Kia sorento (2003-2010)

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Which? Car review
Kia Sorento (2003-2010)
Feb 2003 Class: 4x4s/SUVs
New price: - Used price: From £4,095
On sale:
Performance:
Ride comfort:
handling:
★★★★
★★★
★★★
Boot & Storage:
Safety:
★★★★
★★★
Reliability:
-
Total score:
62%
Cheap and tough.
Makes a good-value towing vehicle. A ‘proper’ off-roader with selectable 4WD and low-range gears. Looks and feels very dated. Pretty crude and unrefined on-road. Not particularly cheap to run. Recommended models
in the range
Which? Car Top Choice Model
2.5 CRDi XT 5dr
New price: Used price: £12,150
Fastest Model
3.3 V6 Titan 5dr Auto
New price: Used price: £9,550
9.2 secs
0-62mph:
Most Efficient Model
2.5 CRDi XT 5dr
New price: Used price: £9,875
Combined fuel economy:
36.7 mpg
Cheapest Model to buy new
New price:
Overview
Despite a lack of fancy off-roading electronics, the Sorento is fairly capable on rough terrain.
It boasts selectable four-wheel drive, low-ratio gears, high ground clearance and plenty of
underbody protection - plus a limited-slip differential on upper-spec models. It’s not particularly sophisticated to drive, and it gets a little upset if asked to corner
hurriedly, exhibiting fairly severe body roll. The version we tried featured stability control, but
not all versions get this. It’s a bit crude as family transport, then – we think an MPV would make
more sense, and probably use less fuel, too - but the Sorento makes a good rural workhorse
and towing vehicle. An all-new Sorento, with a more car-like one-piece body structure, arrived in the UK in
early 2010. Kia launched an all-new Sorento - with car-like unibody structure - in the UK in early 2010.
Since then, second-hand prices of this old-school, body-on-frame model have started to drop. Other affordable 4x4s that are biased more towards utility and off-road ability than on-road
comfort include the Nissan X-Trail, the older Mitsubishi Shogun or the Toyota Land Cruiser
Colorado. The Kia’s nearest alternative, though, is the Hyundai Terracan. It’s a serious off-roader with low-ratio gears and a traditional body-on-frame chassis. It’s
tough and durable, and pleasingly low-tech. The Sorento is crude and unrefined on the road by today’s SUV standards, The diesel’s
slow, and it feels very dated now. And it’s not exactly super-cheap, either. The Sorento doesn’t have enough data for us to form a reliability rating for it in the latest
Which? Car Survey. However, Kia’s brand reliability is average.
A post-2006, 2.5-litre diesel with stability control fitted. However, a petrol model might
make sense if you do a very low mileage and aren’t looking for a tow car. Petrols do come up
much cheaper to buy than the more desirable diesels. -
Cheapest Model to buy used
3.5 V6 XS 5dr Auto
Used price:
£4,095
Cheapest Model to Run (new)
New price: Running costs: (3 years/36,000 miles)
Owner’s View
Good build quality inside
and out. Excellent value
for money. Purchased
specifically for use
primarily as a towcar, a
task it performs superbly.
Effortless motorway
driving.
Which? Car review
Kia Sorento (2003-2010)
4x4s/SUVs
On the road
How we test
The Sorento’s a functional everyday workhorse, but not the last word in sporting SUVs, nor
indeed a luxury crossover. It’s quite a utilitarian experience, and on the slow side. Performance
Performance
★★★★
The 2.5-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine struggles a bit in the heavy Sorento; performance is
only satisfactory, and it’s not very quick off the mark. Once up and running, the Sorento can
cruise comfortably at motorway speeds. Gears engage easily and precisely, despite the long-travel manual gearstick. Low-ratio
gears can be selected with four-wheel-drive, via a push-button. Selection should be done
when stationary or at very low speeds only - it’s not a modern ‘shift on the fly’ system. This
gives the Sorento a decent degree of off-road potential: enough for caravan- or boat-trailer
towing, for example. Model tested
diesel 2.5 (170bhp) manual 5-door (2006)
Ride comfort
Acceleration (37-62mph)
7.0 secs
Ride comfort
Rating
★★★★
★★★
The soft, long-travel suspension absorbs major bumps well and delivers fairly good comfort
overall, though the chassis bounces hard over small bumps. There is some body sway under
fast cornering, especially when fully-loaded or weight-carrying. Model tested
diesel 2.5 (170bhp) manual 5-door (2006)
We use the sophisticated electronic timing
equipment to record standing-start and
in-gear acceleration, and repeat each test
several times.
