kia sorrentos

[tffwkends]

i will be taking collection of our new kia this week (not the new shape)i currently tow with a 2.5td lwb shogun the shogun has been and still is a fantastic tow car,our trailer is a 2006 superstorm weighing in at 1900kgs unladen can anyone out there waylay my fears that the sorrento can do the job as good as the shogun .

the sorrento is a 2.5td auto and my mrs will kill me if it doesnt do what it says on the tin!!!

she bought the shogun for me 11yrs ago as a surprise present

any feedback would be much appreciated,and probably save my life

p.s. wanna buy a shogun

thanks for taking the time to read

jim

and now i want to uprate

 

[DavidKlyne]

Jim

Almost in the same position. I took delivery of my Sorento XE auto two weeks ago so have not towed with it yet, although its a much smaller van than yours. Would be interested to see the replies.

David

 

[RichardS1]

Hi Jim, we have had a Sorento auto since June and it really is a great towcar. We tow around 1500kg, but I have used it to take a friends caravan at 1800kg back to storage for him when his Terrano was off the road. Cannot comment on how it will compare with your Shogun but the Sorento will have no problems with 1900kg. Great auto gearbox, always in the right gear with no searching.

 

[RJC]

Hi Jim

We got a Sorrento XT auto earlier this year and while we have not towed our caravan (Bailey Senator Wyoming) much (I am currently working in Dublin and only get back at weekends so we have not had much opportunity)the times we have towed with it it has been great. I have followed various threads on a few forums both before purchasing the Sorrento and since getting it and I have not come across any negative feedback at all (apart from mpg both towing and solo - I cannot comment on this as I put in fuel when its needed and don't spend time working out mpg - life is too short!!).

I am sure you will not regret your choice and your wife will realise that it does do "what it says on the tin".

Happy caravanning.

Cheers

Richard

 

[Guest]

Can I just ask.

Is the original question right?

An unladen caravan weighing 1900kgs !

The Sorento is a fine car but loaded that is going to be some weight for it to cope with.

Me thinks the 85% guide line may be out the window.

 

[JeremyClarksson]

We have a lighter but very similar van (Compass Corona 636)and we tow it with a Seat Alhambra, it tows very well.

This may seem irrelevant but the Seat replaced our last car which was the Shogun 2.5TD LWB.

At that time we had a smaller van but apart from conditions where 4x4 was needed the Seat would pull and handle much better.

The Shogun had c. 100 BHP in a heavy car, the Seat had 115BHP in a lighter car and I believe the Sorento has c.135BHP+ in a car that weighs somewhere in between.

Powerwise I can not imagine you having a problem and given our experiences

I would imagine that even if you exceed the 85% it will still be a stable outfit.

 

[RJC]

Can I just ask.

Is the original question right?

An unladen caravan weighing 1900kgs !

The Sorento is a fine car but loaded that is going to be some weight for it to cope with.

Me thinks the 85% guide line may be out the window.

Hi euro

I believe the Superstorm has an MTPLM of 1900kgs with an MRO of 1630kgs. Kerb weight of the auto Sorrento is 2079kgs so if the caravan was fully laden the ratio would be 91%. The maximum towing weight of the Kia is 3500kgs. I think that the Sorrento will easily cope with the Superstorm.

Cheers

Richard

 

[354]

I am sure that the Sorrento will be able to tow the van, however id=f you want to compare the towing abilities then compare the torque, that should give a good indication.

 

[Danny_5134221]

I dont think you need worry, my Sorento pulls my caravan no problem at all. It's only a Bailey Ranger 550/6 and therefore quite light but I can honestly say you don't really notice it on the back. Fuel return is not bad either.

