Kia Sorento 2013 News

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced its latest round of national recalls, with models from Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Kia, Land Rover and Ram impacted.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has issued its latest round of recalls, with models from Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia and Volvo impacted by the recent safety notices.

The size and shape is much the same as the existing seven-seater with the emphasis on improving quality and refinement for passengers. 

Hyundai invented drive-away pricing in Australia and today it's bigger than ever. The Korean company knew it needed something special to get shoppers to sign on the dotted line back in the mid-1990s, and that something was a $990 bottom line across its models with an all-in selling price that removed the fear and uncertainty from buying a new car.Driveaway dealing started as showroom bait for the baby Excel and a new generation of first-time shoppers looking for a bargain at $13,990, in an inspired move by firebrand Hyundai executive Simon Pinnock, and has spread like a virus throughout the Australian motoring landscape since then.Lots of companies now use a driveaway deal to clear their superseded stocks, or re-ignite interest in a fading favourite, or just put some punch into their showroom push. It works, and it usually works well.Right now, Kia is heavily into driveaway dealing as its shifts from 2013 to 2014 models and is even applying the all-in effort - which can save up to $2000 in on-road costs and dealer delivery at a non-luxury brand - to its new-year arrivals. You can get a Rio manual hatch for $15,990 driveaway, compared with a recommended retail sticker at $16,290 before on-roads, and the latest deals even run up to the Carnival people mover and top-end Sorento SUV.Over at Hyundai there is a similar push, not just because of the competition from Kia but because Korea's biggest carmaker intends to be a top-three success in Australia within five years. It knows that driveaway dealing gets people into showrooms and starts its efforts at the very bottom - the i20 is now $13,990 on the road - to try and create loyal buyers who gradually move up through the range.Hyundai and Kia could be accused of racing to the bottom on the price line, but Nissan is doing even sharper deals at $18,990 on-the-road as it looks to turn its all-new Pulsar models into the biggest showroom success of the year. The cars are already locked and loaded, and being rolled onto ships in Japan every month, with the driveaway deals in Australia planned to ensure they go straight to homes without spending any wasted time parked in a dealership.We're also seeing deals with the 'drive away, no more to pay' kicker line being pushed by everyone from Holden and Ford to Subaru and Toyota, even if they are short-lived or wrapped in a different package. But that's not the end of the dollar deals, as cheap finance - down to zero at some brands - is making a bigger impact.Finance deals are partly about winning customers, but also to do it in a way that does not influence the vital resale value on a car. That's because the second hand price is determined by the 'transaction price' - the dollar number as the car is actually retailed, not the showroom sticker - and that can be badly affected by heavy discounting and even driveaway pricing. Price: from $13,990 driveawayEngine: 1.4L four-cylinder, 73.5kW/136NmTransmission: 6-speed manual or 4 speed auto, FWDThirst: 5.3L/100km   Price: from $18,990 driveawayEngine: 1.8L four-cylinder, 110kW/178NmTransmission: 6-speed manual/auto, FWDThirst: 6.6L/100km   Price: from $18,990 driveawayEngine: 1.8L four-cylinder, 96kW/174NmTransmission: 6-speed manual/CVT auto, FWDThirst: 6.7L/100km   

The pack comes hot on the heels of its revamp of the Sorento SUV, which wears a similar skin but sits on the new platform shared with Hyundai, with a 120kg ball download rating.The manual variants listed the braked towing capacity of 2500kg, while the automatic rated an even two tonnes (due to cooling and weight distribution requirements), but the ball download figure is critical.Kia has developed an upgraded tow bar package which increases the Sorento's ball download figure to 150kg by means of a new heavy-duty towing package. Chief among the changes for the towing set-up is a set of uprated rear springs to cope with the increased down ball weight - but the changes don't impact the maximum braked towing capacity. The heavy-duty package, which costs $977.34 plus fitting at Kia dealerships, can be fitted to both front and all-wheel drive models of the Sorento.Kia also says customers who have already bought a genuine Kia tow bar kit that is rated to a 120kg down ball weight can upgrade - for $239.78 plus fitting - to the 150kg set-up by way of  an new set of heavy duty springs and corresponding labels.The company says it was mindful of the suspension changes not effecting the locally-tuned ride and handling characteristics of the seven-seater SUV. The company also says a load-distributing hitch can be used without voiding the car's warranty, provided it is used correctly as per the vehicle's manual to avoid undue stress on the vehicle's body.Kia Australia's spokesman Kevin Hepworth says customer inquiries about heavier towing applications for the car had warranted the heavy-duty tow pack being made available."The heavier-rated towball was something that Sorento users had indicated a strong interest in, to meet that demand Kia has moved to ensure its availability," Kia Australia general manager of public relations Kevin Hepworth.The Sorento range has either a six-speed manual or automatic in front-wheel drive or (with a 60kg weight penalty) four-wheel drive, which is an "on-demand" drivetrain that can be locked into 50/50 front to rear up to speeds of 40km/h.Among the changes made to the Sorento for 2013 was a stronger bodyshell (18 per cent stiffer) as well as stronger sub-frames on which to mount the front and rear suspension, using larger bushes to reduce vibration.The big SUV has also benefited from locally-tuned suspension and steering for better ride and handling, something that Kia has been doing with some success in its recently-updated range.Kia sold 30,758 vehicles last year - 3276 of them were Sorentos - and maintained its momentum for the start of 2013. Kia Australia chief operating officer  Tony Barlow says the brand is gaining market traction and not just spiking sales with the arrival of one outstanding model."One of the most pleasing aspects of 2012 has been the across-the-range growth in demand for Kia cars," he says.

The new Sorento has been unveiled in Korea just days after catalogue images leaked onto the web last week.The SUV has been restyled, given a complete body makeover and set off with new light clusters front and rear, LED daytime running lights, bigger 19-in alloy wheels and a revamped interior with a stronger focus on quality finishes.The cabin also gets a larger eight-inch infotainment display screen, new LCD instrument cluster and redesigned centre console.The seven-seater Kia Sorento is based on a new platform shared with stablemate Hyundai’s next Santa Fe SUV.Kia says the engine range has been updated, which means revisions to improve economy and efficiency of the current engines: a 145kW/422Nm 2.2-litre turbodiesel (6.7L/100km in the manual version), a 128kW/226Nm 2.4-litre petrol (9.2L/100km) and a 204kW/335Nm 3.5-litre V6 petrol (10L/100km).Australian specifications and prices will be confirmed closer to the new Sorento’s launch at the Australian International Motor Show in October.