang price ay nagtaasna din.1.140.000 ang M/T 4WD EX at 1.210.000 ang A/T 4WD EX.Six na ang available colors(green at blue ang nadagdag)Tawag nalang kayo kay Ms Maribel Predas ng Kia Makati for more details:817-8416.

[mazdamazda]

Pero yung Sorento CRDi ay EX Version na at hindi na LX(starting this May).Ang nadagdag ay two tone body paint with cladding(YES!),power side view mirrors at colorkeyed door handles.Ang price ay nagtaasna din.1.140.000 ang M/T 4WD EX at 1.210.000 ang A/T 4WD EX.Six na ang available colors(green at blue ang nadagdag)

Pa clarify lang naman nito...

Yung CRDi na EX before... LX na ang trim (pero EX pa rin ang designation?)? Yung front fascia? Katulad rin ba nung nasa pics (sana huwag naman).

[mbt]

went to kia q. ave today with carlocaraddict to inspect a Kia Sorento LX diesel automatic, for comparison with the Fortuner.

in two word, i found this base-model sorento somewhat disappointing. i think i'd pick the fortuner over the sorento, even if the fortuner has sloppy handling and a higher price (we didnt test-drive a sorento, but maybe i'll schedule one soon).

impressions (keep in mind that we inspected a base-model sorento and not a trim level more in line with the top-range Fortuner):

- styling isn't as dynamite as the fortuner's.

- the sorento is much smaller inside than the fortuner. it's size is closer to the CR-V than to the fortuner, although the fortuner is intuitively the sorento's competitor (the sportage is kia's offering in the CR-V's market).

- the back seat is a huge let-down. it sinks like a puffy marshmallow when you sit on it, and it's low on the floor such that thigh support is lacking. in fact, an altis' rear seat is subjectively roomier than the sorento's. the sorento's back seat doesn't slide or recline, but does fold flat to the floor.

- the price of the sorento LX with the 2.5 CRDI engine and automatic transmission has since increased to P1,210,000, but the features list is horribly lacking. this model has manual side mirrors for crying out loud. the upmarket Sorento Limited 2.5 CRDI A/T -- with power everything and a more butch body, but not leather seats and a passenger airbag -- is a better value at P1,310,000. the sorento isn't the value-leader kia made it out to be anymore, with the base model's price jumping from P990,000 a few months ago to above P1,100,000.

the current pricing of the diesel sorento is as follows (according to the saleslady):
Sorento 2.5 LX manual: P1,140,000
Sorento 2.5 LX automatic: P1,210,000
Sorento 2.5 EX automatic: P1,310,000 (adds power side mirrors, body cladding, rather cheap-looking faux wood trim, and foglights to the LX package)

- quality and sophistication seem a far cry from the fortuner. the quality of the plastic panels aren't as good as the toyota's, the knobs and switches feel junkier, the fabrics and door sidings feel downmarket, the instrument cluster lights an unattractive lime green (compared to the fortuner's bright, styilsh cluster), the stero head unit seems chintzier, etc etc.

- tentative conclusion: the LX feels too much of a poverty package. the EX is a better deal even with the increased pricing, but save up for the fortuner 3.0 4x4 if you can.

[Sorento3500]

Here's a long-term drive review of the Sorento:

Got my gas Sorento in June 04 and have logged over 25,000kms to date. I have a mountain resort in Mt. Isarog in Bicol and this can only be accessed through carabao trails. I take the Sorento up there only when I have guests (including my 79yr old mom) otherwise I use a Suvic Land Cruiser 80 ( which I don't mind it getting dings and scratches). I do worry about the Sorento getting scratched from sharp bamboo branche and dented from scraping the sides of mountains (when negotiating deep ruts the vehicle tilts up to 35 degrees on its side, and when the tires slip, could end up banging against the tall slab-sided trails).

I am probably one of the few in the this country who has been roughing up the Sorento quite a bit (if not THE most...). I also regularly drive through Quirino Highway in Quezon and Bicol, and, if you're familiar with the road, you know dirivng through there is no picnic and is torture for any vehicle. The Sorento takes it all with aplomb and without causing spinal injury on any of its passengers. But you wouldn't know it if you rode in it while driving in Makati -- it is as quiet inside as the day I drove it out of the dealer showroom.

