2004 Kia Sorento

Pros: Fit and Finish, Style, Warranty, and Value
Cons: Fuel Economy, Some Details

Introduction: It was a decade ago that Kia was a small and backwards company from South Korea producing cheesy subcompacts that only a few of us bought. Wow, what a difference a decade, angry consumers, and a corporate restructuring can make. ...

Pros: Smooth transmission, serious off-road ability, price, torque, options, fit and finish, torque
Cons: Plastic wood trim, gas mileage

(This review was originally accidentally placed in the 2003 Kia Sorento category. This does have an update that the other does not.) Options: We chose the additional options available for the EX: ABS, tow package, load leveling, Luxury Package ...

Pros: Build Quaility, Value, Interior Features, Exterior Styling.
Cons: Steering column controls not back-lit, Instrument Panel dimmer does not dim the stereo.

Intro: I was in the market for an SUV to replace my Ford Explorer. In fact, other than a Nissan King Cab in the early 90's, I was exclusively a buyer of American built trucks. The Kia caught my attention, quite honestly, because of its price and ...

Pros: Styling, warranty, numerous luxury features, full frame, solid rear axle, towing capacity
Cons: Gas mileage (get over it - it's a truck)

I contemplated purchasing a small/midsize SUV for a while. I previously had a Ford Focus wagon, a very nice, practical car, but a little slow, and not very capable in off road adventures, or able to tow much of anything. Also, I was looking for something ...

Pros: Excellent ride, fully loaded SUV without fully loaded price
Cons: Gas Mileage, Fuel tank door does not lock

We currently own a 2003 Sedona which is a fabulous mini-van. I owned at that time a Ford Explorer which by non uncertain terms was simply a vehicle to get me from point A to B and offer help in inclimate or dicey cirumstances (off road, etc.) We had ...

Pros: Handles amazingly, feels like a mercedes SUV, superb price!
Cons: Leather seats are a tad hard, leather steering wheel is a little slippery.

Well well well ....what have we here ? My wife and i were searching for a second SUV, when we ran across a 2004 Kia in a parking lot. Not being familiar with this brand at all apart from knowing it was korean, we both agreed it looked quite nice. Cute ...

Pros: Stylish, well finished, rides well, solid build, well powered, good handling.
Cons: Fuel mileage - it's a truck.

A funny thing happened on my way to pick up my new Kia. As I was leaving my office a co-worker said to me, "Where are you going in such a hurry?" "Got to pick up my new car!" I said. "Wow, what is it?" she said "Kia Sorento." "Oh," she said. ...

Pros: Overall Value, Warranty, Styling (looks like the Lexus at a glance), Power, Handling
Cons: Gas Mileage

I bought my 2004 Sorento EX in October 2003 with exactly 6 miles on it. I also bought a 2003 Kia Spectra at the same time. The combined price for both was $34,000 (Cheaper than one Toyota Highlander with the same bells and whistles as my Sorento). I LOVE my Sorento. It rides smooth, handles great, has VRRROOOOOM like a sports car, and the sound system is awesome. The only regret I have about this excellent value is the gas mileage... around 15 city and 19 highway. But the gas mileage on the Spectra makes up for the Sorento. You can't go wrong with a 10 year 100,000 mile warranty. I've only had it in the dealer's repair shop one time... and that was for a leak in a reservoir that caused the heater not to function properly while idling. In/Out in one day with no problems. It's a little over 4 years old now and people still think it's a brand new car. Also, I've never written a review of a car before but I am so impressed with Kia and especially the Sorento EX that I had to comment here.

Pros: Too Many pros to list
Cons: Trunk space with back seats up,

Keeping in mind that the Sorento has come into the SUV market late, KIA has set a new standard in SUV's. The Sorento is built on a very sturdy frame, test driving I realized this pulling onto the highway, noticing that the standard rocking side to side was not apparent. Amazing when you have driven other SUV's. Styling, if you look at other SUV's that match both body and size, the KIA is a familiar site, but pricing is no where near the other vehicles that it resembles. If you have not at least driven this vehicle, you must give KIA a chance.

Pros: Very low road noise, solid feeling, very drivable, excellent handling & comfort, price & warranty!
Cons: Not an American vehicle, but too bad, maybe we could learn something from Kia?

Recently my family spent two weeks in Florida, we rented a 2003 Kia Sorento. At first I was bummed being an "American car girl" all the way but within half an hour I singing this SUV's praises. By the time our vacation was up we had decided we would be trading in our 2003 Chevy 1/2 ton for a new Kia Sorento.

