SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.
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*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.


We look at what’s old and what’s new about the 2013 Kia Sorento TCI 4x2 automatic

Same but nicer

Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday June 19, 2013

The more things stay the same the more they change - or something like that. Kia’s Sorento, sister to Hyundai’s Santa Fe, underwent some changes this past March, so let’s summarise:

What stayed the same: The diesel engine, most details of its six-speed automatic transmission, the basic suspension and most of its equipment.

What changed: It's built stronger and they wanted to show it, so Kia’s designers developed new front and rear bumpers with vertical-axis fog lights, a new front grille and headlamps with LED positioning lights and a new tailgate with reshaped LED combination lamps. Choices were then cut from seven to two – no more petrol engine and no more manual shifter. You now have a 4x2 diesel five-seat automatic or a 4x4 diesel seven-seat automatic.

Tyre sizes went one inch larger in diameter; to 18” on our test car and 19” on the all-wheeler. Ratios on the first three gears were made slightly lower for better lugging power while the upper three remained as they were. Suspension layout is the same but the sub-frames on which they are mounted are now lighter and stiffer, to keep things tighter and more fun to drive. A stiffener was added across the engine bay to reduce flexing and the whole body structure was made more rigid to aid handling and safety.

Other stuff that’s different is that the steering assistance is now electrically powered to make it more programmable and more responsive while saving a cupful of fuel. What you definitely will notice is that the turning circle is tighter, requiring a metre less space in which to turn around. Rear fog lamps are history, as are the graphics that warn about obstacles behind you. The warning beeper for front and rear parking assistance remains.

New items include two side airbags for those in front, to go with the frontal bags and the side curtains, cornering lights, ISOFix anchors, lumbar support adjustment for the driver, the dual-zone air conditioner is automated and ionised, while the sound system adds Bluetooth. The list of goodies added to the ABS brakes and handling systems includes brake assist, electronic brake force distribution, cornering brake control, and traction control. The price also grew by R21 000, but it seems worth it.

The overall experience remains as before. The 2.2-litre R-Line diesel has all the power its users are likely to need, its six-speed transmission is geared at about 2100 rpm for 120 km/h in sixth so, with maximum torque developed at 1800, roll-on acceleration and speed maintenance is satisfying. As mentioned previously, the ‘box shifts smoothly, without hesitating or hunting. The car is quite firmly suspended without being overly harsh, so it never feels top-heavy.

The back seat area has plenty of head, leg and foot room for taller passengers and there are air conditioning repeater vents on the pillars. Sixty-forty split seat backs recline through a few degrees for added comfort and they fold almost flat. Three head restraints and belts are provided for passengers, but Malcolm in the middle has to settle for only a lap strap.

The luggage compartment is usefully laid out with a flat floor and two additional storages for small items under the board. A practical rubber mat means you can load muddy stuff if you need to, while the spare is slung underneath, as on a pickup. Elsewhere throughout the car, a selection of cubbies, pockets, bins and boxes mean there is no need to be untidy. The foot-operated parking brake is a little old-fashioned and can sometimes be forgotten, but one adjusts.

As we said, it’s much the same Sorento, but generally nicer.


Test unit from Kia Motors SA press fleet

The numbers
Price: R399 995
Engine: 2199 cc, DOHC, dual CVVT, 16-valve, commonrail turbodiesel
Power: 147 kW at 3800 rpm
Torque: 436 Nm between 1800 and 2500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 9,7 seconds
Maximum speed: 190 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 8,0 l/100 km
Tank: 70 litres
Warranty: 5 years/150 000 km; with 3 years’ roadside assistance
Maintenance plan: 5 years/100 000 km

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

My reviews and launch reports appear on Thursdays in the Wheels supplement to The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles each month, most months of the year (except over the festive season) so not everything gets published in the paper. Those that are, get a tagline but the rest is virgin, unpublished and unedited by the political-correctness police.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.


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