Kia Sorento

mikesf

Charles!

She looks beautiful. Is that the Indigo Blue? I'll try to take some snapshots of my silver LX and post them as well.

Congrats!

Mike

charlesm1950

It's a blue with a slight purple cast to it. It looks great. I went to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center yesterday. The volunteer helping me load the back with plants I bought asked if this was one of those new Hondas. I laughed and set her straight. This is one heck of a nice SUV.

Thanks for all the congratulations. I look forward to saying the same when a few of you. So congratulations Mike on your silver LX. I look forward to the pictures.

bored

"The volunteer helping me load the back with plants I bought asked if this was one of those new Hondas."

I had to read that message about 5 times, just to make sure I understood it! Nice compliment!

Kia's the new Honda!

mikesf

Thanks Charles,

The Sorento is indeed one nice SUV. I get stopped at least twice a day by total strangers who want to know more about it. Tomorrow I'm going to the dealership and ask them to give me a box of brochures (I'm being serious). I'm a very open, polite person but sometimes when you're in a rush... but I digress.

Here are a couple of photos I snapped of my LX.

http://ca.photos.yahoo.com/bc/mdsf_1/lst?.dir=/Sorento

Enjoy!

Mike

bigelm

Nice indeed...

Enjoy it as well....

Is it Dec. already? :-)

saber86

Did they ever find out what was wrong with the keyless entry? You had mentioned it would not work unless you were 5ft or less from the vehicle.

bored

The Sedona folks are having that same problem. I would recommend that Charles hop on over there, and read the resolution. It involves a new grounding bracket.

Placeman

Not to get personal, but I'd like to get an idea of what people are paying for their Sorentos. I had a dealership offer me $500 over invoice and showed me his copy of the invoice. Also, someone please talk me out of the EX Luxury. I don't need all that crap, but being a "bells and whistles" type of guy, it's very hard to talk myself out of it.

jasper42

I am 6'4" with a 36" inseam. Do you think I would be comfortable in the Sorento?

mikesf

Best thing to do is to go try it out for yourself. I have an average build and find it excellent. A friend of mine looking at me in my car said I looked small sitting in my Sorento.

carspy01

In the German weekly "AutoBild", they just tested the Sorento Diesel against the Mercedes M-class Diesel. Nice review. Click through the article to find some specifications. You can see pictures by clicking "zur Galerie". Note the manual transmission and different interior of the Sorento.

http://www.autobild.de/test/allrad/artikel.php?artikel_id=2742&A_SESS=a7e48f075ecfa3a659590445e873fcfe#

Jason5

I've driven two new Sorento's and I'm interested in purchasing. I'm a bit late to this discussion so I apologize if it's been covered 75 messages back. One post suggests about $1500 under sticker is reasonable. I haven't found Invoice pricing at any of the usual spots. What prices have Sorento BUYERS negotiated? The local dealer has 5 and they've all been there for over a week--so they aren't flying off the lot! I'm quite impressed... Experiences?
TALL DRIVER... I'm 6'3" with a 34" inseam and go 240 very solid pounds--a former linebacker. I fit easily with good room behind for rear seat passengers. No "scalp burns" even with the sunroof---I'm very impressed with the room.

Jason5

I must confess that although my family is German--I'm far from fluent. Are you fluent or is there an English translation that I missed?

carspy01

Jason5: Sorry to you and all others, but I post those articles from time to time to show you what's out there - especially the pictures. Unfortunately, there is no English translation. However, AutoBild belongs to the Springer-Group of companies, and we might see a British test of their corresponding mag over there soon, which will be posted by me or our British friends then. BTW, I am fluent in German, and the essence of the article is why pay 12grand more for the M-Diesel, when the Sorento is an excellent contender.

bigelm

...is very nice to have! Too bad we always get the short end of the stick...

Height wise... I'm 6'5" with 34 inseam and I fit fine with enough room in the driver's seat. The legroom is very impressive, but I agree... you must test for yourself. That's the only way you can convince yourself of it's worthiness or lack of ;-)

jeepster4

Google will translate the article automatically.
Just use "Autobild+Sorento" as search phrase and use their translator to read. The translator is a "beta", but the results can be understood.

carspy01

LOL - I remember the Alta Vista translations... LOL... you can never be too sure if you read about a car, a washing machine or if you made an indecent proposal to someone of the opposite sex involving money... :-) I did not try the google-one yet, but I'm just afraid my MS-Office Professional will blush and self-destroy....

charlesm1950

Sabre86,
This is the beauty of the Intranet. I still have a problem with the keyless entry being unpredictable. Sometimes it works on the first press and 20 feet away. Other times I'm right by the driver's door and I have to press it two or three times.
You say the Sedona had this problem and there is a fix, and I should hop over there and check it out. I just looked at the Edmunds Sedona townhall and didn't see it. Can you be more specific.
Thanks,
Charles

saber86

Charles

It was bored who said the sedona folks were having similar problems.

bored-can you show us where that message is in sedona board?

bored

lagavulin "Kia Sedona" Oct 5, 2002 10:54pm

lavoie1

I am looking at this vehicle and I like it. The price is right. I need to pull a hard top trailer. It is 2000 lbs unit dry weight. You can count on 3000 lbs with passengers and cargo. Does anyone pull a trailer with this baby? What does it feel like?

jettjordan

I am getting a trailer hitch put on my EX Sorento
And it is rated for 5000 lbs. So we will see how it will tow my Coleman 10ft trailer?

jeepster4

Check your owners manual. The Sorento is rated at 3500 lbs towing.

tidester

Sure that isn't 5,000 KG's?

