2003 Kia Sorento - Unprecedented Value in the Midsize SUV Market
Are you the type that roots for the underdog when your home team isn't part of the game? At first glance Korean automaker Kia seems the automotive equivalent of David in a market of domestic and Japanese Goliaths. Even next to partner Hyundai, having been part of the Canadian landscape since 1984, the little newcomer appears to have brought a knife to a gunfight.
That is until you dig a little further. With over 140 dealerships across Canada Kia has managed to bypass some of the main players coast to coast, and for good reason. Sure their marketing has been slick, portraying the brand as fun and unpretentious, but luring potential buyers down to the dealership is only part of the challenge facing an unfamiliar car company. The most integral piece of the puzzle is Kia's products.
The tiny Rio, the least expensive car in Canada, is the kind of vehicle you'd expect from an upstart. But that said the all-new Sorento is not. It's starting to upset the apple cart in the same fashion that the company's Sedona minivan did last year. Why? Let's start with packaging.
Unlike most of its imported competitors the Sorento doesn't fall into the compact category. Instead the feisty Korean has its sights set on one of the best in the business, Toyota's midsize Highlander. A quick comparison of exterior dimensions has the Sorento 59 mm (2.3 in) wider at 1,884 mm (74.2 in) and 65 mm (2.6 in) taller at 1,810 mm (71.3 in) while its 2,710 mm (106.7 in) wheelbase is only 5 mm (0.2 in) shorter. That said its overall 4,567 mm (179.8 in) length is a full 118 mm (4.6 in) shorter, a bonus to many when parking comes into the equation.
Are you the type that roots for the underdog when your home team isn't part of the game? At first glance Korean automaker Kia seems the automotive equivalent of David in a market of domestic and Japanese Goliaths. Even next to partner Hyundai, having been part of the Canadian landscape since 1984, the little newcomer appears to have brought a knife to a gunfight. That is until you dig a little further. With over 140 dealerships across Canada Kia has managed to bypass some of the main players coast to coast, and for good reason. Sure their marketing has been slick, portraying the brand as fun and unpretentious, but luring potential buyers down to the dealership is only part of the challenge facing an unfamiliar car company. The most integral piece of the puzzle is Kia's products.
The tiny Rio, the least expensive car in Canada, is the kind of vehicle you'd expect from an upstart. But that said the all-new Sorento is not. It's starting to upset the apple cart in the same fashion that the company's Sedona minivan did last year. Why? Let's start with packaging. Unlike most of its imported competitors the Sorento doesn't fall into the compact category. Instead the feisty Korean has its sights set on one of the best in the business, Toyota's midsize Highlander. A quick comparison of exterior dimensions has the Sorento 59 mm (2.3 in) wider at 1,884 mm (74.2 in) and 65 mm (2.6 in) taller at 1,810 mm (71.3 in) while its 2,710 mm (106.7 in) wheelbase is only 5 mm (0.2 in) shorter. That said its overall 4,567 mm (179.8 in) length is a full 118 mm (4.6 in) shorter, a bonus to many when parking comes into the equation.