Kia Sorento Problems

You've missed my pick, and our current Car of the Year, the Kia Sorento. It's better than any of your contenders and a top car that gets The Tick from me.

The crash testing has been done by ANCAP and, even though Kia recently had a safety glitch with its Carnival, I’m expecting a five-star result for the Sportage.

If you have records showing when you reported it to the Ford dealer I would think you have some claim, although it's a little unclear because you've since had it worked on by other people. I think you'll be battling to get any compensation, but by all means give it a go.

The Sorento has a five-star ANCAP safety rating. Auto safety braking is great to have but it will be some years before it is fitted to all new models.

You've read my mind. After a back-to-back last week with the CX-5 I'm now recommending the Sportage as top in its class. Both get The Tick from me. I think the Sportage is as impressive as the Kia Sorento people-mover that's our reigning Car of the Year.

It's an interesting put-down of the Mercedes-Benz. The Territory is an all-round good car that has been developed for Australian roads, it might be more comfortable than the 'Benz, but I wouldn't say it was of a better quality. You could also look at a Toyota Kluger or a Kia Sorento, both of which would handle the roads well, be comfortable and are of a decent quality.

Both the CX-5 and the Tribeca are good choices; they're capable, well built and reliable. Others to consider are the Kia Sportage and Sorento. While they are Korean like the Captiva, unlike the Captiva they're very good cars, well built and reliable.

Kia Australia is aware of the problem, which is related to how the lockup clutch works in the transmission. The lockup points are currently set at 62km/h and 80-85km/h and Kia believes this is why you find it so noticeable. Kia spokesman Kevin Hepworth says: "We have reported this to Korea and have asked them to look at improvements".

Your mechanic is wrong. The new Sorento has been out less than a year, has zero engine troubles and is the one I would pick.

Our information is that there is nothing on the horizon that will change the towball weight, but we are told the Sorento will tow 2 tonnes if the caravan or whatever is being towed is loaded correctly and a load-equalising hitch is used and used properly. Kia has a hitch available, and you could also go to a company like Hayman-Reese.