Topic: Long-Term Test Update 2: 2016 Kia Sorento SX

[dirtyjeffer]

thats why Fuelly is great for real world averages.  As long as there is a lot of samples.

the irony of this post...by someone whose fuelly link is in their signature for a 2005 vehicle with 1 fill up.

[Solstice2006]

thats why Fuelly is great for real world averages.  As long as there is a lot of samples.

the irony of this post...by someone whose fuelly link is in their signature for a 2005 vehicle with 1 fill up.

I visit it often.  But have had no need to update it, as it is pretty much always the same.  From 11.5L-12.5L.  With the 6, it's 7.5-8L (maybe I should put in my 5.9L/100km all highway with the an average speed of 118km/h)  Just lazy...

[EV-Light]

we've had ours a little over a month and still love it...ours is the mid level EX trim with the 2.0T engine and AWD...regarding fuel economy, we did a trip from London to Freelton, then Burlington, then back to London last weekend...final reading was 8.8L/100 kms...i think that is pretty decent for a 4000 pound AWD vehicle wearing winter rubber.

Have you tried comparing the trip computer to manual calculations? I've been shocked at the disparity between this two numbers on this vehicle, when normally they line up pretty close...

in simple terms, sure...you can't get an exact manual measurement unless you fill the tank up to the top of the neck (where you put the pump nozzle in), then take note of your distance when it is empty(ish), then fill it back up to the same spot...then do your calculation that way...you can't simply log your mileage and base it on when the pump "clicks" off...the amount of fuel could vary for a few liters depending on the vehicle, the pump and the flow rate at the time...the car's computer knows exactly how much fuel is being used, and obviously knows the distance traveled, but there are variables there as well...the accuracy of the odometer and the fact we often use different sized tires in the winter can affect the accuracy there as well...the car's computer should be pretty accurate though.

Huh? I monitor mine and it never goes beyond .8L!


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[jyarkony]

we've had ours a little over a month and still love it...ours is the mid level EX trim with the 2.0T engine and AWD...regarding fuel economy, we did a trip from London to Freelton, then Burlington, then back to London last weekend...final reading was 8.8L/100 kms...i think that is pretty decent for a 4000 pound AWD vehicle wearing winter rubber.

Have you tried comparing the trip computer to manual calculations? I've been shocked at the disparity between this two numbers on this vehicle, when normally they line up pretty close...

in simple terms, sure...you can't get an exact manual measurement unless you fill the tank up to the top of the neck (where you put the pump nozzle in), then take note of your distance when it is empty(ish), then fill it back up to the same spot...then do your calculation that way...you can't simply log your mileage and base it on when the pump "clicks" off...the amount of fuel could vary for a few liters depending on the vehicle, the pump and the flow rate at the time...the car's computer knows exactly how much fuel is being used, and obviously knows the distance traveled, but there are variables there as well...the accuracy of the odometer and the fact we often use different sized tires in the winter can affect the accuracy there as well...the car's computer should be pretty accurate though.

for one tank, sure, but I'm talking over a dozen fill-ups and thousands of kilometres, over which period the fact that you are not filling to the top of the neck becomes statistically irrelevant (less than 1% by now, i'm sure, with over 800 L and 6,000 km)...

that's why fuelly is good if used consistently - it takes the cumulative distance and fuel and over time, that will be more accurate (the human factor makes it less reliable of course, but I know my numbers are accurate).

I've always argued that the trip computers do end up aligning with these long-term calculation, but this one is the first time I've seen such a huge gap. bugs the heck out of me.

[dirtyjeffer]

fair enough...as i said, in theory, the trip computer should be quite accurate, but i don't have the V6 model so i have no personal experience with it first hand...ours seems to be fairly accurate, but i haven't done any instrumented tests to verify...just noticed the numbers, mileage and quickly calculated and they seem to be about right...next time i fill up, i'll check to see how accurate it really is to compare and let you know if the Turbo 4 is the same (it wouldn't make sense that it would be different).

[Benhaze]

I thought I would share my experience with a 2016 Sorento in real winter conditions. Unfortunately it turned out to be an eye opener experience, the kind that makes you change your opinion about a vehicle, enough to remove it from your shopping list.

To put you in context: the temperature dropped from around freezing to -20 deg.C overnight so the snowbank you can see on the left of the Sorento was rock hard. I did not want to try to jump it and ending up perching the Kia on it. Parked behind me was a new RAV4 and behind it a vacant spot that was occupied by something big enough to punch a hole in the snowbank when it left earlier that morning.

I thought I had good luck when the RAV4 driver exited the Hotel a few minutes after me. The gentleman was a tourist from France who did not not what to do to get out. After I explained to him to back up in the spot behind him and go through the opening left by the unknown vehicle he obliged without too much trouble. The RAV4 did better than I expected.

Them came my turn to back up in the spots behind me. I could not do more than 3 ft before getting seriously stuck. It took 3 people walking nearby to help me get unstucked.  A woman had to jump behind the steering wheel and two men helped me pushed my own darn rented SUV. I then had to shoveled the snow behind the Sorento to repeat the RAV4 exercise to get out of there. The Sorento center lock feature was completely useless.

Note that the Sorento was mounted on (4) Firestone Winterforce Minerva EcoStud SUV tires.

I owned (2) Grand Cherokee that would have walked away unchallenged from this situation. I am pretty sure any Ford (even our Fusion has a much better AWD system IMO), Mazda and of course Subaru would have been able to handle this situation. The Sorento is a fine vehicle as long as you consider it as a car with somewhat higher traction and ground clearance than your average family sedan but don't expect it to be a great winter vehicle.

[theonlydt]

I've never had much time for winterforce tires - but that Sorento should have got out of that. How disappointing.

