Kia Sorento

Went to see and test drive this Sorento... First looks, the center dotted grills looks impressive and sizable too. In it is a 2.4L GDI engine, seems to me is a shared engine from Mitsubishi with perhaps a little tuning. Nicely designed LED front and tailights too. Inside, guess Korean makers tend to captivate buyers with plenty of gadgets, from both front seats with electric plus memory, 7-inches dashboard display, bluetooth, cruise control, electric park brake, 2nd and 3rd row individually controlled aircon, all 4 fully automated windows and a feature that no one gives which is TPMS. On the drive, the 2.4L powers and throttles much better with the 6-speed gearbox. Drive was nothing to shout about but dashing forward to overtake is not easy, comparing to similar 2.0L or even same 2.4L Japanese makers. Tried cornering and the AWD don't seem to kick in compare to Forrester who can corner much better. Salesperson says have park assist (which I saw button), adaptive headlamps and blindspot assist but did not get to try them. Overall it can be a considerable 7 seaters SUV if you are more of a gadget person but if you are of both reliable engine and also gadgets, then you may want to look at Japanese makes like X-Trail or even continental ones but you will need deeper pockets.... Read More

Test drive the new 2.2CRDi AWD Sorento, the handling had been improved compared to the previous model and the overall wheelbased had increase which mean a better 3rd roll leg room (the previous model also have decent leg room). Road handling is good with the AWD even with the corners and wet road during the rain. It would be best for road trip up North to Malaysia and even to Thailand. I prefer to drive up via old trunk road, even I always do that when I driving up to Malacca. Try both the West Coast trunk road and central thru Kulai - Ayitam - Batu Pahat - Muar. Looking to change to one in the near future.... Read More