5,000 kg is 11,000 pounds - a rather hefty load.

tidester
Host
SUVs; Aftermarket & Accessories

mikesf

on a brake equipped trailer or 3500 lbs without.

bored

I'm really excited and confused...sorry about the error. Read my post here, and you'll understand why I'm the way I am right now...

bored "car for teenager" Oct 8, 2002 10:29pm

jettjordan

By the way it's rated at 5000 lbs with a brake controller wich i am getting aswell

mhenderson1

I am 6'6" with a 38" inseam. I had the opportunity to sit in the Sorento a week ago and I must say, this vehicle has a good amount of room. However, the seat could not be adjusted to give you much thigh support. If push come to shove, you could place a small pillow underneath your thighs to rest you legs. But if you are taking long drives in the SUV, you leg may get a little tired in a couple of hours

dwsiis

I think someone else had the same result I did. I drove a Trailblazer, liked it, and also drove the Kia Sorento and liked it. The Trailblazer had more room, rode better, gets better gas milage and after dickering with both dealers, I was able to get the Trailblazer for not 1, not 2, but THREE thousand dollars less than the Kia Sorento!!!, and it should get better resale. I can put up with bad GM customer service for the three thousand dollar savings. Is the Kia mark-up that high everywhere??? I live in Minnesota.

Jason5

I was under the impression that a similarly equipped Trailblazer would be thousands MORE than a Sorento. I've looked at a Sorento with the Luxury package--it stickers for 26495.00 and has no additional mark up..

bigelm

Ok.. Now I'm lost in this $$$ figure...

You mean to tell me that you were able to get the Trailblazer for 3 grand less? Isn't the starting price on those monsters $28k? Invoice maybe? What's the invoice on those trucks? I was looking into the GMC Envoy which I like very much but don't want to see myself leasing a $30k+ truck.
Here in NJ/NY, you can get a Luxury equipped Sorento for $23k+... hmmm...I've got to do some more research.
But then again.. the Trailblazer/Envoy are selling like hot pancakes here!

dwsiis

The sticker on the Trailblazer is over 31,000 dollars. However, GM is offering rebates, incentives, financing and the dealers are willing to deal significantly on price. Kia on the other hand, doesn't realize that USA is in a recession, so the Kia dealer not only will not dicker, but has raised the price over what the sticker should be. The cheapest Kia was 28,000 dollars at our dealer here in Minnesota. Why would I buy a smaller vehicle that doesn't ride as well, and gets much worse gas milage and pay 3,000 dollars more??? Good luck Kia.

jon1102

I am new to your discussion and am very interested in the new Sorento. I have been doing quite a bit of research and reading as much as I can on this SUV. I used to work for a Hyundai dealer and was interested in the Santa Fe until this vehicle came out (much better vehicle than the Santa Fe and more for the money). When the new Trailblazer came out I looked at it and was interested but it was pretty pricey. There are three trim levels(LS, LT, LTZ). According to Chevy website the base price for the LTZ is $34,395 + $625 destination charge. This would be the equal to the Sorento EX, but the Trailblazer does not include the sunroof(optional), or rear side airbag(not available), and the warranty is 3yr/36,000mi(powertrain the same). NJ/NY prices must be less for the Trailblazer. I can get a Sorento EX 4X4 completely loaded with Luxury Package,ABS, and spoiler in Virginia for a little over $27,000 which is about $8,000 less than the Trailblazer. By the way the Mileage rating on the Trailblazer is 15/21.

tidester

Welcome aboard!

tidester
Host
SUVs; Aftermarket & Accessories

charlesm1950

Bored,
Thanks for the info. I'll ask my service manager about it. I suspect my Sorento has exactly the same problem. It should be an easy fix. This will be a nice test of the cooperativeness of my dealer.
CharlesM

lavoie1

I very much doubt that this SUV can tow 5000 lbs. The hitch can probably take it, but I don't want to go up a hill with a 5000 lbs trailer behind it. KIA has it listed for 3500 lbs, which make a bit more sense. I know the Jeep Liberty is supposed to pull 5000lbs, but same argument.

In any case, your are pulling something much lighter then 5000 lbs. All loaded, with passengers, you must pull around 2500 lbs for your 10 ft coleman. My trailer should be around 500 lbs heavier. Let me know how it handles.

