Kia Sorento rental.... yuckie

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bowlofturtle

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I just drove a Kia Sorento 4 clyinder from San Diego to Chicago. 2000+ miles.

Car had 30k when i got it.

Overall the car was below average, I would not buy if i was shopping in the segment. Given that i haven't driving too many newer cars past 2006, aside from my own 09 camry. First kia i've driven.

The steering wheel was FAR from TIGHT. There was way too much slop in it. It was all over the road, i hope other kia's aren't like this. The 4 cylinder engine was dieing, I set cruise on 80mph and it struggled all day on uphills (which i guess is normal) but it was reving at 5.5k.

The bluetooth kept trying to sync with my contacts, everytime i got into the car. I went into settings to turn this off and still did it.

Pulled me 28mpg, 4 adults and trunk full of stuff, AWD, kinda nice.

No other huge issues, I think if the V6 was there and returned 25mpg i would be much more happier.


The steering is something i find horrible tho, i'm used to driving one handed and i felt like i needed 2. I also found it a little wider then norm. There was FAR too much sloop. Once in chicago, i got into my G35 with 95k miles and instantly the steering was so much nicer and tighter. I wont compare power because thats completely not fair.
 
The steering issue is something I have experienced with every Hyundai/Kia I have driven, they just don't seem to have their chassis tuning and driving dynamics down. Of their offerings that I have driven the Genesis was the best, but still not where I would expect a RWD luxury/performance car to be.

The worst I had recently was a 2014 Elantra, the steering had no feedback and overall the car was really just unpleasant to drive.
 
I'm not liking the steering in most vehicles today! I just finished driving 18, 2015 vehicles from SUVs, Sedans & Hatchbacks.

That they are electric power steering is the main culprit and the manufactures just haven't dialed in the correct heft, feel and response! This is true with most of today's vehicles with the exception of, oh let's say, Ford & Mazda, Honda(in most cases). There are others too but, not their whole line.

Yes of course, Porsche, Corvette, Camaro, Mustang and other HP cars are most likely dialed in perfectly but, for the every person, the new vehicles have some much needed work in their steering!

One thing I can say is that, they didn't totally suck either! Just not as good as they should be in today's times!
smirk.gif
 
I have not driven that many vehicles, but all of the EPS ones so far are lousy. Over boosted and no feel. I think some of what I think is wandering of the car is my fault: if I look away for a moment, any pressure from my hand(s) will make it move. With no resistance in the wheel I absolutely have to pay attention. Older systems with some drag had some tactile feedback to prevent that.
 
I'm speculating the 4cylinder engine was the low end 2.4L found on the entry level L/LX. At a rated 185hp in the Sorento, it is unpowered for the vehicle.

Now the 2.0L 240hp Turbo four and the 3.3L 290hp six used the LX6, EX SX and Limited are in a different class. Both have more than to enough power move them along.

As for steering, the electric steering doesn't have the feel of hydraulic steering. That said, not experienced it being all over the road, but lighter. Upper level models now offer sport mode steering that's said to offer greater steering/road feel.
 
I've more than a few times received a rental that has 50+ PSI in the tires, which makes them feel unstable and harsh at the same time.

I've been happy with my Hyundai/Kia rentals for the most part - comparing them to other cars in the same price range. Rentals usually have the small motor w/ base trim (not always). The Genesis sedan I didn't care for, but I couldn't find anything I liked better in that class and price either.

Also, who knows what a rental has been through by the time you get it. The front wheels may be pointing different directions.
 
I would expect this result. We're talking four adults, all their gear, at 80mph in a 4cyl Sorento?

I do agree on the Hyundai/Kia handling though. When I owned my 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.7L AWD, I loved the way it rode and drove, but any quick or out of the ordinary maneuver gave an uneasy result.
 
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Originally Posted By: JTK
I would expect this result. We're talking four adults, all their gear, at 80mph in a 4cyl Sorento?


i'm with you here. OP was expecting too much from the overweight SUV. a 1990 vintage caravan with its 155~ hp v6 would have served him better, and at a much safer 65mph.
 
