Kia Sorento: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:37, 18 December 2006

The Kia Sorento is a mid-size SUV. It was first launched in 2003, launched alongside competitors Nissan Murano and Honda Pilot. Sales of the Sorento have been strong, becoming Kia's best-selling model in the United States.

See Wikicars' comprehensive Kia Sorento Review.

Recent Changes

Styles and Major Options

Pricing

Today's actual prices for the Kia Sorento can be found at CarsDirect.

Sorento Trims
Base Model 2WD	LX 2WD	EX 2WD	LX 4WD	EX 4WD
MSRP
$19,995	$22,595	$24,295	$24,595	$26,195
Invoice
$19,050	$21,420	$22,620	$23,270	$24,370

Gas Mileage

As seen on the FuelEconomy.gov website, the City/Highway MPG averages are as follows:

Trim
3.3L V6 auto 2WD	3.8L V6 auto 2WD	3.3L V6 auto 4WD	3.8L V6 auto 4WD
MPG
18/24	17/23	17/23	17/22

Reliability

Long-term reliability information is yet unavailable for the newest Sorento, but the 2004 model received all around Green ratings from Automotive Information Systems, indicating minimal problems in all categories.

Safety

Photos

Colors

Available colors will vary by trim, and a complete list is viewable at CarsDirect.com. Some of the possible combinations include:

Exterior

Alpine Gray
Black
Ice Blue
Radiant Red
Silver
Spark Blue
White

Interior

Beige
Black
Gray

Main Competitors

Hybrid Models

There are currently no hybrid models of the Sorento in production.

Unique Attributes

Resale Values

According to Kelley Blue Book, "the Sorento is expected to hold about the same resale value as its closest competitors, at or just a few percentage points below the values projected for the Jeep Liberty, Hummer H3 and Nissan Xterra. With an expected 53 percent value retention rate at 24 months, the Sorento beats the Nissan Pathfinder, Ford Explorer and Mitsubishi Endeavor in resale value."

Criticisms

"The ride is okay, based on our few-hour drive, though in 2wd the rear tires got skittish on gravelly curves at modest speed." - AutoWeek
"The EX has splashes of 'woodgrain' trim, which is plastic doing a poor job imitating wood." - New Car Test Drive
"The two-wheel drive Sorento models are powered by their rear wheels and don't offer the level of traction in ice, snow or mud provided by the front-wheel drive competitors. The V6 performs well but is only mediocre on fuel economy." - Kelley Blue Book

Current Generation: (2003–Present)

The Sorento has two transmission options: a 5-speed manual or 4/5-speed automatic transmission (pre-2005 models have a 4 speed automatic, whilst 2005 Sorentos come with a 5 speed tip-tronic style automatic transmission). Sorentos are equipped with a Hyundai-manufactured 3.5L 24-valve DOHC V6 producing 192 Horsepower at 5500 rpm, producing 217 ft·lbf of torque @ 3,000 rpm. The Sorento is very capable off-road, with an automatic 4-wheel drive system featuring low range gearing. A sport package is available for the LX base model which adds a 5 speed manual transmission, fog lamps, alloy wheels, step bars, a leather wrapped steering wheel, a roof rack and remote keyless entry. All American Sorentos also come with dual front airbags and dual side-curtain airbags in the front and rear. The 4x4 system is a shift-on-the-fly nob located usually on the lower panel to the left of the steering column. Three modes available are Two-Wheel Drive, Four-High, and Four-Low. On-dash indicators show when the Four Wheel Drive System is active.

Common features of the Sorento family are 4 wheel disc brakes (standard on all models) Optional ABS Braking System, and a 21.1-gallon fuel tank. Also standard is a battery saving feature which prevents wearing out the battery by leaving your headlights turned on (a shutoff engages when the key is removed from the ignition, even if the lights were left turned on). The chassis of the vehicle is also based on a ladder frame design which is more often used in building trucks. This lends a rigidity to the Sorento that other vehicles in its class lack, even at the same price point. (See Also: unibody)

Dimensions information from the Kia Motors Website:

DIMENSIONS	LX and EX
Wheelbase	106.7 in.
Track, front / rear	62.2
Length	179.8 in.
Width	73.3 in. (LX) 74.2 in. (EX)
Height	68.1 in. (LX) 71.3 in. (EX)
Ground clearance	8.2 in.
Approach angle	28.4 degrees
Departure angle	26.7 degrees
Head room (front/rear)	39.7/39.5 in. 38.3/38 in. (sunroof)
Shoulder room (front/rear)	58.9/58.4 in.
Leg room (front/rear)	42.6/36.1 in.
Hip room (front/rear)	55.3/58 in.
SAE volume, interior	138.4 cu. ft.
SAE volume, front seat	57.6 cu. ft.
SAE volume, rear seat	49.4 cu. ft.
SAE volume, cargo	31.4 cu. ft.
SAE volume, rear seat folded down	66.4 cu. ft.

Future Generations

The Kia Sorento will be redesigned for the 2008 model year, and it is possible it might be a rebadged Hyundai Santa Fe on the Sonata platform.

