Kia Sorento

Founded in 1944 as the Kysungsung Precision Industry, Kia is South Korea’s oldest and second largest car manufacturer, behind only Hyundai. In Australia the company is probably best known for its Carnival and Rio models, which do well for it in the large people mover and small car segments respectively. If you enjoy watching your summer sport, you’ll probably also recognise Kia as a major sponsor of the Australian Open tennis tournament.

But tennis is not the only sporting pursuit you should associate with Kia. It also manufacturers a couple of vehicles capable of getting your boat down to the ramp, most notably the Sportage and the Sorento, which is the subject of this month’s Tow Test.

On paper, the Sorento looks like fantastic value for money at $32,990, so I was interested to see if, like many of the boats we review in these pages, it is built to a price or if it could match it with many of its pricier European competitors in the towing stakes.

The test car housed a 3.5lt V6 24-valve DOHC engine capable of pulling 2300kg of marine craft (braked), with a maximum power of 145kW at 5500rpm and a peak torque of 295Nm at 3000rpm.

The transmission was the four-speed automatic variety and a dial to the bottom right of the steering wheel can be used to change from rear-wheel drive to either low range or high range four-wheel drive.

Other specifications of note include double wishbone front suspension and five link rigid rear axle suspension, rack-and-pinion power-assisted steering, an 80lt fuel tank, and a kerb weight of 2027kg, which makes it a real heavyweight among its medium-range four-wheel drive contenders.
Cruising the inner suburbs of Melbourne, the Sorento clocked 60km/h at about 1500rpm, while, on the wide open highway, 100km/h generated 2200rpm.

It’s somewhat of a running joke in the boat industry that a married man can dream all he wants about his perfect boat, but ultimately it’s his better half that has the final say on what boat the family will hop into.

When I was checking out the interior design of the Sorento, it got me thinking about this exact thing. The wife is going to love some of the neat little features on offer inside this car, including the dual sunglass holders, storage box under the front passenger seat, and the dual illuminated vanity mirrors with cover.

But don’t despair. While some of its features will definitely appeal to the fairer sex, there’s plenty to keep the man of the house happy and he’ll enjoy close to 2000lt of storage space with the rear seats down, roof racks, and the large glovebox with map tray. In fact, the Sorento will do nicely as either a family four-wheel drive, and while we didn’t get the opportunity to take it off the beaten track, it may also appeal as a dedicated rough and tumble off-road vehicle. While there was a lot to like about the Sorento, some features left me a little perplexed. I’m not sure the flimsy power aerial would last the distance off road because it looked a little shaky when it clashed with the trees of the local car park.

Overall it competes well against other vehicles in this class especially in towing capacity, but does lack the style and overall finish of some of its rivals.

At $32,990 plus on-road costs, it certainly offers those looking to buy to budget a great starting point to move into the mid-size four-wheel drive market.

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