LexFather

Yeah the Rav-4 is fast with great MPG and I think it looks fine. I can't begin to get exited about the sorrento and it's amazing this is multiple pages

TRDFantasy

It does NOT compete with midsize CUVs. Do you want me to show the exterior dimensions of the Edge, Highlander, and Pilot compared to the Sorento?

You contradicted yourself and proved my point by saying it's "right in the middle". It's not big enough to match the midsize CUV competitors, but it's bigger than most small CUVs.

At this point you are baiting for arguments, refusing to acknowledge the facts. The Highlander is BIGGER than the Sorento, they cannot and should not be compared.

FACTS:
http://www.toyota.com/highlander/specs.html
http://www.kia.com/#/sorento/specifications/
http://www.nissanusa.com/rogue/specifications.html
http://www.toyota.com/rav4/specs.html
http://automobiles.honda.com/pilot/s...oup=dimensions
http://automobiles.honda.com/cr-v/sp...oup=dimensions
http://www.fordvehicles.com/suvs/escape/specifications/
http://www.hyundaiusa.com/santa-fe/specifications.aspx
http://www.hyundaiusa.com/veracruz/specifications.aspx
http://www.hyundaiusa.com/tucson/specifications.aspx

Length:

Sorento: 183.9 inches
Rogue: 182.9 in.
Rav4: 181.9 in.
Highlander: 188.4 in.
Pilot: 190.9 in.
Escape: 174.7 in.
CR-V: 179.3 in.
Sante Fe: 184.1 in.
Tuscon: 173.2 in.
Veracruz: 190.6 in.

Interior passenger volume:

Sorento: 103.9 cubic feet
Rogue: 97.5 cu. ft.
Rav4: 108.2 cu. ft.
Highlander: 145.7 cu. ft.
Pilot: 153.7 cu. ft.
Escape: 99.5 cu. ft.
CR-V: 103.8 cu. ft.
Santa Fe: 108.3 cu. ft.
Tuscon: 101.9 cu. ft.
Veracruz: 150.6 cu. ft.

Are you still going to continue ignoring the facts, or are you going to admit the Sorento and Highlander are in two different classes?

As you can clearly see here, the Pilot, Veracruz and Highlander are midsize based on interior passenger volume. The Highlander has MUCH MORE interior passenger volume than the Sorento.

Exterior length doesn't always tell the whole story. You have to look at exterior length and interior passenger volume.

Despite the fact the Sorento is longer than the CR-V, it has virtually identical interior passenger volume. This shows the CR-V is more efficient in terms of interior packaging than the Sorento. The Sorento is also longer than the Rav4, yet has less interior passenger volume. This shows the Rav4 has very good interior packaging efficiency compared to the Sorento.

The Hyundai Tuscon, Kia Sportage, Kia Sorento, and Hyunda Sante Fe all compete in the small CUV segment. Kia does not currently offer a TRUE midsize CUV competitor. Hyundai offers the Veracruz, and that is doing badly in the market right now.

In fact, you really have to question Hyundai/Kia. Why do they offer the Tuscon, Sorento, Sportage and Santa Fe when they are all so similar in interior passenger volume, and many of them in price? There is too much overlap, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of these models are cannibalizing sales from each other.

flipside909

That's subjective. I think the Sorrento is ugly and cheap looking, but that's my opinion.

joe80

dude where do you get your numbers from?

passenger volume for Sorento:

5 seater - 142.5 cu.ft
7 seater - 149.4 cu.ft


http://www.kia.com/#/sorento/specifications/


go seat in a 7 seat sorento and seat in a CRV. then tell me they are the same size. lol talk all you want, but just please go have a seat in sorento. maybe compact SUV is 'small to amost midsize'? i don't know. BUT ALL I KNOW IS SORENTO AND TUCSON IS 2 DIFFERENT CLASSES. go seat in tucson and seat in sorento and tell me they are in a same segment. obviously you've never even been near Kia dealer before.

again, i admit highlander is a class above because it has much bigger cargo area. i keep getting confused with last gen which is virtually same size as my santa fe.


sorento is bigger than santa fe smaller than veracruz.




CRV
tucson
sportage
RAV4
cx-7
outlander
escape
equinox
edge
santa fe
sorento
---------------------------------------------
cx-9
veracruz
highlander
pilot
traverse


again, like i said sorento competes with alot of SUVs. and because of it's price and more than enough room with optional 7 passenger seating, it competes against anything that is priced 20k - 34k.

joe80

Kia identifies the Chevy Equinox, Toyota RAV4, and Honda CR-V as chief four-cylinder rivals, with the Ford Edge, Mazda CX-7, Toyota Highlander, and Nissan Murano contending against the V-6.

Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...#ixzz0hnXepp72


again, it competes against virtually every CUVs priced between 20k-35k. cargo volume is where highlander kills sorento because of its more 'boxy' design and is 5 inch longer.

