Warning : Flying Car Hood

The above would be a very terrifying experience. Imagine that the car in front of you suddenly has its hood flipped open, flying through the air. A very scary thought indeed.

Now, I wanted to share this experience as this was the first time that I had encountered such an experience after more than 2 decades of driving history. I was driving down South on the highway, when along came a Singaporean car tail-gating very closely behind me. Singaporeans always seemed to be driving on high speed mode on the Malaysian highways- perhaps that was the only way that they could de-carbonise their engines as there was hardly any space to drive in speed around Singapore.

So I drove faster, but the car kept coming on. Now, the Sorento diesel engine was quite a powerful engine so I knew that I could egg the ride to go faster. After a while, an alarm started sounding and I had to pull the car to the emergency lane. I had not heard of such an alarm before and I checked the temperature, tire pressure, etc vide the OBC but nothing seemed amiss.

Then I saw that there was a light flashing on the hood and wondered if it could be that the hood had gotten loose. I exited the ride carefully, tried lifting the hood but it was still locked. I went in again, pulled the release hood mechanism, opened the hood, and closed it again. And the warning light went off and I could drive again.

Which meant that while the car was moving faster, the wind pressure could have somehow caused the hood to be unlocked such that the sensor picked it up. Mind you, it wasn't fully unlocked as I couldn't pull it up in the beginning. But still, that was a first in all my driving years and I made a mental note to have the SC check on the hood mechanism when I go back to KL.

The rest of the drive was uneventful, and here was Patriot gleaming under the sun at the Palace.

Naza's Crappy AV System for the Kia Sorento

Some readers asked what exactly was the problem with the AV system in my Kia Sorento, as they were interested to purchase the same SUV but had concerns.

Make no mistake, I think that it's a great ride. It's only the AV system that lets it down so.

This is the system that Kia Sorento sold overseas, get installed in the rides. A decent system; and from what I read, works as it should.

And this was the head unit that Naza decided to install in our local Sorento.

It doesn't look that much of a different, right? Button placements and the likes, but we could get used to the functions over time. The harder thing to live with, was that reception for the radio sucks big time. It's shown as stereo, but there would be lots of interferences. In all of our other rides, no such issues whatsoever with the radio. Same spot, same station. Even the radio in our Kia Forte had no such problems. The one localised for the Kia Sorento, truly truly sucks big time!

CarLink does not work either. And from other postings as read online with regards to this problem, it seemed that only Samsung users could expect the system to be able to link up. All other non-Samsung Android phones and Apple iPhones could expect no such link-up.

And if you were a Windows user, you may remember its blue screen of death. I used to be a Windows user; but ever since I made the switch to Apple OS many years back, I have grew accustomed to the reliability and dependability of the OS. In fact, I have forgotten about Windows' BSOD...

... Until I purchased the Kia Sorento. From time to time, the screen would blank out into nothing. And the Power On/Off button would not be able to work when the screen became like this, so the only way to have it recovered, was to stop at the road side, restart the car, and voila, the screen would be back to normal.

Until it chooses to have the black screen again. Sigh, this crappy AV system as chosen from Naza truly truly sucks!

Visual Comparison : Sorento vs Navara

I must admit that I have a soft spot for pick-up trucks. Some years back, when the Mitsubishi Triton (the one that looked like Storm Trooper) was released, it was my beater for a while. It was big, rough and imposing; and I learnt to love the diesel engine torque from that ride. 

Fast forward many years later, and I would have rides on pick-up trucks such as Hilux, Ranger, and Triton in oil palm plantations on a monthly basis. So I am no rookie when it came to tough drives that tend to break lesser men.

Here was the Sorento next to the brute of mother-trucker i.e. Navaro. The difference in their purpose was pretty clear, right?

Visual Comparison : Sorento vs RX300

Lexus took Toyota's impeccable quality standards up another level (I know, because my FIL has the LS460L and it simply oozes with quality inside-out); so think of the RX300 as an improved version of the Harrier. And having driven the Harrier for many years, I could attest to its reliability through and through. This RX300 example with its new Lexus grill design language, looked very handsome in my eyes. The Sorento's design language in comparison, was more laid back as commonly found with European school of design.

Which would be your pick then?

Visual Comparison : Sorento vs X5

Well, the X5 costs double to that of the Sorento; so it would not be surprising if one finds that the outlook and the quality of the Beemer to be miles ahead compared to that of the Kia. However, I do find that the Sorento to be a handsome SUV still with loads of premium space; so I dare say that it was worth every single bit of its RM192k asking price. Except for the crappy AV system that Naza had placed in there, of course. 