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Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
I'm surprised rental companies are keeping them so long.


Yep, it's been a different business model for some years now. It's not uncommon to get a rental with 30-40K miles on it. They buy fewer vehicles and use them longer.
 
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
I'm surprised rental companies are keeping them so long.


I've had a Camry with nearly 50k on the odometer. And it looked like it had about twice that. It was covered with dents and scratches, and the interior was filthy. Thankfully, it was only for one day.

In general, they tend to keep the lower end stuff in the fleet longer.

They'll start to pull premium stuff out of the fleet as early as 7-9,000 miles. Minivans will go anywhere from 10-30,000 miles (usually out in the low 20's). Econo-boxes will stay in until 40-45,000 miles.
 
Originally Posted By: Jetronic
for those of you with a hyundai/kia with EPS. The dealer can code the EPS for european market which makes steering slightly heavier.


The newer ones have a switch that lets you select sport/comfort/normal. It doesn't help - it just changes the level of assist, still no feedback.
 
Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
Originally Posted By: JTK
I would expect this result. We're talking four adults, all their gear, at 80mph in a 4cyl Sorento?


i'm with you here. OP was expecting too much from the overweight SUV. a 1990 vintage caravan with its 155~ hp v6 would have served him better, and at a much safer 65mph.


Originally Posted By: CKN
I agree he should have rented a mini-van. The Kia was over loaded.


i would agree that maybe I overloaded the car... But the same 4 adults with equal luggage, maybe 50lbs less, did a drive back from NYC to chicago in my G35x sedan. Car was a champ with little to no handling issues. I wanted to opt for a Van but a rental van would of been $500 MORE then said Kia.

But seems everyone is chiming in about the handling issues already, making me think I made a horrible handling car even worst by "overloading" it.
 
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I was going to make the comment that it's really hard to judge a chassis based on a rental car because alignment is SO critical to how a car drives and feels. With a rental car, you simply don't know the condition of the alignment. All four wheels could be out of alignment. Even a minute deviation can compound itself if it's at multiple wheels.

But given the subsequent comments about this being normal for the brand, it sounds like there's not a whole lot to be expected there.

A shame, really. I think modern Kias generally have very appealing styling. They have an understated aggressive look that I find attractive.
 
Originally Posted By: JTK
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
I'm surprised rental companies are keeping them so long.


Yep, it's been a different business model for some years now. It's not uncommon to get a rental with 30-40K miles on it. They buy fewer vehicles and use them longer.



My last few rentals were a very-beat-on 2012 Sentra (in late 2014) with > 50K miles and a 2013 Jetta with >50K miles. (early 2015). The Jetta was in much better shape than the Sentra.


Originally Posted By: Char Baby

That they are electric power steering is the main culprit and the manufactures just haven't dialed in the correct heft, feel and response! This is true with most of today's vehicles with the exception of, oh let's say, Ford & Mazda, Honda(in most cases). There are others too but, not their whole line.


I haven't driven any Honda products with EPS, but Ford and Mazda have it dialed in decently. Nissan, Mitsubishi, GM ... not so much.
 
I think that most if not all EPS systems don't handle particularly well depending on how you define feedback, linearity, etc. I generally wouldn't compare a rental SUV with a G35 and come to any conclusions.

In Mazda's case, I think they recently changed the caster set up in the front suspension in relation to the EPS and less so changed the EPS itself. You might be able to do this with some vehicles but not all...especially ones that don't have any sporting pretensions. I don't doubt that that this "dialed in" quality relates more to the suspension than the EPS in many cases...and in many cases, you're not going to get "dialed in" with SUVs, minivans or econocars unless they have a sporting upgrade to the suspension such as the difference between the Titanium Focus suspension versus the S or SE flavors...unless that's been changed. I wasn't particularly impressed with the EPS system in the Focus SE.
 
28 mpg with 4 adults, luggage, AWD and 80mph cruise?
That's pretty awesome and pretty much unbelievable. Must be the [unreliable] car mpg readout.
 
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