Kia Sorento vs Hyundai Santa Fe

[Alfpoon]

Hi folks,

i would like to gather some feedback from you guys who have explored the above 2 cars and what was your final decision?

[BuB]

Just visited Hyundai and KIA showroom with friends last Weekend.

I was not a Hyundai Fan and of course I am not the one buying this time and just tag along to accompany.

 

Cars

Santa Fe look very plastic inside, especially with the classic wood trimming inside, it look old to me.

Engine sound abit rough and the leather seat so call local made don't look nice and not very well fitted as some area of it are loose and uneven from the showroom model we saw.

But it does come with reversed cam and GPS if I am not wrong as no proper answer was given when we asked. Overall it still look Korean made inside, not much changes but the outside design improve, look nice and tough.

 

Sorento look more stylish in and out well equip but price is higher the Santa.

The drive was smooth and engine sound reasonable quiet as we drove it. The dual roof (sun and moon roof) is a bonus compare to Santa Fe as Santa only have 1.

The SX model's leather is very nice and its factory fitted. Too bad the reverse cam & GPS is an optional items and I won't advise you to have it Local Fitted by KIA.

 

Services

Hyundai service is really peng san... ask a question and he never got a direct answer only provide the con of other make...

 

KIA service is still quite alrite and they will find out the answer if they are not sure and not tell you out of the blue reply.

 

Overall we asked more question in KIA and we were offer drinks, demo introduction on the cars spec & features and the test drive was and enjoyable one.

 

 

Sorento will be the choice but they only have EX model for sale now, SX is out of stock till further notice, unless you are fine with the waiting time.

 

 

Others car we seen and consider;

1) VW Tigua

2) Toyota Rav 4

3) Audi Q5

4) Toyota Estima

5) Mitsubishi ASX

[Watwheels]

I notice that whether it's Hyundai or Kia engines(they are same anyway) their stock CAI lacks a resonator plus the air intake travel is short and direct to the air intake manifold. And becos of that the engine sounds very coarse when pushed hard. Actually it sounds horrible and gives you the impression it's not smooth and as if it's not keen on being revved.

 

[Lycanthrope]

went to hyundai on saturday as well , test drove the tucson and santa fe

 

but i think both sorento and santa's engine are the same, not that rough nor noisy , in fact i felt santa fe's engine are a little more responsive , agree with the interior though .. a bit dull ....

[Alfpoon]

with the COE cut coming, the COE prices doesn't look like it's going to drop any time soon.

 

the Santa Fe offer is very attractive. very tempted.

[Lycanthrope]

 

ya man ..tempting .... but how will be the fc gonna be ... , can easily sell off or trade in after a year or 2 ?

[Passionate]

with the COE cut coming, the COE prices doesn't look like it's going to drop any time soon.

 

the Santa Fe offer is very attractive. very tempted.

 

 

coe cut again? when ah.

[Thaiyotakamli]

Hi folks,

 

i would like to gather some feedback from you guys who have explored the above 2 cars and what was your final decision?

i would choose sorento cause its a new model, stylish, cool, quite powerful and less FC than santa FE, santa FE FC really bad

[Lycanthrope]

 

 

hmmm .... aren't they using the same engine and 6 speed auto gears ?? which version of santa fe are u refering to ?

[Thaiyotakamli]

hmmm .... aren't they using the same engine and 6 speed auto gears ?? which version of santa fe are u refering to ?

the 2.7L one, the old one lol new one havent see so dun comment much lol

[Lycanthrope]

oh i see ..

 

current new sorento and santa fe are using the same engine and gears , so sorento has good fc , i think so is santa fe lah

[Thaiyotakamli]

oh i see ..

 

current new sorento and santa fe are using the same engine and gears , so sorento has good fc , i think so is santa fe lah

so left with model, but i see sorento damn chio!! comparable and maybe look nicer than porche cayenne haha

[Lycanthrope]

 

 

ya man ..sorento is chio on the inside and outside ... but ex man

[BuB]

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CAYENNE is a BLACK BEAUTY....

SPEED, STYLE, COMFORT, ON & OFF ROAD, ELEGANT ALL IN

 

 

 

except the heavy price tag on it. wahahaha

I just love Porsche

 

[Coupecabriolet]

Sorento is refreshing design because it's new.. But I think it's too much of a wood block. Ever seen a sorento speeding and it looks very weird and top heavy with that ultra boxy design. Someone in my family booked the sorento, only to cancel it, top up abit more and got the vw tiguan. (although different class, sorento 7 seater, tiguan 5 seater)

Edited October 26, 2010 by Coupecabriolet

[BuB]

wahahaha, i did the opposite.

[Oneofakind]

Sorento is 2WD unless special indent. Santa Fe 4WD will be more competent for mild off road jaunts (it is a softroader but surprisingly capable) and less likely to be bogged down. At some point in time you will be tempted to take the car offroad and a 2WD will be limited all looks and no go

 

2.7L is just adequate to move the heavy Santa Fe......2.4L thanks god for an extra 2 cogs then but in a drag between a 2.7 and 2.4, the 2.7 will PIP the 2.4 evertime - regardless of what the paper specs say. Only thing is the 2.4 is more fuel efficient. The 2.7 V6 is also much smotther than the 2.4 inline 4 when you drag it to redline. The four cylinder sounds quite rough. Hyundai should have tweaked the 2.7 V6 further and slapped on the 6 speed box - it will be a better match for the weight of the car.

 

Anyway in SGP with the crazy roadtax, the Santa Fe and Sorenta are equipped with puny 2.4Ls to remain competitive, they really should be powered by the 3.5 V6 engine.

 

As for stability, although the 2.7L engine is lacking in power, it managed to push my SF to 200km/hr on the NSH (after what seemed like eternity) and the car was still stable. The handling is actually quite good for a low cost large SUV - throwing it around 99 can be quite fun - I have ditched the stock Hankooks for Duelers HP Sports.

 

I will go for a performance 7 seater SUV (with good off road capability) after my SF- I am hooked on SUVs! For what I paid for it though, the SF is a good bargain.

 

Oh my FC is between 6.5 to 6.8 km per ltr. Ha!Ha!

[13177]

coe cut again? when ah.

Next yr.