The electric brakes are still a good idea, specially with such small SUV. It makes a huge difference.

lavoie1

I don't know what is going on in the states. In Canada, a trailblazer is $10,000 (CA) higher then the Sorento. That makes perfect sense. You get the trailblazer base for around $40,000 and the Sorento for less the $30,000. The Sorento LX here is very very well equipped. 4 WD, alloy, power everything. The only thing you donèt have is the leather, sun roof, remote keyless, and other small details. There is no way that the Sorento can beat the trailblazer for quality, but for the price, you get quite a good value with the Sorento. The max you will pay for a Sorento EX luxury here is $35,000. If you guys have to pay $35,000 US, somebody is getting a bit excited, specially if this is higher then the trailblazer. Things will cool off. Some dealers must be a bit excited. This is supposed to be their best product yet, so hormones must be a bit high at some dealers.

I am sure they will sell plenty of these little SUVs, in Canada anyway. There is nothing close to the Sorento at less then $30,000. I will certainly keep this as an option next spring, if I see that it can really tow 3500 lbs without difficulty.

superkid133

I was woundering if there was an option for kia Sorento like for ex: On-Star, DVD-Navigation System

stockey

I tried both,the Sorento and the Trailblazer,and i can tell you that the fit and finish of the Sorento is far more superior than the Chevy,the trailblazer interior is very cheap looking with cheap plastics.

jon1102

Is your Sorento 2wd or 4wd?

acurahad

In South Carolina our local dealer on a loaded EX, the sticker was around MSRP 27,800 + 1,995.00 ADM. His Sorentos are not flying off the lot at that price. By the way, I came close to buying a Trailblazer LT loaded at $30059.00, but that was with the $2002.00 rebate at that time. I believe I will wait aleast a year before looking seriously into purchasing a Sorento.

jeepster4

Directly from the Sorento owners manual "Maximum trailer weight: Trailer without brake system: 1650 lbs.(750kg). Trailer with brake system: 3500lbs.(1590kg)." From page 5-38, 2003 Kia Sorento owners manual, USA edition.

mikesf

So true about the 10K price difference between Canada and USA. My Sorento LX came in at $31,700 (taxes in) and here in Quebec that's 15% in taxes!!!

Great bang for the buck!

mikesf

Thanks for setting us straight. I glossed over the towing section of the owner's manual since I don't plan to do any towing!

Cheers!

saber86

I think with any new vehicle the dealers tend to keep the selling prices close to msrp until they deemed its necessary to start discounting. The time will only tell what the prices will be like in few months from now. I talked to several dealers in my area and all of them are asking msrp or close to it. The one i am looking to purchase is EX 4x2, cloth, abs, and rear spoiler. The msrp with that option is $24,300 in my area. One sales manager said kia is limiting production on sorento and there will be a limited number available for the american market. I am sure he was pushing to sell but I wonder if there is any truth to that.

I checked the kia homepage and looked at several dealers in upper midwest and in east coast areas. They seem to have lot more 4x4 than down here in the southwest region. Maybe that explains the higher selling price for that region?

On the trailblazer we looked at those as well. The 2003 models are 33 to 36k depending on the different options installed. Hard to believe a chevy dealer would sell those at low 20's. I know GM is offering 0 percent financing but thats only for 3 years and I did not see any rebates on 03 models.

Jason5

Perhaps it's a "Pennsylvania thing"... I just priced two Sorento's--both EXs--one with the Luxury Package, one without. They were both offered BELOW sticker.. Those of you tolerating full price PLUS and added dealer markup should try another dealer..

duckfuz

The local KIA dealer has 6 Sorentos in stock, including their first one they received three weeks ago. To my knowledge they have sold only 1 Sorento.

I was wondering if anyone can confirm this story that was told to me by the local KIA dealership:
Nationwide, KIA dealerships are not expecting to get any new Sorentos until 2003 because: 1. the dockworkers lockout in California has delayed offloading Sorentos waiting offshore, AND 2. (can anyone confirm this one) a ship sank off of the coast of Japan with 2,000 Sorentos.

I'm just curious if the dealer was trying to presure me to buy now (and pay $ 3,000 over sticker) or if he was truthful and it will be until 2003 before I can expect the Sorento price to come down below sticker.

dwsiis

Do what I did. Instead of paying the Kia dealer way OVER list, that they are demanding, Go to your Chevy dealer and pay 6,000.00 UNDER list. AND drive by the Kia dealer in your new Trailblazer. The mistake most people on this board make is that they compare sticker prices and don't take the time to actually talk price with the dealers. Again, after getting written offers from both places I got the Trailblazer 3,000.00 LESS than the Kia.

paisan

And then the Kia driver will be laughing his butt off when the TB is sitting in the dealer getting one of the 100s of problems fixed! Or better yet when you are paying for those repairs after 36K miles!

-mike

Jason5

C'mon guys...let's ease up on the rhetoric a bit. DWSIIS--I'm glad you didn't succumb to the dealer's unreasonable pricing. BUT, as my experience suggests--not EVERY dealer is attempting to gouge and only the "wealthy" or "the foolish" allow themselves to be gouged. I hope you enjoy your Trailblazer--they are really nice vehicles! PAISAN--what are you driving?