 

[VonRyan]

Hi,

We have a Sorento 2.5XS manual and it tows like a dream,but we only have 1400kgs behind on the tow ball.Working to the 85% recomendation the Sorento should be able to to tow 1748 Kg no problem, your still below the 100% mark. As far as fuel consumpsion go's they are not that bad 29 mpg when towing, 34 mpg mixed and a cracking 44 mpg solo on a run.Lots of torque and pulls, pulls and pulls. The only thing that has wound me up is I have the vehicle checked for omissions on a regular basis while its in warrenty, just in case the cat is failing and Kia say it's 228 ppm. On the lastest test and previous test it was only 0.35ppm and 0.30ppm way below the omissions,but I am paying for 228ppm.

Coming out of Cherbourg this year with 1400kg on the back and a 1 in 10 incline it went like a bat out of hell and the fuel gauge did not move much and passed a Toyota Amazon with a similar unit on the back as if it was stood still. Your turning and manouvering will be far better and a lot easier.

Love the car to bits, reliable YES. Towing machine without doubt.

Rob

 

[Lol1]

The only bad thing I can think of, where the Sorento is concerned (apart from the fact that I no longer have one) is brake dust. It's a hugely capable tow car and just as much pleasure solo, but damn, those front wheels need cleaning at an alarming rate.

 

[Val & Frank]

Rob wrote "Coming out of Cherbourg this year with 1400kg on the back and a 1 in 10 incline it went like a bat out of hell and the fuel gauge did not move much and passed a Toyota Amazon with a similar unit on the back as if it was stood still".

Rob I don't think you can compare the Sorento with the Amazon for towing or torque. Because if that is the case Toyota would be out of business by now. I think the Amazon driver was thinking what's this pratt trying to prove----))))

Val & Frank

 

[tffwkends]

i would love to thank all those who took the time to read and reply to my ?regarding towing with a kia sorrento , richards answers is exactly what i was looking for .As for the rest thank you very very much this has to be one of the best sites to go on when you need unbiased indipendant advive by people who do it every day ,once again thankyou safe caravaning and enjoy ,by the way like richard if you have to look at the mpg it really aint worth it and im just an ordinary working class bloke on less than 15000 grand a year

thank you jim

 

[SteveW77]

As far as fuel consumption goes they are not that bad 29 mpg when towing, 34 mpg mixed and a cracking 44 mpg solo.

That kind of mileage is unheard of among Sorento owners, Never seen reported mileage as good as that on any Sorento owners website. Result of poor maths, or a car in millions?

Steve W

 

[Lol1]

As far as fuel consumption goes they are not that bad 29 mpg when towing, 34 mpg mixed and a cracking 44 mpg solo.

That kind of mileage is unheard of among Sorento owners, Never seen reported mileage as good as that on any Sorento owners website. Result of poor maths, or a car in millions?

Steve W

Never got 44mpg while solo, but 29mpg with van on the back and 34mpg solo, are achievable.

 

[Tony A.]

Lol,

34 solo? how do I acheive that? best I`ve ever had is 27 solo and 22 towing,

ROB, 44 solo ? are you sure its a sorento and not a reliant robin. I think your dreaming mate

Tony A.

 

[VonRyan]

Yep,

Well I do not know what you are doing with your Sorento's but the mpg I have stated is correct.As far as the guy coming out of Cherbourg on the 1 in 10 its not my problem that he was passed at a fair rate of knots.

The mpg has been checked time and time again and yes at times it does less than this but thats when I am driving quicker than normal or having to pass HGVs on inclines.

The Sorento can do this kind of mpg day in and out if you keep away from a heavy right foot and change gear when the vehicle feels right for change or by the tacho.

By the way a Reliant Robin does not weigh in excess of 2 tons and have a 2.5 turbo deisel under the bonnet. As far as my maths go they are spot on. Fill up, clock the trip meter, fill up again and check how many litres used, convert litres to gallons(U.K not U.S) and it will give you a accurate mpg. I am not trying to bluff anyone else or my-self, the vehicle is returning this mpg.

Rob

A.M.I.M.I

 

[Lol1]

Lol,

34 solo? how do I acheive that? best I`ve ever had is 27 solo and 22 towing,

ROB, 44 solo ? are you sure its a sorento and not a reliant robin. I think your dreaming mate

Tony A.

