Test drive Kia Sorento 2002 - 2006 SUV

Kia Sorento - the choice of pragmatists

Inexpensive diesel SUVs arrived in the regiment! The company to Honored Bestseller - Suzuki Grand Vitara will now compose a novelty of Korean automotive traders - a five -door frame SUV Kia Sorento. The struggle for the buyer in the price category up to twenty thousand euros is becoming more and more serious, since now there is the possibility of choosing ...
 
Every time Kia Sorento appears on the road, I notice that quite a lot of people pay attention to him, especially if the car is beautiful. Most of all she is the silver metallic, in which a 3.5-liter version of Sorento, we tested in the summer of last year, was painted. Then the appearance, running qualities and a combination of consumer characteristics delighted all participants in the test, and therefore when the dealer suggested testing the diesel version of the car, we did not find the strength to refuse.
 
So, design. To say that the Koreans did something unusual, it means to say very little. Indeed, after the appearance of Kia Sportage, with which the company very successfully got into a new market niche, has passed about ten years, and during this time the fashion and customer priorities have changed a lot. Nevertheless, when the Koreans developed the second SUV, they managed and this time accurately guess all consumer requests.
 
Although guessing is not entirely true in this case. Rather, we can say that Korean automotivemen clearly knew that it was most in demand in the market. They did not dare to create a SUV, especially since the development of a new platform would be too ruined for them. But a universal frame SUV is both simpler and cheaper. And besides, in this sector, after removing several universal models from the production, there is a certain deficiency of modern SUVs. Moreover - such beautiful ...
 
But Kia Sorento is more like a SUV. Until you know what exactly is hidden in the bowels of this model, you assume that in front of you is another crossover with an automatic all -wheel drive and a supporting body. But no, Kia remained true to her concept and, as in the case of sports, preferred to make a frame car with parquet design. In addition, Sorento also has a dependent rear suspension to the spine on which the body rests. She is stronger than flimsy independent pendants and easily opposes all the blows that she gets on the road. And the use of springs instead of springs made it possible to make the car soft and comfortable.
 
Soreno’s salon makes a less favorable impression than the design of his body. It is somehow rustic and without much imagination. Firstly, the presence of inexpensive hard plastic is depressing, and even a leather salon does not make a proper impression. And secondly, due to the specific design of the instrument panel, it is immediately felt that the machine is Korean. Everything seems to be done according to the canons of the class: informative tidy, conveniently located switches and toggle switches, a grip steering wheel, etc., but you barely proceed from the inspection to direct acquaintance, many questions arise. Why is the leather upholstery of the steering wheel so slippery? Why is the decoration for wood found on the sidewalls of the central console so plastic? Anyway, was it really impossible to provide at least in some places the presence of good textured plastic? Which at least looked soft and expensive ...
 
However, only the owners of European and Japanese SUVs will arise to the interior Sorento, which Koreans were guided by the development of this model. The SUV is similar to them in many details, which in the minds of consumers gives rise to certain illusions and hopes - maybe, in terms of quality of decoration, it will look like a forest? We will disappoint you: no, neither on Lexus, nor on some other prestigious all-wheel drive Sorento is not like. Which, however, is fully compensated by its price.
 
After all, all these models cost at least ten, or even fifteen thousand euros, with the same power and similar equipment. So, choosing Kia Sorento, the buyer knows exactly what his car turned out to be cheaper. That's exactly - due to these secondary signs of a luxurious car ...
 
But considering the modesty of interior design a disadvantage is a sign of bad taste. Yes, perhaps the skin in Kia is not so expensive as in BMW, and plastic is purchased from another supplier. But in everything else, with regard to the quality of assembly and ergonomics, Kia Sorento is no worse - minimal gaps, lack of noise, a good fit of details. Let not the highest class, but very high ...
 
It's time to see how Diesel Sorento drives. I remember that the gasoline modification left behind a lot of positive emotions, and admired all first of all with a magnificent motor, as well as an excellent setting up the chassis. Diesel, even a turbocharged, is, of course, not a 200-horsepower herd of a 3.5-liter gasoline V6, and therefore it would be stupid to count on a hurricane temperament. So we prepared in advance for unhurried flanification - what to demand from a turbodiesel rogue?
 
But it turned out that Kia Sorento even with a 140-horsepower 2.5-liter turbodiesel drives very well. Gas on the floor, and after 15.5 seconds, the speedometer shooter shows at a 100-kilometer mark. If you continue in the same spirit, then after a while it will be able to get a 170-kilometer. True, the time for this is noticeably more ...
 
A four -speed automatic installed on the car provided for the test, the acceleration dynamics does not have a very significant effect - the version with mechanics accelerates from a place to 100 km/h only a second faster. Four steps without a manual regime are not the most modern solution, but in the case of Sorento, no complaints about the machine of the machine gun arise. Switching is quite predictable, although sometimes very sharp, especially in a kik downs.
 
The four -cylinder turbodiesel itself also liked it: the peak of torque falls at 2000 rpm, so acceleration in any case is dynamic. Slightly crushed the right pedal - and the car cheerfully accelerates. It does not arise the desire to anneal, as in a gasoline machine, because the diesel simply does not want to go faster. It can be twisted to the very limiter of revolutions, but this is not enough, since the machine accelerates only a little faster than at 2000-2500 rpm. In addition, in such modes, the sound of the motor, heard in the cabin constantly, becomes loud and even annoying. I don’t know why, with such magnificent sound insulation, the designers did not work on a muffle for a motor, but diesel is a soloist. And the higher the revolutions, the louder he informs those who are in the cabin about how much the car drives the fuel. Music, of course, will help, but will not relieve this drawback, so we put Kia Sorento minus for poor sound insulation of the motor compartment.
 
And if it came to claims, then one cannot fail to note the excessive rigidity of the suspension of this version. A car with a six -cylinder gasoline engine, it seems to us, was noticeably softer - apparently due to the weight of the engine. He ignored the pits on the highway, and on the off -road felt confident. And the turbodiesella modification is noticeably tougher: each joint is transmitted to the body, and vertical buildup is noticeably larger than that of Sorento 3.5. Apparently, the matter is still in the weight ...
 
It's time to draw conclusions. We can only say good Kia Sorento: a beautiful, inexpensive, reliable and universal SUV with a diesel engine. And most importantly - almost indestructible! The frame design, a dependent rear suspension, connected front bridge, unpretentious diesel - it seems that the car was originally designed for our region. And the price that is quite acceptable to the new full -size SUV, this confirms - European and American models are much more expensive. And let them look more luxurious inside, in external design they do not have a big advantage over the Korean model.
 
In addition, Sorento does not even compete with them, but with SUVs, because a five -door off -road car of this size for eighteen thousand euros is almost impossible to buy. Unless the aforementioned Suzuki Grand Vitara fits into these conditions. So, in addition to the interesting design, spacious salon and a painful diesel engine, Kia Sorento has another very important dignity for the Belarusian consumer is an honest price!
 
Pavel Kozlovsky
 

Source: "Avtogazeta"