RAV4 is a tricky pony. it's definitely sits in the middle of CRV/tucson and sorento size wise.

there is no rule for car companies making their cars in certain size. all i know is that sorento is clearly bigger than sportage(both old and new), and santa fe is clearly bigger than tucson. Borego is enormous in Kia's standard, and veracruz is big enough to compete against pilot/highlander.

again, this segment is very very muddy. but even Kia said it will basically compete with alot of SUVs.

joe80

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...omparison.html

even motortrend added highlander in the mix.


my conclusion:

sorento competes against RAV4 & Highlander. offers i4 and v6, offers 7 seating capability, almost as big in interior passenger volume to highlander and it's priced between 20k to 34k.

joe80

i think it looks decent IMO. looks like a 25-30k CUV to me.

joe80

also read the 1st article


The seats themselves aren't as pathetic as those in a Mitsubishi Outlander, but just like most midsize crossovers, this is no Toyota Sienna (or Ford Flex, for that matter).


And, yes, were this a true comparison of midsize crossovers, we'd likely toss into the crowded pool (61 models by our last estimate) a 2010 Subaru Outback and a 2010 Chevrolet Equinox, both all-new and full of promise.

TRDFantasy

http://autos.yahoo.com/2011_kia_sorento_ex_4x4-specs/

Passenger volume: 103.9 cu. ft.

This site lists it at 106 cu. ft.

http://www.cars.com/go/crp/research....ction=features

Almost every other site is reporting different numbers than the Kia US site.

It is impossible for the Sorento to have such a passenger volume while being only 183.9 inches in length.

Kia is using the wrong terminology/methodology.

What it looks like is Kia is listing total interior volume, NOT passenger volume. There is a difference. Interior passenger volume, which are the numbers I posted, is the total amount of space available to the occupants of the vehicle, while interior volume is the TOTAL volume of the interior itself, which is passenger volume combined with remaining cargo volume with all seats raised.

The EPA interior volume for a Highlander is 156 cu. ft., while the passenger volume is 145.7 cu. ft.

It's impossible for the 5-seat Sorento to have passenger volume of 142.5 cu. ft. It's certainly possible that is the total interior volume.

Compare to the Highlander:

http://www.toyota.com/highlander/specs.html

Passenger volume for the 5-seat Highlander is 113.5 cu. ft. Passenger volume for the 7-seat Highlander is 145.7 cu. ft., exactly what I posted above.

Here is what I found after some searching that PROVES the US Kia site is wrong:

http://www.2011sorento.ca/English/main.html
http://www.kia.ca/pages/showroom/Fea...model=sorento#

Look under specifications, and interior volume for the first site. The 2nd site is also look under the specifications.

Both sites list interior volume as 142.5 cu. ft (5-seat), and 149.4 cu. ft. (7-seat). Again, they list interior volume, NOT passenger volume.

Using a bit of math, we can calculate the passenger volume. If we look at the cargo volume, and subtract that from the interior volume, we get passenger volume.

For the 5-seat Sorento, 142.5 cu. ft. (interior volume) - 37 cu. ft. (cargo volume) = 105.5 cu. ft. passenger volume. This is extremely close to the passenger volume number I posted above, a number which several sites report as passenger volume.

For the 7-seat Sorento, 149.4 cu. ft (interior volume) - 9.1 cu. ft. (cargo volume) = 140.3 cu. ft passenger volume.

Now let's look at the CR-V and Tuscon again:

http://automobiles.honda.com/cr-v/specifications.aspx

Honda correctly lists the passenger volume for the CR-V as 103.8 cu. ft. for the LX, and 100.9 cu. ft. for the other models. Guess what, the CR-V passenger volume is almost identical to the Sorento 5-seat passenger volume!

Wait, I'm not finished though. Let's find out what is the TOTAL INTERIOR VOLUME for the CR-V.

103.8 cu. ft./100.9 cu.ft (passenger volume) + 35.7 cu. ft (cargo volume) = 139.5 cu. ft./136.6 cu. ft. TOTAL interior volume. That is ALMOST identical to the 5-seat Sorento in terms of total interior volume.

Now let's look at the Tuscon again:

http://www.hyundaiusa.com/tucson/specifications.aspx

Passenger volume: 101.9 cu. ft, exactly as I listed above, and very close to the passenger volume of the 5-seat Sorento. If we add the cargo volume of 25.7 cu. ft, we get a TOTAL interior volume of 127.6 cu. ft. So the Tuscon is VERY SIMILAR to the 5-seat Sorento in terms of passenger volume. The only thing it's clearly down on is cargo volume.

Why don't you go sit in a CR-V, go sit in a 5-seat Sorento and Tuscon after, and come back and talk.

By the way, I've seen a 2011 Sorento in-person and briefly sat inside it, and yes it is a fairly small CUV, smaller than a midsize.

Sorry, but you are flat out WRONG (and so is the KIA USA site by using incorrect terminology with their measurements). Why are you comparing the 7-seat Sorento to a CR-V anyways? CR-V doesn't offer a third row.

Just because the Sorento offers a V6 and a third row does NOT mean it competes "with all" CUVs priced 20-34K. You can say this all day long, but the FACTS say otherwise.

