Kia Sorento is a Sante Fe?

Went to a Kia dealer to get the FREE SHrek 2 DVD for a test drive. He
took us indoors to the Sorento that replaces the Sportage & I was
shocked that it felt & looked like the Sante Fe, but not the rear
storage under the carpet that I have. But it isn't the tin car that
does 360's on freeways that the Sportage is known for. Funny that the
salesman knew I wasn't trading in my Sante Fe, tho he did offer to buy
it for $12K.

 

Sorento and Santa Fe are different vehicles.

Sorento is body on frame, rear drive based with a 3.5 V6 and a four speed
automatic.

Santa Fe is unibody, front drive based, now comes in 2.7 or 3.5 V6, with a
4-speed or 5-speed automatic, respectively.

Both are available in two and four wheel drive. The Santa Fe has a better
ride, but the Sorento has better towing capabilities.

 

I went and looked at a Sorrento this weekend, and it is a different vehicle
from the Santa Fe. By the way, the Kia Sportage has been redesigned and will
be coming out in its new form in late November/early December. The salesman
told me that it is basically the same as the Tucson. I liked the Sorrento a
lot, but the gas mileage was scary. 16 MPG? Yikes, not with these gas prices.

Steve

 

Just FYI,

I had an 2004 Kia Sorento for well over 1000 miles and averaged 22 MPG
on 87 octane. Liked the car, but you really don't want to know why I
gave it back to them after I paid cash for an EX!

A quick google search will tell you why if you must know:
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=sorento new accident 2004&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=wg

 

Wow! I forgot about Worthington. He used to have a dealership in Houston.
Well, I am not sure if that is a Kia issue or an issue with that particular
dealership. Thanks for your experience with the gas mileage though. I am also
looking at the Amanta, Kia's equivalent of the XG350. It has a lot of room.
The Optima (Kia's version of the Sonata) is nice as well. I have a few months
before my 2000 Sonata is paid off, so I have time to look.


Steve

 

I loved my 02 XG350L, I just really missed the whole SUV thing as
there were a couple of times some very large items would not fit in my
wife's 02 Santa Fe and I said, that's it, I'm getting a larger SUV.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming Kia for the Worthington issue, but
it was a lot of little things. Like the Nuke problem in north Korea,
Kia sells very few cars in North America compared to Hyundai. If that
Sorento had a Hyundai badge, I would buy it in a heart beat, but right
now I'll stick with my 04 Toyota 4Runner. Bye the way, I'm sure people
will not like me comparing Toyota to Hyundai but I will right here
right now just for grins.
Compare 2002 Hyundai XG350L vs: 2004 Toyota 4Runner (Ignore that they
are different types of cars please).
1. Purchase experience:
H: Easy, stress free
T: All the dealers I went to had this bad attitude like I am doing
them a favor by looking at Toyotas. BTW, 2 of the 5 dealerships
refused to take my 02 XG350L in trade saying they don't take
Hyundai's!

2. Price
H: I felt like I got a great price.
T: I felt like I got a Good price.

3. Brand new (Out of box experience).
H: The Xg350L had 1 problem since the day I bought it (and I noticed
it before I bought it and decided to buy it anyway). After 1 repair
attempt it still had the problem (surging acceleration).
T: The 4Runner had 3 problems within 1 week (all rattles or loose
items) and after 3 repair attempts still have all three issues.

Would I by a Hyundai again? Yes
Would I buy a Toyota again? Most likely.

Good Luck on finding you car.