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Saber86: I know you're new here, but take your time and go to the archived "Kia BL" townhall here on Edmunds-SUV, to read the beginnings of the "Sorento-adventure"... & welcome!
Steve
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Edmunds has already covered the features in their First Drive review, but they haven't published the full set of dimensions. Here are a few in inches:
Height 68.1 LX and 71.3 EX (EX has roof rack)
Width 73.3 LX and 74.2 EX (EX has cadding on fender skirts)
Aproach angle 28.4 degrees and departure angle 26.7 degrees
Ft Head Room 39.7 LX and 38.3 EX (sunroof)
Rr Head Room 39.5 LX and 38.0 EX
Shoulder Room 58.9 Ft and 58.4 Rr
Leg Room 42.6 Ft and 36.1 Rr
Hip Room 55.3 Ft and 58.0 Rr
Cargo Volume 31.4 and 66.4 (rear seats down)
Yeah, check your dealer. I've heard that dealerships usually sell the very first who enter the country to the person who pays, and I mean pays. Whoever bought it probably paid well over MSRP, which I think is ridiculous, for any car, whether it be Mazda, Kia, Ford, DC, or Honda.
But, that's the price you pay if you want something SOOOOOOOO bad.
Anyone remember when they took that Sephia Coast-To-Coast for 200,000 Miles? They had the big Mileage counter on the top of the car? Amazing.
I figure they should give the Sedona to the most Wildest family. The subject is to take a Summer Long Driving Vacation. That'll surely be interesting.
The Sorento, I don't know. Some off road durability test, I guess? Maybe some sort of trail on the Rubicon??? I wonder what their marketing will be for that thing.
What are your suggestions?
Also, called every dealer in San Diego, no one will give a firm date.
The Sorento mid-size sport-utility, which goes on sale next week, will be a key part of the company's growth, he said.
"It will be the highest quality vehicle we have built," Butterfield said. "It's exactly where we're going as a brand."
The 2003 Sorento, which will be the highest price Kia when it hits U.S. dealerships this fall, is expected to start at $19,995, including a $495 destination fee. The fully-loaded version will cost about $26,000.
-mike
Anyone know?
Here in the US, I think Kia is a little reluctant to releasing them, because it is so high priced. I don't blame them. Would you just take $1,000 off of MSRP?!?!?!? It's too expensive. But, that was before we knew that it would be competing with the Jeep JGC, and Pathfinder, instead of Liberty and Escape.
An EX, judging by the history of previous Pontiac Oops! Kia! Vehicles with Cladding, will be standard. It'll be hard to find a Solid EX, as is a Sedona (Which is sold out in some regions), or Sportage.
http://www.kia.com/091602.shtml
I would probably go for the EX and would find it hard to pass on the 4WD version of the EX while I was at it. I had heard that the 4WD EX would run $26,000 but it looks to be $24,100.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
The new Kia Sorento mid-sized sport-utility will have a base sticker of $19,995, including destination costs, Kia Motors America said Tuesday.
The vehicle is scheduled to arrive in U.S. dealerships by October.
The base model Sorento LX has a 3.5-liter, V-6 engine and rear-wheel drive. The four-wheel drive Sorento LX will cost $21,795, including destination.
The upscale EX version with two-wheel drive will have a base sticker price of $22,795, including destination. The EX version adds features such as a roof rack, power moonroof and an eight-way power driver's seat. The four-wheel-drive EX model will cost $24,595, including destination.
Kia Motors America's COO Peter Butterfield said the Sorento is a key part of the company's growth strategy.
"It will be the highest quality vehicle we have built," he said. "It's exactly where we're going as a brand."
-mike
-mike
which has the cladding and am getting a trailer hitch and undercoating plus rustproofing thrown into the deal.
CAN'T WAIT !!!!
From the pictures I've seen, including a brochure of the vehicle I have, the Sorento is quite nice looking. Unfortunately, past Kias have not been rated very well by consumer magazines. I'm curious if they are "getting better" and good enough to really be competitive. One can usually 'bank' on reliability and resale value of Hondas, Toyotas, etc. The Kia would have to have improved considerably for me to take the plunge. I will say I believe the Santa Fe shows decent quality--improved over past Hyundais--company affiliated with Kia.
-mike
Very tight structure for a body-on-frame suv. I deliberately drove throught a rough construction site to check for chassis flexing. None noticeable. No groans or creaks. Very much unlike my recent Explorer and Jimmy.