With the Fortuner, the Isuzu Altera, the (outdated) Mitsu Montero Sport all threatening their marketing bluff on the horizon, I think the Sorento holds its own very well, and, if I may say so, head and shoulders above them all. The quiet ride of the Sorento is one thing I still can't get over -- not a single rattle, squeak nor hiss... I don't know about the diesel vehicles, but, having come from a diesel 2002 Pajero myself, the difference is like heaven and...(you fill the missing word).

I was a skeptical buyer of a korean vehicle myself (only my second one, the first was a 2000 Starex which gave me 140,000 kms of worry-free, painless and the most comfortable ride before I sold it), but my latest experiences with the 2 vehicles made me a convert. On-road or plugging it in bouldery mountain trails (on street tires, yet), the Sorento 3500V6 gas rides like a dream.

Sure it's a Kia, not quite up to Japanese and Euro standards, they say, but read the voluminous reviews about it and , better yet, ride or drive a gas model, and it'll make you a believer. Uh, yeah, it does like to drink quite a bit. But with diesel and gas prices getting closer to each other in the pumps, it's not so bad no more... And well worth it.

[eggman]

i still prefer the Sorento over its rivals.Still its a must buy lalo na yung LX at EX CRDi.

[radiazone]

Hi Radiazone,

Spinaxl and I, gave our feedback to your query in our previous posts in this thread, just review... thanks... Hope your a Sorento fan also...

pasensya gregg_g wala ko nakabantay pagpost taas pa man diay akong basahonon sa thread

[KCboy]

wat u think of the kia sorrento 2.5crdi? gusto ko talaga fortuner 4x4 dad crdi but la na yat chance makakuha this year....alterra naman 4x4 lang n mahal. thinking of the xterra but til now la pa balita....

[wildthing]

i don't think sorrento was an improvement in any kia product....it's still a kia. even there 2.7L diesel na minitruck didn't work well for a friend of mine who have it.

why not try the montero instead?

[KCboy]

la yata stock yung montero........fortuner naman haba pila...

[Innova_Boy]

tiaga lang KC, darating din yan...

ika nga the early worm catch the bird...hehe..

[KCboy]

early bird catches the worm o good things come to those who wait. hehehehehe. just want to solicit ideas kung tinginnyo good buy, dati i feel mura, worth the look, but now 1.3m na, parang better deal pa yung fortuner. montero sport ok lang but not a gooddeal kasi consederingluma na. xterra sana dumating na, i won'tmind kahit old model na, ok namn kasi yun, basta mga 1.3m lang. wat u guys think?

[Macky]

i don't think sorrento was an improvement in any kia product....it's still a kia. even there 2.7L diesel na minitruck didn't work well for a friend of mine who have it.

why not try the montero instead?

Majority ng mga nababasa ko noon sa US pulos positive ang feedbacks sa build quality ng Sorento unlike the Montero which was concidentally removed from the US market and was replaced by a more practical, and when I say practical I mean by US standard, Endeavor (for the Montero) and Outlander (for the Montero Sports). The only negative feedback was the ride quality pero base on my personal experience, yung mga pangit ang ride quality reviews sa US roads na patag (i.e. Suzukis, Monteros, Troopers, etc.) maganda ang ride dito sa kalsada natin tapos yung maganda ang ride quality reviews dun (i.e. Honda) parang matalbog dito sa kalsada natin.

[jaeger]

This much I know about Kia Motors Corp. (Korea) & their Sorrento :

When the asian crisis hit in 1997 Kia suffered debilitating losses compounded by huge bankloans they couldn't re-pay. Hyundai, which already made inroads in the US car market, was more financially sound and saw the potential Kia had in complementing their product line; so in 2001 Hyundai Motors Korea started talks to acquire majority ownership in Kia Motors. The bail-out deal went through in 2002 and Hyundai, being the acquiring company, started instituting logistical integration with Kia - component commonality and standardization. This is the reason why you see Hyundai engines in Kia vehicles - the Sorrento CRDI has the Starex CRDI's 2.5li. engine, the Sportage CRDI has the Tuscon's 2.0 CRDI engine, and the list goes on. Kia introduced the Sorrento CRDI in western Europe in 2003 and was a big success due to competitive pricing. European sales helped Kia's financial recovery.

