Kia Sorento - worth your consideration

[haven]

Thanks to forum member bob91yj for bringing the 1st generation Kia Sorento to my attention as a contender for a long road trip when you'll see bad roads. You know, like a trip from Alaska to Argentina.

The first generation Kia Sorento is a mid size SUV that's similar in size to the Toyota 4Runner. Features of the Sorento include body on frame construction, manual transmission, transfer case with high and low range, and decent ground clearance. The Sorento is basically a truck with an SUV body.

Here's an example
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=309870458
2006 Kia Sorento
76,000 miles, $10,700
3.5L V6, 5 speed manual trans, 2 speed transfer case
limited slip rear differential
tan exterior, tan cloth interior

Here's another one
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=309998697
2006 Kia Sorento
70K miles, $10K
3.5L V6, manual trans, etc

And one more
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=310482035
2005 Kia Sorento
70K miles, $9K
V6, manual trans, 2 speed transfer case

This one may have a salvage title
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=311520415
2006 Kia Sorento
only 14K miles, $11K
2005 Kia Sorento

Chief advantage of the Sorento over the 4Runner is price. A 4runner that costs $10,000 will have 150K miles.

The Sorento has some support from ARB (locker for rear diff) and Old Man Emu (suspension lift kit). But it's perfectly capable for a road trip without mods.

Regarding support while you're on the road, Kia has a factory dealer network in almost all countries in South America. (I didn't see an official distributor listed for Uruguay.) Kia is not as well represented in Central America. There are independent dealers who service Kia in this region.

bob91yj points out that the 3.5L V6 is an interference engine. (If the timing belt breaks, the valves can contact the pistons, creating a major engine repair.) So it's important to replace the timing belt on the schedule that Kia recommends.

 

[haven]

Forum member NewFoundFreedom has a Sorento and has used it for camping with a rooftop tent. See the thread here

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/47429-New-to-Forum-Kia-Sorento-owner

 

[Warn Industries]

Funny you mention this, I just was thinking of this vehicle yesterday as a potential off-the-pavement project. I saw a V-6 5-speed model for sale locally, and didn't know that they came in a manual trans and had a low-range.
-Andy

 

[haven]

The Kia Sorento scored well in one of those "4x4 of the year" competitions in 2003. Read the vehicle specs and review here

http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/roadte...f_the_year/kia_sorento_lx_specifications.html

 

[nwoods]

I didn't know they had a transfer case and available lift and locker!

 

[bob91yj]

Not a mainstream Expo rig, but they should work great for light trail duty. Both of the V-6's have plenty of power. There are a lot of shared parts with Hyundai as well.

 

[Japes]

My aunt drives one and I was surprised when I got in it and it was a real 4wd. The v6s are very nice too!

 

[sross]

I would not hesitate to drive a kia through Central America. Those and Hyundai's were really common, right behind toyotas. As long as one stay's on the main roads and isn't trying to bushwhack through the jungle it would be fine.

 

[4Rescue]

Worst thing I see is that they sacraficed the rear cargo cubes in favor of that "architectural C-nearly the D" pillar... When I think about it, most of my favorite trucks have made design allowences for HAVING a larger rear cargo area (Think: 70-series Troupy, 1st Gen 4Runners, G-Wagens, 1st-gen Isuzu Troopers and Mitsu Monty's etc.) and these's a reason for that.

Other then that I think is a pretty promising platform aye. V6 Manual Tranny and a 2spd T-case??? in a 2005?!?!?!?!?! That's a combo you couldn't get in most of the "Big Name" rigs. How sick would a Manual tranny'd V8 4Runner have been??? Only thing I see as a problem is a don't know a songle thing about the drive train and it's build quality. I KNOW that a Toyota 8" axle is gonna take alot of abuse and still work well, but I have NO idea what's under a Kia Sorento... Anyone got any info in this realm??? Was this made with like say GM corporate parts bin stuff??? Like a 10-bolt rear end and the front suspension off the Tracker or some other mid-smaller sized SUV. Who makes the manual tranny I wonder, Borg-Warner or is it an in-house piece??? Personaly, and I know people LIKE Auto's for their reasons and that's fine you can have them, but having a manual tranny option is something I look at as being SO important to considering a platform for myself. Or at least a known process to swap one in aye Basicly I don't own an Auto tranny'd vehicle anymore and I'm not going to. I wonder what the layout is if it's a lader frame with a body on it or Uni-body (most likely uni-body but...) and I wonder what the pwer train lay-out is, having a 2-speed Tcase makes me think it's got to be more like a truck then a car based SUV so...