Fit and finish throughout the vehicle is top notch. Everything appears to be put together very well. The leather seats, however, are not the same quality as those in our Sedona.
Other comments: smooth, quiet and powerful engine; great 10-speaker stereo (Delco??); loads of leg room front & rear.
Price quoted was $37,500 Hudson Bay Pesos (~US$24,000). In local currency this is $3,600 more than a Tribute ES and $7k to $9k less than loaded Trailblazers LTZ, Explorer Ltd or Cherokee Ltd. Interestingly, the Sorento price is within $100 of a similarly-equipped Jeep Liberty. Tough decision, but I would go with the Kia if just for the underfloor, aluminum spare wheel.
http://autonet.ca/EdmontonDrive/Stories.cfm?StoryID=6419
I will say that in some respects, I did get what I paid for. The paint is thin (there are numerous scratches, starting from almost day one) and it seems to dent really easy. I have noticed this on other older KIAs as well. The interior materials are a hard plastic and the carpet and seats are wearing thin. It has @ 32,000 miles on it.
However, the only thing keeping me from considering a new Sportage is its lack of engine power and shying me from the Sorento is the lack of a 5 spd. option. Quality, for this price, isn't a worry.
-mike
The EX is beautiful with very nice fit and finish inside and out for an under $25,000 vehicle. I don't like the LX nearly as much. The funny looking plugs in the location where the fog lights should be are a distraction from the lines of the body. Also, the colors of the particular LX models were a bit odd. One was sort of a Kelley Green and the other was Aqua. The EX models where Blue and White. One Blue EX with Beige cadding and leather sold while I was there. So, I won't be the first person in Austin with a Sorento.
I only got to drive an EX around the dealership including their back lot which is unpaved and has a few shallow holes in it. It road well in this limited test. The suspension handled the holes well and body was tight and quiet.
I was told that after the vehicles are prepped I can come back an take one of them out on the highway. I'll go back on the weekend after I do my homework on the value of my trade and the invoice price of the Sorento.
Recently, a second Kia dealer opened in Austin so I stopped by on the way to work this morning. They had 5 Sorentos. I was a bit taken back by the price, though. One EX had a dealer window sticker next to the factory sticker:
MSRP . . . . 24,305.00
ATP . . . . . . 795.00
Market Adj. . 2,000.00
-----------------------
Total . . . . . 27,100.00
Wow! That's $2,700 over sticker price. I hope that doesn't hold up. I'd rather buy a year or two old Toyota SUV than risk $27,100 on a Kia that would lose a great deal of its value once I drive it away.
I'll let you know how I make out with the full test drive and negotiations. The vehicle is very nice and quite a bargain at say $23,000, but I it feels a bit over priced at $27,000.
-CharlesM
You have got to be kidding! I wouldn't pay! Find another dealer. Also, this sounds just like what dealers did with the PT Cruiser, but they went as far as fake window stickers. Sure this wasn't one of them?
There is no way I would pay any of this mark up. If the this dealer or the other local dealer are not willing to sell for less than MSRP I'll walk away. The economy isn't that good and in a few weeks I think they'll change their minds.
-CharlesM
This EX was very NICE! The exterior closely resembles an MDX. 'Fit & Finish', exterior and interior are very good, with no appearance of mismatched parts or pieces. To my surprise, even the ‘fake’ wood trim with chrome-like accents was appealing.
I will point out things that I did not recall seeing in the brochure:
The spare tire appears to be a full size with matching rims. The rear tail lights are very bright! All service points in the engine compartment are easily accessed. The engine block has a plastic shield-like cover over it. I’m not sure why.
The rear glass window release button was in an unusual place. The button is located on the driver's door arm rest, approx. 7" in front of the window controls, on the downward curve of the arm rest. It was not immediately visible, but is accessible. Three accessory plug-ins plus a small ashtray with lighter are available for plug-in gadgets. The front seat, center armrest is divided into two compartments. The main compartment uses a finger activated pull-up 'lever' for access. The cushion also lifts up to reveal a tray that separates the cushion from the main compartment. This tray is held closed by a very strong magnet.
I am 6'03", 250 lbs. My wife is 5'04", 115 lbs. We both had no problem finding a comfortable seating position in the 8-way power driver's seat. The adjustable height and tilt head rests have 5 or 6 settings for up and down and tilt forward. The headrests should accommodate anyone.
