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5.4K views 18 replies 8 participants last post by  SXdriver  
#1 ·
We picked up a '16 SXL 2.0T AWD last night. It's Titanium Grey with the black interior and the tech package. After a few terrible dealership experiences we finally were able to reach a nice deal. Since these things are so popular, haggling on price was pretty difficult, at least here in the the Northeast.

At first, the wife wanted the Merlot interior but we couldn't find one with the tech package that wasn't Snow White Pearl. So, black it is which I'm a bit lukewarm over. Anyway, I'll post more pics and driving impressions after the weekend since we've only driven it a few miles home.
 

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#2 ·
Congrats on the new Sorento. Black tends to show dust and fibres and such but hides dirt. The White interior would be very high maintenance. I would have preferred a colour other than black but there are no interior colour options for the SX model in Canada. At least the seats are cooled and heated and the exterior colour isn't that dark. All that should help keep things comfortable in the summer.
Please let us know what you think after some more seat time. I found it a big step up in refinement from the 14 CX 5 I was driving.
 
#3 ·
Passenger seat

I just purchased the 2016 Sorento. When my first passenger sat in the car, they tried to raise the passenger seat. I does not go up or down, just forward and backward. At 5'1", she sits so low she can barely see over the dash, or out the window. There must be a way to adjust the height. Otherwise, the future of driving is going to be very unpleasant.
KIA, you really have to come up with a fix to this problem.
 
#4 ·
I just purchased the 2016 Sorento. When my first passenger sat in the car, they tried to raise the passenger seat. I does not go up or down, just forward and backward. At 5'1", she sits so low she can barely see over the dash, or out the window. There must be a way to adjust the height. Otherwise, the future of driving is going to be very unpleasant.
KIA, you really have to come up with a fix to this problem.
8 way power passenger seat in EX models and up. It's always a good idea to do your due diligence beforehand to avoid disappointment.
 
#6 ·
Here's my short review, after 4 days of ownership.

Pros:
The ride is really impressive. There seems to be little trade-off for the higher riding position as compared to a sedan.
The steering is not at all sloppy. I'm guessing the rack mounted unit feels better than the column version in the other trims.
The seats are very comfortable, both front and back. The extending thigh support is great as I'm 6'1"
The styling is awesome in my opinion. It's one of the best looking SUVs out there. The wheels are especially sharp (I don't like the chrome rims on the V6 limited)
The turbo 4 cyl seems to be pretty punchy around town. I don't miss my 3.6L V-6 at all really. I'm sure at higher revs, it'll lose out to a V-6 but most of my driving is in stop and go traffic so no big deal to me.
The Around View Camera will spoil you. It'll be hard to go to a car without that feature now.
The interior layout is really nice and simple. It's not flashy but has plenty of features. LED dome lights are nice and bright.
Under the floor storage in the 5 seater is great and the cargo space is ample.
Large easy to use buttons on the infotainment system. Happy they didn't adapt all the touch/slide controls popping up in the competition.
Large moonroof

Cons:
Lack of DRLs and rain sensing wipers. This is inexplicable since the Euro versions have them.
F/E is below average but lucky for all of us, gas is cheap (for now!).
No mood lighting on the inside. Seems for the price, they could have added some sort of ambient lighting to brighten the cockpit.
The could add some variation to the black interior. Maybe put silver accents on the doors or something. It's pretty stark inside if you don't go with Merlot or Ivory in the SXL.
Also, the map light controls aren't lit, which is weird to me. You can't see the button you need to push to see, which is ironic.
The HID low beams don't project far down the road. They seem to point down and flood the front of the car with light as opposed to straight ahead. They also should offer bi-xenon and adaptive functionality.
The Infinity sounds system doesn't sound that good. My old 11 speaker Harmon/Kardon was much clearer and punchier.
No 3D view on the Nav screen.

That's about it for now. We're happy with the purchase thus far. Lets she how she holds up over time. My previous car was a 2011 Buick LaCrosse CXS (loaded). Interestingly enough, they have almost the same MSRP. My Buick's MSRP was $43,500 when new compared to the Kia's $45,300. The Buick definitely had a more upscale looking cabin (ambient lighting, stitched dash/door panels, contrasting colors etc) and great features like a head up display, puddle lamps and remote start but the Kia obviously has great features as well.
 
#8 ·
No mood lighting on the inside. Seems for the price, they could have added some sort of ambient lighting to brighten the cockpit.
Also, the map light controls aren't lit, which is weird to me. You can't see the button you need to push to see, which is ironic.
Just in front of the map light buttons there are two ambient led lights that shine onto the console all the time. I agree it would be nice if the map light buttons were lit, but I can feel for them fine and the ambient light reflecting off my hand when it's up there helps.

Your SXL trim has black pillars and headliner right? More luxury, but probably makes the car feel a bit darker...
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the initial impressions. I find the turbo works very well and has lots of low and mid range torque. If you want to pass a car on the highway you can just give the gas pedal a slow push and it will take your speed up smoothly and quickly enough for most times without downshifting. There is almost an electric motor smoothness to the turbo when driven like that. The engine noise is very low. Most reviews say to go for the V6 but at least one review said they preferred the Turbo because it was less busy in every day driving. Personally I like an engine with good low end torque, so I'm happy!
Fuel economy will improve after the first 500miles or so. I find it uses a lot of fuel during warm up. If you live in a cold climate and do a lot of short trips your FE will not be great. On the highway or on secondary roads it does pretty well once warmed up. It should be at least as good as most of the similar sized vehicles out there.
 