Anyway, good find Haven. Maybe some guys out there who already HAVE one in the driveway will look at it differently now aye

Cheers

Dave

 

[IHDiesel73L]

Wow-glad I caught this thread. The wife needs a small 4WD SUV and I've been frustrated by the lack of a "real" 4WD system in vehicles such as the Escape, RAV4, etc... I will definitely take a look at these now.

*EDIT*

Lots of good info on the Wikipedia page-the first generation (2002-2009) was a ladder frame design BTW:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kia_Sorento

 

[jebers53]

Kia sportage 4x4

I've seen crags list Kia sportage lifted in 4x4 also. Here is the wiki. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kia_Sportage

 

[ExpoMike]

Wife had a 2003 Sorento (2WD) and let me tell you, it was a nightmare. Tons of electrical problems. Things like, if the fuel gauge read 1/4 full, you were sitting on the side of the road out of gas, the complete center console stack would completely shut off randomly and if you bang on the top of the dash a couple times, it would come back on... most of the time. Airbag system threw and error code and disabled because of a sensor in the seat belt latch. Lots of crap like that.

Also, the rotors warped and when I went to buy replacements, NO ONE outside of the dealer could supply them. No local parts stores or online companies had them available. You had to get them special ordered from the dealer for $240-$280 each. I finally found a place to have them turned and basically dumped the POS shortly after.

Sorry but I will never buy nor recommend another KIA product. My sister-in-law bought a Optima at the same time and has similar electrical problems, along with other random issues.

Buyer beware...

 

[IHDiesel73L]

Wife had a 2003 Sorento (2WD) and let me tell you, it was a nightmare. Tons of electrical problems. Things like, if the fuel gauge read 1/4 full, you were sitting on the side of the road out of gas, the complete center console stack would completely shut off randomly and if you bang on the top of the dash a couple times, it would come back on... most of the time. Airbag system threw and error code and disabled because of a sensor in the seat belt latch. Lots of crap like that.

How did the warranty hold up with all of that-honestly that's one of my biggest reasons for looking at Kia. I have done a lot of research on the Sorento and have read that they had a lot of issues up until the 2007 model year when a lot of changes were made (new engines, etc...)-we're looking at 2009s.

Also, the rotors warped and when I went to buy replacements, NO ONE outside of the dealer could supply them. No local parts stores or online companies had them available. You had to get them special ordered from the dealer for $240-$280 each. I finally found a place to have them turned and basically dumped the POS shortly after.

Might have been because Kia was still new on the scene at that point. My local Napa shows replacement fronts for $85. Rears are $65.

 

[bob91yj]

I was a service writer at a Kia dealership for about 6 years. I think the Sorento was a pretty reliable car all around. I really don't remember electrical gremlins like Mike had being all that common.

 

[IHDiesel73L]

I was a service writer at a Kia dealership for about 6 years. I think the Sorento was a pretty reliable car all around. I really don't remember electrical gremlins like Mike had being all that common.

Not to disparage either of you, but if I search the internet a little I'm sure I can find 10 people who would never buy or recommend a Jeep after having some kind of horrible experience with one. There's a story like that for pretty much every make and model of vehicle ever produced I would imagine. I think your post speaks volumes though, at least about the Sorento-with warranty coverage like Kia has, if Sorento problems were widespread you'd surely have been inundated with folks bringing theirs in for warranty work. I don't doubt that they probably had issues early on, but so did Toyota and the rest.