Rating
★★★
Ride comfort is assessed by our laboratory experts who have driven hundreds of
thousands of miles in a myriad of different
models.
Which? Car review
Kia Sorento (2003-2010)
4x4s/SUVs
On the road continued...
How we test
Handling
★★★
Handling
The steering conveys adequate contact with the road, but can be sluggish and unresponsive
in fast, sudden turning: the Sorento understeered quite severely in our obstacle-avoidance
test, but did not skid. It holds its track well at all speeds, and steering is not affected by lane
ruts or bumps. The all-wheel drive system aids traction in slippery conditions, but there is no
differential lock. Stability control was standard in some models from 2006, but not all. Model tested
diesel 2.5 (170bhp) manual 5-door (2006)
Rating
★★★
On-the-limit handling is explored well
away from public roads to ensure a fair
test. Our obstacle avoidance test is one of
the harshest tests in the industry..
Brakes
★★★
Brakes
Braking performance isn’t amongst the best: the Sorento took 41m to stop from 62mph in our
tests. Model tested
diesel 2.5 (170bhp) manual 5-door (2006)
Braking distance (62-0mph)
41.0m
Rating
★★★
★★★
Refinement and noise
The 2.5 diesel engine produces a distinctive knocking noise and vibrates from a cold start, but
is much smoother once it warms up. It has a bit of a buzz at higher speeds, though noise levels
are generally low. Model tested
diesel 2.5 (170bhp) manual 5-door (2006)
Cruising noise
68dB
The Which? Car braking test measures
stopping distance from 62-0mph and is
repeated ten times in quick succession to
highlight any brake fade issues.
Refinement and noise
Rating
★★★
The Which? Car experts use a decibel
meter to record interior sound levels
at common UK motorway speeds, and
combine this with subjective assessments
to arrive at an overall score.
Which? Car review
Kia Sorento (2003-2010)
4x4s/SUVs
On the road continued...
How we test
Cabin and controls
★★★★
Cabin and controls
Cockpit design is functional, and the controls are easy to operate; the Sorento doesn’t
come with much by way of complex electronics, gadgets and gizmos, and it’s all fairly
straightforward. The dials and gauges are well-positioned and clearly arranged. There are
no indicator lights for low beam and fog lights, however, and the parking brake lever is a bit
awkward and obtrusive. Model tested
diesel 2.5 (170bhp) manual 5-door (2006)
Rating
★★★★
We penalise cars with difficult controls,
and we look for things like backlit light
switches and easy-to-use heating and
ventilation adjustments.
Visibility and parking
★★★
Visibility and parking
The high driving position gives a good view to the front, and the exterior dimensions are easy
to judge. There are large, heated door mirrors, and some versions have parking sensors.
The wide pillars and non-retractable headrests restrict rearward vision, however, and the
passenger-side wiper appears to transfer dirt across the screen to the driver’s side. Model tested
diesel 2.5 (170bhp) manual 5-door (2006)
Turning circle
11.8m
Rating
★★★
Visibility is a major issue for motorists
today, so each car gets a 360-degree
swivel view test to reproduce the driver’s
eye view and any obscured areas.
Which? Car review
Kia Sorento (2003-2010)
4x4s/SUVs
Comfort and practicality
How we test
The Sorento is spacious and reasonably versatile, with good front seats and lots of legroom for
all passengers. Getting in and out
Getting in and out
★★★
Large, high doors allow a near-upright posture when entering, though it is a bit of a climb up
and over the high floor and sills. The door arresters are rather weak, so the doors may swing
shut when parked on an incline. And the protruding sills soil clothes too easily.
Model tested
diesel 2.5 (170bhp) manual 5-door (2006)
Seat space and comfort
Rating
★★★
★★★★
Up front, there’s a generously roomy feel, with lots of headroom and a driver’s seat that can be
pushed back to suit someone up to 1.9m tall. The rear bench is contoured for two seats only,
with a third occasional perch in between, but has plenty of legroom for two tall adults on either
side. However, they could end up in a squatting position as since the bench is rather deep and
soft to sink into.The front seats are firmly but comfortably padded and offer good support; the
driver’s seat is height-adjustable and tilt-adjustment was optional. Model tested
diesel 2.5 (170bhp) manual 5-door (2006)
Rating
★★★★
We take measurements all around the
driver and passenger’s door apertures
and note the height of the seat, door sills
and step down onto the car floor. The
best cars don’t require too much bending
or stretching to get in and out.
Seat space and comfort
We assess seat comfort subjectively,
using our road testers’ expert knowledge
and experience from thousands of different cars. And we measure the head-, legand elbowroom on offer in every seat, to
see how well the car caters for people of
all shapes and sizes.
