Why as a car enthusiast I Drive a Kia

Am i breaking a rule as a car enthusiast who drives Kia Sorento? no. Here is Why.

4y ago
67.8K
My 2005 Kia Sorento 4x4 Manual.

My 2005 Kia Sorento 4x4 Manual.

I am a car enthusiast through and through no doubt about it. A fairly rare one at that. Being I drive a four door, SUV. It's a Kia Sorento. The Sorento I drive has V6 in the front, produces ~200hp, is driven by all four wheels and is a five speed manual. It even does 0-60 in around 6.7 seconds. Yet I am often not seen as driving an enthusiasts car. Even less so than when I had a V6 Mustang that on a good day made 130hp.

I did *not* used to like kia as a brand either

For a long time I was certain I would never own a Kia. They're known for being slow, ugly, and poorly designed. When my most recent car decided to die, I went car shopping and fell in love with this Kia Sorento. It is more reliable, faster and has more options that the 2005 Ford Escape that at least in my part of the world is looked at as the best of this class.

The Kia Sorento from this time period came equipped with a V6 in even the base configuration making 198 horsepower and 217 lb-ft torque. Not to shabby especially when the Ford Escape from that time made 200 Horsepower and 193 lb-ft torque. Even than you have to get a Limited (which is quite a bit more expensive than a base model). To me this means Kia has won that battle quite handily.

Brand vs Car

I was talking to my father-in-law the other day, he was adamant that Kia was a bad brand. He recalled early 2000s economy cars. Such as older Optimas and Rios. Now I will admit those were *not* good cars. That is where my train of thought on this comes in. I judge cars not by the brand that makes them but by how good they are on their own (with some other factors such as warranty, etc etc etc built in). He quite loves American car brands. Off the top of my head I can list quite a few American cars that this world would have been better off without.

What does all this mean?

I drive a Kia Sorento because in that year, of this car, spec'ed this way. Its a great car. Does that mean all Kias are good? No. Does that mean I won't buy a Kia? No. When buying a car, buy one you like. One that fits what you need. Look at reviews of the car, not the company (within reason). This is why I drive a Kia and am an enthusiast.

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Comments (23)

  • I owned a MKI Sorento from late 2003 till 2009 and did 200.000km with it. Not the 3.5 V6, but the 2.5 CRDi and it was bl* marveleous! Due to tax reasons (owning big cars is considered as criminal in The Netherlands, paid € 2.000- per year on roadtax and insurance) it had to go but I abdolutely loved the MKI Sorento! Switching the 4WD off, it transformed in a prober rear wheel drive. Had it chiptuned by Maximo up to 200bhp * 320Nm Torque. Rocksolid and Bulletproof SUV!

      4 years ago
  • Only a true enthusiast would scour the classifieds and research until he discovered this gem.

      4 years ago
  • Most (all) Kias sold here in Europe are Manual.

    Drove a Cee'd for a week last week, thoroughly enjoyed it. High spec, great response, a fun drive with a fair amount of grunt under the bonnet.

    Would it be my first choice? No.

    Would I rule it out? Absolutely not.

      4 years ago
  • Proofreader on holiday? :) (why I feel in love -> fell ; more options that the ford escape -> than; on there own -> their...

    Ok, I'll stop being pedantic now :)

      4 years ago
  • I really love my Kia Soul. Kia was a brand I wouldn't have touched until a few years ago. It shows how a company can learn and develop. The only trouble is that the new models are starting to get expensive.

      4 years ago
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