#11 ·
Cross shopped the Pathfinder, Highlander, Edge, Santa Fe and Pilot. After looking at the reliability ratings on the Pathfinder I pretty much rejected it. It is a nice vehicle inside and I could have gotten a 2015 at a good price, but the handling is pretty floppy and that CVT just doesn't do it for me. Pilot… a bit too big but also completely sold out locally and reviews are not so hot for handling and the 9 speed trans. The Edge is the closest in overall specs but was quite a bit more costly when configured the way I wanted it and just didn't seem to impress like the Sorento. Also, no local inventory in high end models. CX9 I didn't even consider. Looked at Santa Fe and just preferred the Sorento.
Didn't need 7 seats and did need as much cargo room as possible, so ended up with the 2.0T. I felt the overall refinement was just higher than the competition and it was the right size for our needs.
 
#14 ·
The Edge was really the only other model that caught my eye and the Kia looks better inside and out. The interior of the Edge is a generation behind and its 2.0T needs premium gas to make full power. The Edge does have a lot of features for your dollar though so I can't take that away from it but the Sorento just won us over once we test drove it.
 
#12 ·
New 2016 EX V6 owner! But...what color is this, LOL?

Long story short... thought I was closing a deal on a new 2016 Sorento EX V6, black with gray leather interior. Two hours Sunday night at the dealership and the dealership owner comes to me head down and says they goofed, car was sold by their fleet unit and not updated. They said they can get me my first choice a 'gray with black leather' car through a dealer trade; same EX V6. So go for it I said... so long as it is the 'Platinum Graphite' color listed for 2016 Sorento's on kia.com (I did not want them to accidentally get me the Sparking Silver.)

Now, weird thing is I looked up the car before I took deliver today. It was at the Oakland dealership...it was listed as 'Titanium Gray', and that is what is on the dealer invoice. Yet, there is no such color listed as an option for 2016 Sorento's on kia.com

Today, 2/2, I get the car. I like the color...but it isn't the 'Platinum Graphite' by my eyes. Of course there is nowhere on the car, window sticker, or mfg paperwork the color by name. The color code on the door jamb tag is "IM" which when I google it comes up as 'Titanium Silver' for prior model years.

So... WTF is up with Kia and their vehicle colors? Is this car Platinum Graphite, Titatnium Gray, Titanium Silver, Platinum Gray... what is it??? LOL.

Pic is attached. Interior is black leather. Really sharp looking car, I like it so far...95 miles on it only.
 

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#13 ·
Long story short... thought I was closing a deal on a new 2016 Sorento EX V6, black with gray leather interior. Two hours Sunday night at the dealership and the dealership owner comes to me head down and says they goofed, car was sold by their fleet unit and not updated. They said they can get me my first choice a 'gray with black leather' car through a dealer trade; same EX V6. So go for it I said... so long as it is the 'Platinum Graphite' color listed for 2016 Sorento's on kia.com (I did not want them to accidentally get me the Sparking Silver.)

Now, weird thing is I looked up the car before I took deliver today. It was at the Oakland dealership...it was listed as 'Titanium Gray', and that is what is on the dealer invoice. Yet, there is no such color listed as an option for 2016 Sorento's on kia.com

Today, 2/2, I get the car. I like the color...but it isn't the 'Platinum Graphite' by my eyes. Of course there is nowhere on the car, window sticker, or mfg paperwork the color by name. The color code on the door jamb tag is "IM" which when I google it comes up as 'Titanium Silver' for prior model years.

So... WTF is up with Kia and their vehicle colors? Is this car Platinum Graphite, Titatnium Gray, Titanium Silver, Platinum Gray... what is it??? LOL.

Pic is attached. Interior is black leather. Really sharp looking car, I like it so far...95 miles on it only.
Your color is Titanium Silver. I've seen this printed as Titanium Grey before as well. It must be a glitch. Platinum Graphite is a much darker color.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Just picked up my SXV6 Titanium Grey 2/1/16 coming from a 2011 EX V6 (she did the family well) after 129,000 she needed a new family .So far the new addition is fitting in well a lot of changes that my 2011 didn't have. Loving the tech pkg & much improved Bluetooth. Time will will tell with the new 19" tires the ride quality is much improved. Living outside of Buffalo NY i think snow tires will be in the future (may go down to 17 or 18") I agree with Jaday my wife was not liking the seat positions, but overall big improvements from 2011. I did pick up a tip in another forum here, I have the remote start that has the extra remote but now i can use the OEM remote that came with my SX. all you have to do is press the lock twice & rear hatch once BANG it starts big thanks to member regitr:
 
#17 ·
Congrats on the new Sorento. I went with 18" silver Kia accessory alloy wheels and Michelin Xi2 snow tires on mine. Put them in the deal for the car and financed it all at 0%. I find the Michelins are very quiet. I've always run Toyo snow tires in the past, put these Xi2 are much quieter. With the good sound proofing on the Sorento you aren't constantly reminded that you have. Handling also seems good, but I have no reference since they were installed on the car when I took delivery.
I almost bought a Sorento in 2013 and when it came time to look for a new vehicle again it was near the top of my list. Solid and very refined for the $$ is how I would sum it up.