Which? Car review
Kia Sorento (2003-2010)
4x4s/SUVs
Comfort and practicality continued...
How we test
Boot and storage
★★★★
Boot and storage
The boot’s not the biggest: 380 litres below the luggage cover, though folding the rear seats
gives up to 790 litres (measured up to the window line). The hatch is easy to open and close,
with a large opening, and the tailgate glass opens separately for easy loading of small items.
Luggage must be lifted up to a high boot floor, however. The rear bench seat splits 60:40 with an easy folding mechanism, and folds down flat.
Headrests have to be removed, though. There is no through-load slot or ski bag, but you do
get spaces to store oddments below the floor and to the sides. The glovebox is small. Model tested
diesel 2.5 (170bhp) manual 5-door (2006)
Heating and ventilation
Boot space (seats up/down)
380 litres / 790 litres
Rating
★★★★
★★★
Heating efficiency is only average up front, despite an auxilliary heater booster in the diesel
model, and weak in the rear.It takes a long time for the cabin to get warm. The standard
automatic climate control works fine, however. Model tested
diesel 2.5 (170bhp) manual 5-door (2006)
Carmakers give official stats for boot
space, but our tests are more realistic. We
load the boot up with measuring blocks
only as far as the rear window line, so
that luggage is well secured and won’t
obscure rear visibility. We repeat the test
with the rear seats up, and folded down
(where possible).
Heating and ventilation
Rating
★★★
Feel sorry for the tester who has to warm
each car up from a frosty -10 degrees in
our climate chamber. Starting with a cold
engine, we measure how long it takes to
warm up the front and rear of the cabin.
Diesel cars usually take longer. We also
check the effectiveness of air conditioning, where fitted.
Which? Car review
Kia Sorento (2003-2010)
4x4s/SUVs
Running costs and depreciation
How we test
Insurance is quite high and fuel economy not that great, but the Sorento holds its value well,
and Kia servicing costs are relatively cheap. Later examples will come with the balance of Kia’s
comprehensive warranty. Fuel consumption
Fuel consumption
Economy is nothing special, but not too bad for a big 4x4: the diesel engine with manual
transmission returned 33.2mpg in our tests. Automatic versions are less frugal, and the petrols
pretty thirsty: the early 3.5 V6 (auto only) did just 27mpg, claimed Kia, and the later 3.3 V6
32mpg.
Petrol (combined mpg, claimed)
23.7 mpg - 26.2 mpg
Diesel (combined mpg, claimed)
31.7 mpg - 36.7 mpg
Model tested
diesel 2.5 (170bhp) manual 5-door (2006)
Urban (claimed/tested)
28.2 mpg/30.7 mpg
Model tested
diesel 2.5 (170bhp) manual 5-door (2006)
Extra urban (claimed/tested)
42.2 mpg/44.1 mpg
Model tested
diesel 2.5 (170bhp) manual 5-door (2006)
Motorway (measured)
30.7 mpg
Model tested
diesel 2.5 (170bhp) manual 5-door (2006)
Combined (claimed/tested)
35.8 mpg/35.8 mpg
We test fuel economy under strict lab
conditions – using realistic test cycles – to
reveal the facts behind the figures. Our
figures rarely match manufacturer claims
as, unlike the official mpg test, we measure economy with both a hot and cold
engine, and on the motorway.
Which? Car review
Kia Sorento (2003-2010)
4x4s/SUVs
Running costs and depreciation continued...
How we test
Emissions
Emissions
Carbon dioxide emissions are high from all models: even the diesel manual emits more than
200g/km. Petrol (CO2, claimed)
258g per km - 286g per km
Diesel (CO2, claimed)
204g per km - 228g per km
Model tested
diesel 2.5 (170bhp) manual 5-door (2006)
Emissions (claimed/tested)
209g per km/209g per km
Safety
Safety and security
Stability control was only available on some models, from 2006 onwards - find a Sorento with
this fitted. Active front headrests were fitted on later cars, though the headrests will not protect
taller people against whiplash injuries. The two outer rear seats will take child seats, anchored with Isofix attachments, and the
front passenger airbag can be deactivated if a child seat is installed up front. As a now rather
dated budget car, the Sorento is less well-equipped with safety features than many of its
European and Japanese rivals. Euro NCAP score
While testing fuel economy, we also
collect exhaust gases to enable us to
measure the amount of carbon dioxide
(CO2) emitted. We also check whether
particulate filters are effective at removing
sooty emissions from diesel engines.