The Sorento was very quiet, felt solid and handled extremely well at any speed. Other reviews list the cons for this vehicle as the poor gas mileage but I was getting an average of 24 mpg in Florida and that included Disney traffic too! On a good day my truck only gets 14! So I don't think the Sorento did too bad at all. The controls are well appointed, the seating is very comfortable and how can you beat the 100,000 mile/10 year warranty? Kia gets an A+ and my next car-purchase dollars. Rent one yourself and check it out!

Pros: Look, style, great handling and smooth ride.
Cons: Gas mileage, cheap looking interior.

We bought this car after my wife's Hyundai Tiburon let her sit in a snow storm. We bought slightly used, only 12,000 miles when we got it. The gas mileage was terrible. Other than that the only complaint I had of this vehicle was the cheap front interior. Very cheap looking plastic, we didnt get the model with the wood trim so I cannot comment on that. But this vehicle was very smooth riding, a little shaky sometimes when just starting out shifting out of first gear (automatic trans), nothing major but enough to notice on some occasions. We only had this for 3 months before trading it in on a more fuel efficient car so we never got to test it in the snow. Handled very well, alot of power, with huge over sized tires kind of made this vehicle a little weird looking. Other than that the exterior was very nice looking. We had a pearl blue with a grey interior. If it wasnt for the gas mileage we would still be driving this beast. If you can get past the gas mileage and won't let it bother you, this is a definite recommendation.

Pros: EVERYTHING NO COMPLAINTS AT ALL
Cons: There is nothing wrong with this truck at all!!!!

I traded my 2005 Escape Limited in for the 2004 Kia Sorento LX and I made the best decision. My Ford approaching 30,000 miles and having transmission problems for the second time it was time and the Sorento has a beautiful look and drives like you are floating on air. I had a problem with the clock and was replaced and no problems with it after that. This truck runs like a dream so quiet and firm no tipsy feeling around the turns. A lot complain about gas mileage get over it you bought a suv/truck that weighs 4500 lbs. I think very fuel efficent considering weight. Inside is high quality very good materials put the inside of this truck together and stereo is awesome. DO NOT BUY ANY OTHER SUV THIS IS THE ONLY ONE WORTH THE MONEY A BIG PLUS IS YOU GET A 10 YEAR 100,000 MILE WARRANTY YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pros: Quite ride, excellent handling (railroad tracks), comfortable, nice features.
Cons: Gas mileage (same as my V8 AWD, but worth it.

After researching several SUV's I finally decided to test drive a Kia Sorento. One drive and it blew me away.

I traded in my AWD V8 for the V6 4x4 Sorento and do not regret it.

It rides like a car, and feels solid and safe.

The features inside the car are user friendly and are of higher quality (example: rubber or felt lining in the storage compartments to avoid object movement.)

Pros: Roomy, can fit 5 adults comfortably, handles nice
Cons: Mileage SUCKS! gas cap flap keeps popping open, bad stereo

Bought this SUV to replace my 2000 Hyundai Elantra. Nice body style, roomy in front(which was an issue with the old car), tight turning radius.

SUV is ok, didn't like the dealership / salesman and probably will not buy another one of these Kia's. Felt like the salesman pushed us into buying this vehicle, and I wish we had kept the previous car! Dealership is not open on Saturday, which means that I have to use my lunch breaks, and/or vacation time to get the regular maintenance done on this vehicle.

Gas cap flap keeps popping open, which can be irritating, and mileage sucks: 15-19MPG.
The sunfloor is very noisy when you have it open, which I can't stand! so it is never open when I am driving it. (Why even bother having it!)
It also slips and slides ALOT on snow or slush!

Can't wait to get rid of it!

Pros: Reliability, Looks, Pep and Agility
Cons: Gas Mileage could be better. Body side cladding chips easily.

I bought my 04 Kia Sorento EX new in April of 2004. So far I have had NO problems. The SUV is fun to drive, has off-road capability and is very reliable. The interior is roomy and controls are easy to read,read and use. The interior shows little to no wear and everything still works.

The warranty is the best. I extended it to cover the vehicle bumper to bumper for 10 years/120,000 miles. I have over 60,000 miles on this vehicle and could not be more pleased with its performance and reliability. It is comfortable on long trips. The cruise control works smoothly and the transmission shifts appropriately and smoothly.

The vehicle is agile in traffic, easy to park, and does not feel tippy.

For the price paid $24,000 and the quality and agility, it feels like a much more expensive SUV