While my wife drove, I sat in the back seat for the ultimate test of comfort. The rear seat headrests do have a very good height adjustment, but do not have a tilt adjustment, as is the case with the front seats. The rear seat center arm rest, when folded down, is firm and supportive. The rear seats are not adjustable forward and back, nor is the seat back tilt-adjustable. The rear seats are as firm as the Honda CRV EX. That is to say firm enough for anchoring a child car seat but not like sitting on a bench. The seat bottom was a little low to the floor for my 6'03" frame, but nothing that I could not handle for a 2 hour trip. The rear doors have the combination door pocket and large drink holder as in the Honda Pilot. The brochure picture with the bicycle in the cargo area, with the rear seats folded, baffled me as to how the rear head rests could be against the back of the front seats. The answer is that the headrests are detached from the seat back. Then the rear seat bottom folds so that the back of the cushion comes up and forward against the back of the front seats. Then the seat back folds down were the seat bottom was. Then, here’s the designers’ smart-thinking part, the posts of the headrests are inserted into metal reinforced holes. With the Pilot and MDX you have to use storage space to keep the headrests from bouncing around, loose.
Both test drives revealed no wind noise, with very little road noise coming from the cargo area, (but you have to listen carefully for it). The EX had luxury car-like steering (with a very surprisingly tight turn radius) which will make U-turns and parking much easier. Compared to my ’96 Dakota, the Sorento was able to absorb bumps and potholes with a little hint of its truck-frame-ride making uneven pavement of no concern to my sport coupe-driving wife. Acceleration was more than adequate for merging with 75mph traffic with the shifting of the automatic transmission being noticeable but not traumatic. There was very little felt brake pedal resistance. This coupled with the quiet, sedan-like ride made judging the amount of force necessary to apply to the brake peddle a little difficult to judge. However, this could be because I am use to driving the Dakota. The “Multi-meter” can be difficult to understand and to adjust, making it necessary to refer to the owners’ manual. The “multi-meter” adjustments include: Celsius to Fahrenheit, the elevation from meters to feet and the compass declination.
In the place of the “4x4, Hi, Low” selector knob, the 4x2 EX had a “snow, on, off” selector knob. Of course the salesman did not know what this did. I’m still puzzled by this. There was a push-in button (with a green LED when “on”) on the center dash console, to the right of the BIG hazard flasher. This button has the diagram of the windshield with a wiper arm and a squiggly line on it. According to the owners manual, the rear glass and side mirror defroster are the same button to the left of the hazard flasher and the windshield has a defroster setting on the dial just below the hazard button. So (even after reading the owners manual) what is this button to the right of the hazard button for?
Since I’m just looking for now, I did not memorize pricing. CharlesM is right! The dealer mark up was at least $2500 above MRSP. The dealer's price sticker even had "$1" written in ball point pen next to the (typed) "695.00" destination charge. This made the price $1,695.00 for the destination charge. How's that for tacky? Adding $1,000 in ball point pen. Doing this makes a $25k+ Sorento $27k+.
And the dealer's "prep charge" is bogus also. I happened to be at the KIA dealership yesterday and today and watched them drive the Sorentos off the truck, to the lot, take the protective plastic off the exterior and interior, put the dealer-add-on price sticker on the window, then it was ready for test drives.
I'm sure the dealer did this to give himself bargaining room, but what he doesn't know is that I will NEVER pay at or above MRSP. If I have to, I'll wait a year to buy a used Sorento. Honda dealers did the same thing with the Pilot too. I don't care to pay above MRSP just to say that I was the first person in my neighborhood to own a Sorento.
The Sorento that I witnessed being delivered today is a Ivy Green [w/ tan (stone)leather interior] EX 4x2 with the luxury package. Included was the 6 disk, in-dash CD changer, chrome-like trim piece accents, automatic climate control, heated driver and passenger leather seats (and a few other things that I probably missed).
With a 5 year, 60k mile bumper to bumper warrantee and $10,000 less than comparably equipped SUVs I consider the Sorento a good buy for the ‘negotiated’ money. I’ll take two for the right price.
Duckfuz
RB
P.s. Were please to see that the 4wd selector could actually be selected on the fly, tested it. Worked well.
-mike
P.s. Checkout, the European web site they've got a diesel over there that gets 30mpg. Why can't we get someting like that.
-mike