First Generation/Origins

Worldwide

Design quirks and oddities

Awards

References

External links

This page uses content from Wikipedia; see Kia Sorento, which includes these contributors.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Image:Sorento.jpg|right|250px]]
+[[Image:Sorento.jpg|right|450px]]
 The '''[[Kia]] Sorento''' is a mid-size SUV.  It was first launched in 2003, launched alongside competitors [[Nissan Murano]] and [[Honda Pilot]].  Sales of the Sorento have been strong, becoming Kia's best-selling model in the United States.
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 <table border=1 tablecolor=#000000 bordercolor=#000008>
 <tr bgcolor=#cccccc>
-<td colspan=4>
+<td colspan=5>
 '''Sorento Trims'''
 </td>
@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 <tr bgcolor=#ffffcc>
 <td>
-Trim1
+Base Model [[2WD]]
+</td>
+<td>
+LX [[2WD]]
 </td>
 <td>
-Trim2
+EX [[2WD]]
 </td>
 <td>
-Trim3
+LX [[4WD]]
 </td>
 <td>
-Trim4
+EX [[4WD]]
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr bgcolor=#66ccff>
-<td colspan=4>
+<td colspan=5>
 ''MSRP''
 </td>
@@ Line 40: / Line 43: @@
 <tr bgcolor=#ffffcc>
 <td>
-$Price1
+$19,995
+</td>
+<td>
+$22,595
 </td>
 <td>
-$Price2
+$24,295
 </td>
 <td>
-$Price3
+$24,595
 </td>
 <td>
-$Price4
+$26,195
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr bgcolor=#66ccff>
-<td colspan=4>
+<td colspan=5>
 ''Invoice''
 </td>
@@ Line 59: / Line 65: @@
 <tr bgcolor=#ffffcc>
 <td>
-$Price1
+$19,050
 </td>
 <td>
-$Price2
+$21,420
 </td>
 <td>
-$Price3
+$22,620
 </td>
 <td>
-$Price4
+$23,270
+</td>
+<td>
+$24,370
 </td>
 </tr>
@@ Line 84: / Line 93: @@
 <tr bgcolor=#ffffcc>
 <td>
-Trim1
+.3L [[V6]] [[automatic transmission|auto]] [[2WD]]
 </td>
 <td>
-Trim2
+.8L [[V6]] [[automatic transmission|auto]] [[2WD]]
 </td>
 <td>
-Trim3
+.3L [[V6]] [[automatic transmission|auto]] [[4WD]]
 </td>
 <td>
-Trim4
+.8L [[V6]] [[automatic transmission|auto]] [[4WD]]
 </td>
 </tr>
@@ Line 103: / Line 112: @@
 <tr bgcolor=#ffffcc>
 <td>
-c/h
+/24
 </td>
 <td>
-c/h
+/23
 </td>
 <td>
-c/h
+/23
 </td>
 <td>
-c/h
+/22
 </td>
 </tr>
@@ Line 118: / Line 127: @@
 ===Reliability===
+Long-term reliability information is yet unavailable for the newest Sorento, but the 2004 model received all around Green ratings from Automotive Information Systems, indicating minimal problems in all categories.
 ===Safety===
@@ Line 127: / Line 136: @@
 ===Colors===
+Available colors will vary by trim, and a complete list is viewable at [http://www.carsdirect.com/kia/sorento/colors CarsDirect.com.]  Some of the possible combinations include:
+'''Exterior'''
+*Alpine Gray
+*Black
+*Ice Blue
+*Radiant Red
+*Silver
+*Spark Blue
+*White
+'''Interior'''
+*Beige
+*Black
+*Gray
 ===Main Competitors===
+*[[Honda Pilot]]
+*[[Volkswagen Touareg]]
+*[[Nissan Murano]]
+*[[Ford Explorer]]
+*[[Chevrolet TrailBlazer]]
+*[[Toyota Highlander]]
+*[[Jeep Commander]]
+*[[Mercury Mountaineer]]
+*[[Nissan Pathfinder]]
 ==Hybrid Models==
+There are currently no [[hybrid]] models of the Sorento in production.
+==Unique Attributes==
-==Unique Attributes==
 ==Resale Values==
+According to [http://www.kbb.com Kelley Blue Book,] "the Sorento is expected to hold about the same resale value as its closest competitors, at or just a few percentage points below the values projected for the [[Jeep Liberty]], [[Hummer H3]] and [[Nissan Xterra]]. With an expected 53 percent value retention rate at 24 months, the Sorento beats the [[Nissan Pathfinder]], [[Ford Explorer]] and [[Mitsubishi Endeavor]] in resale value."
 ==Criticisms==
+*"The ride is okay, based on our few-hour drive, though in 2wd the rear tires got skittish on gravelly curves at modest speed." - AutoWeek
+*"The EX has splashes of 'woodgrain' trim, which is plastic doing a poor job imitating wood." - New Car Test Drive
+*"The two-wheel drive Sorento models are powered by their rear wheels and don't offer the level of traction in ice, snow or mud provided by the front-wheel drive competitors. The V6 performs well but is only mediocre on fuel economy." - Kelley Blue Book