Is your Sorento well run in, Tony? it helped quite a bit after the mileage went past 25k. We also live in an area that is relativly flat, with good roads, so 34mpg is (was) regularly achievable. same with towing, stick to 60 on the motorway and let the torque do the work (manual gear box) and the consumption really was good.

 

[SteveW77]

As I said a car in a million, I tow a Swift Challenger 530 MTPL 1340Kg. The best towing mpg i have achieved is 24 mph. and solo 34 mph and I drive like an old granny to get as good as that. IE; 60mph on motorways and 50mph on A class roads.

Steve W

 

[JeremyClarksson]

"im just an ordinary working class bloke on less than 15000 grand a year "

 

[Clive_5040095]

Jim

Almost in the same position. I took delivery of my Sorento XE auto two weeks ago so have not towed with it yet, although its a much smaller van than yours. Would be interested to see the replies.

David

David

Why have you deserted your X Trail,did you have problems?

Would be interested to know.

Regards

Clive S

 

[Tony A.]

Is your Sorento well run in, Tony? it helped quite a bit after the mileage went past 25k. We also live in an area that is relativly flat, with good roads, so 34mpg is (was) regularly achievable. same with towing, stick to 60 on the motorway and let the torque do the work (manual gear box) and the consumption really was good.

cheers Lol,

I live on the edge of the lake district, so we have a few hills to get over.

the sorento has done over thirty thousand miles, I must admit I set the cruise at 65 on the m/way when towing, I suppose it must make a difference, I will give 60 a go next time out, in the spring

 

[Mike_5041040]

Hi Jim,

Hope you are pleased with Sorento when it arrives.

Can I ask you ( and other Sorento owners ) which tow bar you've chosen ?

I picked up my new Sorento ( old style XS )last week and haven't had a tow bar fitted yet. I couldn't seem to decide between the pro's & con's of fixed or removable and which make to go for.

I've seen some tow bars fitted on the Sorento that look a bit 'uglier' than others. Some seemed to be rusting as well ( on the dealers forecourt )

Thanks,

Mike.

 

[Danny_5134221]

Hi Jim,

Hope you are pleased with Sorento when it arrives.

Can I ask you ( and other Sorento owners ) which tow bar you've chosen ?

I picked up my new Sorento ( old style XS )last week and haven't had a tow bar fitted yet. I couldn't seem to decide between the pro's & con's of fixed or removable and which make to go for.

I've seen some tow bars fitted on the Sorento that look a bit 'uglier' than others. Some seemed to be rusting as well ( on the dealers forecourt )

Thanks,

Mike.

I bought and fitted a Witter towbar,

 

[JohnI.Stephen]

I have to say that I was and am surprised by some of the replies on the Sorento's performance and fuel consumption. The suggestion that a standard Sorento could accelerate "like a bat out of hell" up a 1 in 10 hill is quite extraordinary. I mean we are talking about a 2 tonne vehicle with a mere 138 bhp. My previous car (a few years ago) was a BMW 323i (177bhp) and was considerably lighter and even that could not have been described as fast!

Towing our Senator Oklahoma (unladen 1400 kg), the Sorento tows solidly and well; BUT it does play tunes on the auto box at 55-60 mph; and there is no reserve power. As for mpg; 27 solo and 22 when towing.

So that's why I 'upped' the Sorento's power with a TUNIT box; now I have MUCH more power; it's FEELS like around 40% more and yes, when I put my foot down when solo, the car does indeed accelerate hard. Towing with the 'new' engine is now very comfortable; 1950 rpm in 5th is 60 mph and on all but the steepest motorway inclines, she maintains 5th (previously she would kick down into 4th at the slightest incline); and now I have a good reserve of power if and when required; again all this when towing. As for mpg it's better than before; but I haven't precise figures - yet !

John