★★★★
Just four stars in the Euro NCAP crash tests: the Sorento offered poor passenger protection,
with hard knee impact zones and deformation in the footwell, though its side-impact
performance was better. It also scored just one star for pedestrian protection. (Year tested:
2003)
Adult occupant
Child protection
Pedestrian protection
Safety assist
Security
4%
1%
-
★★★
Which? safety rating
Active (crash avoidance)
Passive (crash safety)
Child
Pedestrian
-
Security
Security is very poor in the earlier cars (2003-2006), with both drive-aways and break-ins all
too easy (two stars for ‘theft of’, and one for ‘theft from’. The later Sorento (2006-2010) did a bit
better, scoring four and three stars respectively. Theft of car: Theft from car:
★★★★
★★★
We rate cars for safety using Euro NCAP
crash test scores (where available),
alongside our own comprehensive safety
checklist. Uniquely, we also feed in results
from our accident avoidance test – after
all, it’s far better to steer around a crash
than rely on the airbags...
Security scores come from the security
experts at Thatcham, who break into
hundreds of cars each year. Most modern
cars are very difficult to drive away, but
are still too easy to steal from.
Which? Car review
Kia Sorento (2003-2010)
4x4s/SUVs
Which? Car Survey results
About our survey
The Which? Car Survey is the UK’s biggest and best reliability and owner satisfaction survey.
In 2013, drivers told us about 57,182 cars, covering more than 450 million miles in the previous
12 months (that’s equivalent to driving 18,398 times around the world). This unique feedback
allows us to rate satisfaction and reliability for hundreds of new and used cars.
Note Star ratings below are from 1-5 (1 is very poor and 5 is very good). Percentages shown
under ‘Most common faults’ indicate the proportion of owners reporting each problem in the
past 12 months.
Brand
Sample size: 1,100 people
Kia ratings
Overall owner satisfaction for this brand
Brand reliability
Dealer Servicing & repair
Model: Kia Sorento (2003-2010)Sample size:
55 people
Ownership ratings
Overall owner satisfaction for this range
Ease of driving
Comfort
Dash layout and controls
In-car technology
Styling
Build quality
Practicality
Value for money
Everyone who takes part in the Which?
Car survey tells us about their car and
the dealers who sell and service it. We
analyse this feedback across all cars to
give top-level satisfaction ratings for each
brand, including the brand’s reliability
record over the last eight years. All star
ratings are out of five.
Model ownership ratings
★★★
★★★
Dealer Sales Service
Driving enjoyment
81%
Brand ratings
These show how owners score this car
in 12 different areas, from performance to
heating. Owners’ ratings are subjective –
so may differ from Which? Car test scores
– but they give a good idea of what the
car is like to live with. Where relevant, cars
are scored against other cars in the same
class (e.g. for space).
79%
★★★
★★★
★★★★
★★★
★★★
★★★
★★★★
★★★★
★★★★★
Owner’s View
This is a reliable tug for my
caravan, transport for the
family, dog truck, above
all a good 4x4 to get me
through adverse road
conditions. Really reliable,
good value. I love it to
bits, that is why I haven’t
changed it at 3 years as I
Owner’s View
It is a superb caravan
towcar. It is highly
competent off-road and
copes with snow & ice
wonderfully well - and it’s
a 100 times more reliable
than a Range Rover.
Which? Car review
Kia Sorento (2003-2010)
4x4s/SUVs
Which? Car Survey results continued...
About our survey
Reliability ratings
Reliability ratings
★★★
Overall Reliability
Petrol cars
Reliability
Breakdowns
Average annual repair cost
Diesel cars
Reliability
Breakdowns
Average annual repair cost
All cars
Reliability
Breakdowns
Average annual repair cost
Up to 3 years old
3-8 years old
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
We split reliability into breakdowns (including failure to start), faults (where parts
need replacing) and problems (minor issues e.g. squeaks and loose trim). Where
the car has been on sale for some time,
and we have numerous survey responses
from owners, we also split scores by the
age of car and fuel type. Star ratings are
out of five – the more stars, the more reliable the car.
Most common faults
Breakdowns: Percentage of cars suffering a breakdown in last 12 months
Average annual repair cost: Average annual cost of repairs (not servicing), in past 12
months
Most common faults
Up to 3 years old
-
-
-
3-8 years old
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Failure rate: The proportion of owners reporting this problem in the last year
Want to know what’s most likely to go
wrong as the car gets older? These are
the five most common faults reported by
owners, grouped by age into new, recent
and older cars. A score of 40% means
four out of 10 owners reported problems
with that part of the car over the previous
12 months. Engine electrics and non-engine electrics (e.g. windows, stereo) cause
more headaches than mechanical parts in
most modern cars.