Vehicle: 2003 Kia Sorento EX-L

Performance: Sorento is powered by the same 3.5L V6 DOHC engine as the Sedona minivan. With 193hp and 217 lb/ft of torque, power is never an issue. The throttle response is quick and linear. The refinement of this Hyundai/Kia V6 engine series has the ability to match the best of the rivals. The engine idle is extremely smooth, NVH is simply excellent. The best of all, its a very flexible powerplant that adapts to every situations perfectly. Match with this engine is the 4-speed auto tranny. The shifts are smooth. This tranny is willing to upshift as the driver mesh the throttle. This box’s fuzzy logic feature has the ability to lock in 2nd gear as you go downhill. The engine clocks in at 100 km/h at less than 2800 rpm is impressive.

Handling: Given the Sorento’s body-on-frame construction, its driving dynamics generated a few surprises. The chassis provides a confident-inspiring feeling as I pushed through corners. The cornering stability is very well-controlled and balanced considering Sorento’s truck nature. It doesn’t have many body-on-frame SUV’s tippy and nervous feeling on freeway that make driver scary (say a LR Discovery). I have a chance to take the Sorento to 130-140 km/h on the freeway and came away very impressive. The feeway stability is able to rival many of the more expensive car-based SUVs without sacificing handling. As expected, there are quite amount of body rolls in the corners and tires tend to squeeze. However, those warnings came in a surprisingly controlled manners. On the other hand, Sorento has suffered from a steering that is too overboosted. Despite it got decent steering response, its just way too light for my taste. There are too much free-play during left and right transition while the on/off-center feel numb. Ride comfort is better than expected, once again, given its truck nature.

Brakes: Given Sorento’s nearly 4300 pounds, its brakes are very capable of making such a heavy SUV stops. The pedal feel is better than average and its easy to modulated.

Interior: Sorento’s interior is very well laid-out. There are large gauges for speed, tachometer, fuel and tempeature. It also has one of the coolest transmission indicator lighting in the market. Everything from the power windows, locks and auto climate control are logically laid-out and well placed. The climate control is effective while the fan speed is not too noisy when set it to maximum. Finally there is a Korean car that doesn’t suffer from tiny stereo switches. Although the knobs are not “Volvo size”, those are much larger than those found in other Korean products. Maybe its parent company, Hyundai, should take a note from Kia next time they designed a stereo. The seats are comfortable. However, there are some drawbacks. Firstly, the leather feels rather plasticky given its leather nature. Secondly, the wooden/leather steering feels too tacky for my taste. Thirdly, I can find some hard plastic around glovebox and lower dash area. Lastly, the center armrest placed a bit too low.

Although I have never been a fan of faux wood. Kia produced the most convincing faux wood trim in the industry, IMO. Its thickness and texture feel more like wood than plastic. The wood color also matched the aluminum steering wheel spoke very well.

There are plenty of head and legroom on the back. With the center armest folded down, it creates a very comfortable environment for a long trip.

In terms of cargo space, there are tons of cubbyholes and a pirate cover. The carpet uses premium material that looks durable. You can open the top glass instead of whole hatch if you just put some small items. Overall, a very well thought out design.

Conclusion: After the Sedona, Kia has another winner on its hands with the Sorento. It got decent engine, plenty of interior and cargo space. The most importantly, the handling that surprises many people. If Kia can fix the numb steering and some minor interior issues, this is gonna be one unbeatable package.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2003 KIA SORENTO EX-L
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Performance: 4.5/5
Ride and handling/fun-to-drive: 3.75/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 4.25/5
Cargo/accessibilility/layout: 5/5
Value-for-money: 4/5

Overall rating: 4/5