[JacobBlack]

In the past fortnight I've had our LTT Sorento in similar conditions and not only been able to get myself out with absolute ease but stopped to have some fun on the way. I'd put the blame squarely on the tires in your instance. Also, if it was a rental it might well have been FWD.


I also drove one on our first drive of the Sorento in similar conditions to what you posted above with zero issues.

[Solstice2006]

Benhaze, where are the pictures taken?

[EV-Light]

Interesting! Are you sure it was an AWD? Otherwise this system might be just be as bad as the one in the Honda CRV - unable to shift enough traction to the back wheels


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[dirtyjeffer]

In the past fortnight I've had our LTT Sorento in similar conditions and not only been able to get myself out with absolute ease but stopped to have some fun on the way. I'd put the blame squarely on the tires in your instance. Also, if it was a rental it might well have been FWD.


I also drove one on our first drive of the Sorento in similar conditions to what you posted above with zero issues.

i've driven ours in much deeper snow than benhaze has, and with X-Ice 3 tires equipped with AWD and the traction control off, it is an absolute beast...something about benhaze's story doesn't match up...my Rio5 wearing WS70s could get through that snow, as i have driven it in equally crappy conditions, and it has less ground clearance and is FWD.

[EV-Light]

In the past fortnight I've had our LTT Sorento in similar conditions and not only been able to get myself out with absolute ease but stopped to have some fun on the way. I'd put the blame squarely on the tires in your instance. Also, if it was a rental it might well have been FWD.


I also drove one on our first drive of the Sorento in similar conditions to what you posted above with zero issues.

i've driven ours in much deeper snow than benhaze has, and with X-Ice 3 tires equipped with AWD and the traction control off, it is an absolute beast...something about benhaze's story doesn't match up...my Rio5 wearing WS70s could get through that snow, as i have driven it in equally crappy conditions, and it has less ground clearance and is FWD.

mmmm I am not sure about that, it looks fairly deep so I am guessing your FWD would be stuck due to lack of ground clearance. My Jetta wouldn't drive out of that, absolutely sure!

[Benhaze]

Interesting! Are you sure it was an AWD? Otherwise this system might be just be as bad as the one in the Honda CRV - unable to shift enough traction to the back wheels


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LOl yes it was a LX AWD.  You can see the AWD badge if you expand some of these following pics. We also saw a lot of left rear wheel spinning... We tried with and without traction control disabled and first without the center lock. I thought the center lock overheated fairly quickly (there is a second dash indicator that comes on to signal a trouble).

I need to make one correction (and I will go back modify my previoust post). Looking at my pictures, the winter tires were Minerva EcoStud SUV tires. They do have the snowflakes rating (a must in Quebec) and one pic shows a decent snow tread. The Winterforces I mentioned were on a different rental car. I am still not ready to solely put the blame of my misfortune on the tires.

I drove 1,500 km with this Sorento so it was a very good test drive opportunity. Most of the driving was in difficult winter conditions and I used the manual shifting a lot. There is a serious glitch with the transmission refusing to downshift at moderate engine speed (2000-3000 rpm) on first “command”; a second command without changing anything (speed or throttle input) would usually get the wanted downshift. That was very annoying when wanting to use engine compression on windy and slippery roads. That was also surprising considering the speed control too aggressively downshift going downhill bringing the engine close to redline at times.

The base engine did ok but I would not recommend it. I am sure the turbo 4L would make a much more enjoyable ride unless the Sorento is driven only in suburb areas.

[mixmanmash]

In the past fortnight I've had our LTT Sorento in similar conditions and not only been able to get myself out with absolute ease but stopped to have some fun on the way. I'd put the blame squarely on the tires in your instance. Also, if it was a rental it might well have been FWD.


I also drove one on our first drive of the Sorento in similar conditions to what you posted above with zero issues.

He said he tried the center lock feature, which to me means it must have been AWD.  Something must be going on with that particular unit if it is AWD.

[Benhaze]

In the past fortnight I've had our LTT Sorento in similar conditions and not only been able to get myself out with absolute ease but stopped to have some fun on the way. I'd put the blame squarely on the tires in your instance. Also, if it was a rental it might well have been FWD.


I also drove one on our first drive of the Sorento in similar conditions to what you posted above with zero issues.

i've driven ours in much deeper snow than benhaze has, and with X-Ice 3 tires equipped with AWD and the traction control off, it is an absolute beast...something about benhaze's story doesn't match up...my Rio5 wearing WS70s could get through that snow, as i have driven it in equally crappy conditions, and it has less ground clearance and is FWD.

mmmm I am not sure about that, it looks fairly deep so I am guessing your FWD would be stuck due to lack of ground clearance. My Jetta wouldn't drive out of that, absolutely sure!

You are correct. Anything without a decent ground clearance would not have done better than the Sorento.

[Benhaze]

Benhaze, where are the pictures taken?

In Abitibi-Témiscamingue

[Fobroader]

That to me is pathetic.....but I think its the tires.

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[Benhaze]

I came across this video on youtube showing a Sportage struggling. I think it provides a good example of what I experienced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vgkJ8HePhM

[Fobroader]

I came across this video on youtube showing a Sportage struggling. I think it provides a good example of what I experienced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vgkJ8HePhM

Thats as bad as a CR-V...

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[dirtyjeffer]

I came across this video on youtube showing a Sportage struggling. I think it provides a good example of what I experienced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vgkJ8HePhM

well, the Sportage is not a Jeep Wrangler, and never pretended to be one.

here is a previous gen Sorento in the snow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4Icn_zd0Vg (same engine, same AWD system, likely different tires, no problems at all)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlK-EsIM8rY

and i've never heard of those tires.