Go here:

http://www.kia.com/#/sorento/explore...lors-exterior/

Click on "Compare vehicles". Kia themselves correctly compare the Sorento to the Rav4, Equinox, and Edge. They DO NOT compare it to CUVs such as the Highlander, Pilot, or Veracruz.

Base prices for the Highlander, Pilot, Veracruz are all in the mid-to-high 20K range.

Just say it like it is: the Sorento competes with many of the small CUVs on the market, and nothing else.

Hyundai "identified" the 5 Series and Lexus GS as Genesis competitors, and how did that work out?

The Sorento does NOT compete with the Highlander, PERIOD. It has less passenger volume as well as cargo volume.

The Sorento is similar to the Rav4; the Rav4 also offers a third row and a V6, but that DOES NOT mean the Rav4 competes with the Highlander or Pilot, or any other midsize CUVs.

The Rav4's cargo volume is almost identical to the Sorento, along with offering a V6 and third row. It really looks like Kia imitated the Rav4 with the new Sorento.

http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/t...oduct_Info.pdf

Look at EPA interior volume, as well as passenger volume. It offers almost identical passenger volume and interior volume as the Sorento.

I've already stated the facts above, your conclusion is WRONG.

The Sorento does NOT compete with the Highlander. Not on price, not on features or options, not on passenger volume or interior volume, not on cargo volume.

The Sorento does compete directly with the Rav4.

joe80

whatever you say. i'll take the maker's word for it. anyway, next time get your fact straight. how in the world do you get 103sq ft out of 142.5/149sq ft?

again, sorento has 5 seater, 7 seater, i4, and v6 for a reason. it wants to attract many buyers. and features? loaded ones have plenty in it.


i4 competes mainly with rav4, equinox, CRV and etc

v6 competes mainly against cx-7, santa fe, murano, and even low end highlander v6. and price is not that much lower than highlander if you think about it. 5 grand difference is because it's Kia. if it wasn't for Kia badge the actual price difference would've been minimal. maybe around 2-3grand difference.

like you said before, Kia should be much cheaper than the competition. remember?

TRDFantasy

You obviously didn't read what I posted. Please read my entire post before jumping to conclusions. The Canadian Kia site posted 142.5/149.4 cu. ft as interior volume, NOT passenger volume. Interior volume is passenger volume combined WITH cargo volume.

If you read what I posted, and subtract the Sorento's cargo volume in 5-seat and 7-seat models from the interior volume, you get the numbers I posted above. For the 5-seat, that gives you 105.5 cu. ft. passenger volume.

Rav4:

Length: 181.9 in.
Width: 71.5 in.
Height: 68.7 in. (with roof rack)

Sante Fe:

Length: 184.1 in.
Width: 74.4 in.
Height: 67.9 in. (with roof rack)

Sorento:

Length: 183.9 in.
Width: 74.2 in.
Height: 68.7 in. (with roof rack)

The length, width, and height of the Sorento compared to the Santa Fe are almost identical.

Rav4 is slightly smaller than both in length and width.

Passenger volume on the Sante Fe is 108.3 cu. ft.

Passenger volume on the Rav4 (5 seat model) is 108.2 cu. ft, based on this following link I posted above:

http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/t...oduct_Info.pdf

It is IMPOSSIBLE, I repeat, IMPOSSIBLE for the 5-seat Sorento to have 24% MORE passenger volume than either the 5-seat Rav4 or Sante Fe, given how CLOSE the DIMENSIONS of each CUV are.

Cargo volume is 37 cu. ft. on the 5-seat Sorento. If 142.5 cu. ft. was the actual passenger volume on the Sorento, then total interior volume would be 179.5 cu. ft., which is IMPOSSIBLE for a vehicle with the dimensions that the Sorento has.

The Kia US website is simply WRONG stating 142.5 cu. ft. is passenger volume. It is the total interior volume for the 5-seat model, NOT passenger volume.

THINK for a moment.

It's actually quite surprising that the KIA USA website is WRONG on such a BASIC interior measurement.

Like I said, you can keep saying this all day, but that doesn't make it true. The FACTS are what they are, and the facts contradict your claim that the V6 Sorento competes against the Highlander.

Until there is concrete evidence that proves this, this is nothing more than an assumption on your behalf.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

TRDFantasy, we get it, you don't like it. take a chill pill.

TRDFantasy

This doesn't have much to do with my opinion at this point.

Sometimes, you have to brush aside one's own opinion and accept the facts. The facts are the Highlander is bigger in exterior and interior compared to the Sorento. There are currently no facts to show the two vehicles are cross-shopped. There is also the fact the Kia USA site is showing incorrect information regarding the Sorento's passenger volume, making it seem bigger in passenger volume than it actually is in reality.

KA8

iTrader: (1)

Interesting maybe you two should meet at Denny's on saturday morning and really get at it.

joe80

yo TRD

you posted these numbers. lol

Highlander: 145.7 cu. ft.
Pilot: 153.7 cu. ft.
Veracruz: 150.6 cu. ft.


your logic failed.