On a parallel note, Columbian Motors just completed it's financial restructuring late last year and wanted to make a fresh new start in the local market with a hot selling item - the Kia Picanto and their Sorrento CRDI. Kia Motors Korea however, does not extend suppliers credit and will only ship fully-paid orders.

Unfortunately, no local bank wants to lend Columbian due to past credit experiences with the old Columbian Motors. Due to unavailability of much needed working capital funds to finance importation of CBUs from Korea and the growing local demand for these hot selling cars, Columbia Motors is trying it's best to make ends meet, and thus the limited availability of inventory of these items up to June 2005. Columbian was able to secure limited local financing only this July and inventories are now arriving.

I work in the banking industry and this thing is commn knowledge to us (kasi si Columbian borrowed from practically all banks during the mid-to-late 90's, then nag past-due, and eventually failed to re-pay their loans; kaya tuloy no choice but to restructure their loans).

BTW, Hyundai's technology partner for their CRDI is Detroit Deisel (Mitsu is for their TCI). check this link : http://www.yehey.com/lifestyle/motor....aspx?id=10139

[gregg_g]

i don't think sorrento was an improvement in any kia product....it's still a kia. even there 2.7L diesel na minitruck didn't work well for a friend of mine who have it.

why not try the montero instead?

Disagree with that !! Drive a sorento (not a kia minitruck)and it will really blow you away... :fyi:

[jaeger]

Kia today is not the same rotten Kia 15 years ago. Kia has improved a lot. I remember before, of a friend's brand new Kia Pride whose wire harnesses were not jacketed (only partially wrapped in electrical tape) with frayed wire-ends. You don't see these nowadays.

The Sorrento has excellent build-quality. The V6-gas variant did very well in the US market, while the CRDI was a success in Europe. You won't get this far if you had a so-so product, specially with demanding western customers who always insist on their consumer rights, and with government who makes sure you pass their minimum safety standards and that your emmissions comply with their strict environmental laws (EuroIII).

Whatever Kia learned through the years from the Lotus-tuned suspension in the Sportage of the mid-90's, found it's way into the Sorrento. That's why the Sorrento is blessed with good handling properties.

I'm even thinking of replacing my '99 Starex TCI with a Sorrento CRDI now that my kids are a bit bigger.

greg_g : on this thread (bottom of p23) SpinAxel used biodiesel on his Sorrento CRDI at around 5% ratio (3-liters BD on a full tank); but Doc_Diesel advised never to use BD in CRDIs or your injection pump will fail (see thread in Workshop forum titled Anyhting and Everything Diesel, link is : http://tsikot.yehey.com/forums/showt...3&page=4&pp=10 )

[KCboy]

crdi i think don't have injector pump, they ae direct injection already, any other comments about the crdi sorrento?

price kasu now is 1.3m, im asking kung ok na ang value since crdi na and may invecs tranny na din sya plus 4x4 pa. would u think it's a good car? kasi dto sa thread na ito only mentions the v6 n the stripped version ofhe crdi sorrento.

now kasi, they are promoting the crdi but with all the ammenities. at 1.3m

[andre]

I read an article somewhere in the ineternet where Kia Sorento in the U.S. has one of the worst depreciation value car. I can't remember the site. I was planning to buy a sorento, so I research it. sorry this is not to offend any sorento owners (or future owners) out there.
comments on this pls.

[wildthing]

not to offend users and buyers of sorento and other kia brands....pero I if I have money, I am not really inclined to buy SORENTO...mainly because my mind perception is still KIA=CHEAP LOW QUALITY VECHICLE....now if your mind perception is different then I would respect you for that (hope you respect mine too)

Wala naman major technology break na matatawag between one company to another eh, pero the reputation they (KIA Corp) created to me was really never good.

Mas magaling pa ang Hyundai IMO.

[mazdamazda]

not to offend users and buyers of sorento and other kia brands....pero I if I have money, I am not really inclined to buy SORENTO...mainly because my mind perception is still KIA=CHEAP LOW QUALITY VECHICLE....now if your mind perception is different then I would respect you for that (hope you respect mine too)

Wala naman major technology break na matatawag between one company to another eh, pero the reputation they (KIA Corp) created to me was really never good.

Mas magaling pa ang Hyundai IMO.

just having a perception is different from actually owning the said product.