Kia Sorento 2004 Review

Survival of the fittest and a natural process of subsequent generations being superior to their forebears are two clauses which suit the 4WD to a tee.

Ever since the Land Rover pioneers, the brothers Wilkes, decided in the mid-1940s on a multi-purpose, all-wheel drive to bring relief to English farmers, there's a new species bred each year.

One of the latest, however, takes a slight step backwards.

Introduced as an automatic, the Kia Sorento now gets a clutch and five cogs beneath the floor to make us work a bit harder, and pay a little less. In fact, $2000 less.

Given that the range of automatic 4WDs on the market is pretty damn good, the release of a manual transmission model seems pointless.

But Kia insists some of you – not me – like manuals.

However, I could be lured to the other side because the Sorento's clutch is light and the gear action smooth and positive. The 3.5-litre V6 is naturally torquey, so the vehicle is as easy to drive as some passenger cars.

I'm a fan of a manual gearbox in a 4WD when climbing and descending – whether it be gravel-strewn hills, shale mountains or sand dunes.

The manual can be held in a low gear to use engine braking when descending.

In comparison, some autos let the engine run amok and it requires a lot of delicate braking to safely slow the vehicle.

But on the beach and for general off-roading an auto takes the cake.

I'd agree that a manual gearbox is also better for towing and, to split hairs, is likely to out-accelerate its automatic counterpart.

Kia – and Hyundai – both use an electronic transfer case. It's controlled by a twist knob on the right side of the steering wheel and allows the driver to simply dial up the drive.

Just hit the clutch and the switch from 2WD to 4WD High can be taken at up to 80km/h.

For 4WD Low the vehicle has to be stationary – yet it's just as painless.

This system is also used by Volkswagen and Nissan and will soon be used by other makers, including Suzuki.

Other than the transmission swap, there's not much difference between this and the auto.

There's not a lot – at least outwardly – that's wrong with the Sorento.

It shares many mechanical components with the Hyundai Terracan, yet is a better vehicle. It looks sharper, sits higher and has a less fussy interior.

On the road it has a well-sorted suspension that doesn't shiver on its tyres at low speeds.

It works well in the dirt as well. But despite having a transfer case and full ladder chassis, the suspension has relatively small travel, so on rutted tracks it can get caught with its wheels in the air.

Back on the bitumen, the Sorento will crank up to the speed limit with ease, sitting on 100km/h at modest engine revs in fifth gear, and return a reasonable fuel economy for a range of about 600km.

It sits well on the road though its height and broad flanks easily capture side winds.

The steering is light and while there's a lot of turns lock-to-lock, the turning circle is brilliant to make it an easy machine to punt around the city.

Comfort rates high, with a supple suspension and seats which are cushy if not a little flat and unsupportive on the cushion.

The Sorento even gets decent features such as CD player, electric windows and mirrors, airconditioning, two airbags, lots of Tupperware on the sides and big alloy wheels.

Rear seats fold flat for storage, there's a handy curtain over the rear cargo area, lap/sash seatbelts all around and a couple of cup-holders in the back for kiddies.

It's a very good all-round vehicle and the price is unbeatable. So what's the hitch?

Well, now that Kia has got a good-looking product, it's about time it turned its attention to quality.

There's been a few Kia products with minor hiccups that need to be addressed at the factory.

Other than that, I rate the Sorento very highly and I suspect that the new Sportage will get similarly high reviews.