Give me the original premium system that the Sorento was originally supplied with, even if I have to top up some monies, and I would be a happy owner. It would sure beat listening to very unclear radio with lots of interferences and lousy sound settings, as per the head unit that was installed in there (and which I couldn't replace with an aftermarket unit as Kia SC informed that it would invalidate the 5-year warranty).

But I am digressing. Enjoy the pictures hereabouts :

Visual Comparison : Sorento vs Harrier

There was an e-mail from a reader whom asked if it was possible for me to park my Patriot (Sorento) and Black Bison (Harrier) for a side-by-side visual comparison. I used to park the Black Bison next to other SUVs as part of the blog entries some years back, so I would probably do the same for Patriot in the coming entries. 

Well, sharing is caring; so why not then.

Do note that the Patriot was stock standard as the Diesel HS, except for the ice-cube fog lights and side steps that were imported and installed directly by the Kia AD. If I had to choose the accessories all over again, I would probably not tick the side steps. This was because the Sorento actually had lower to ground clearance, so the side steps were really not that necessary for adults although they could assist my youngest one to go in and out. Even my elder one skipped using the side step and go directly into the car. Another more important reason, which I only found out when it rains, was that the water tend to be splashed from the tires and ground onto the side steps from below, so it tend to be somewhat noisier when one was driving through puddles. If there was a heavy rain and the whole stretch of road was pretty wet, the splashing sound could be disconcerting. So yes, if I were to re-visit the whole purchase process, I would not take the side steps. In fact, I am considering uninstalling the side steps and putting back the original mud flaps and side claddings.

As for Black Bison, the external add-ons included JAOS front grill, TRD front, side and rear skirts, Vossen 18" rims, and TRD sports exhaust system. These accessories tend to make the ride more imposing and I found that other cars normally would give way to Black Bison if I was coming up to their rear.

In terms of actual performance, Patriot still wins hands-down as the diesel engine torque was a joy to use, especially if the Sport mode was switched on. The steering feel became tighter, the pedal to metal feel was almost instantaneous, and cornering was better too.

The thing that lets Patriot down was its AV system, which simply sucks big time!

Oh well, enjoy the pictures below :

Initial Impression : 1+ Month Later

I received a no. of e-mails from parties interested to purchase the Kia Sorento, on how has my experience been with the ride todate. Granted, it has only been 1+ month since I added the ride into my stable; so it would be a rather limited and qualified initial assessment at best.

The ride has been dependable as a daily ride, and I have clocked circa 2,000 km todate. There are 3 modes for driving- Eco, Normal, and Sport. I prefer the Eco mode for a more relaxed drive, plus improved fuel efficiency. My kids prefer the Sport mode for an initial launch during open, empty roads- they loved to feel the G-Force pulling them back into the seats at pedal to metal.

Oh, and the rear seats are now their de-facto seats. They loved to be cocooned back there, playing with each other, and having their own air-cond controller. And because the rear seats were essentially big enough for 2 medium-built adults, they were indeed quite a big space for my 2 boys to monkey around.

The ride was serviced at 1,700km and I requested the Kia service centre to look at the following areas :

• Air-conditioner did not feel very cold, even at the minimum temperature setting.
• Front fender flare was not screwed in properly and had gaps.
• Radio reception was poor.
• Car-link did not work.
• To check if up-grading the rims to 20" ones would have any effects on the warranty.

The first 2 problems were fixed in a jiffy; although for a brand new ride, the QC should have detected such problems and fixed it before it rolled out from the factory.

For the radio reception, the SC informed me that it was "memang macam tu punya". I informed them that I lined up 4 rides in a row- this Sorento, the Harrier, the X1, and the Forte; and all (except for the Sorento) could have clear reception towards Lite FM. The Sorento's had so much interference that I no longer tune in to the radio much these days. They told me that they could not assist on the matter, so I told them that I would get car accessories shop to check and perhaps change the antenna if that was the cause. To that, they informed me that if I change the antenna, the warranty for the whole entertainment system would be invalidated. 

Hmmm, so my best option would be to refrain from listening to the irritatingly unclear radio for the next 5 years.

For the Car-link, they told me to download the app from Google Play Store. And nope, it still does not work after the download, as it just would not sync. The system that I had on the Harrier and X1 was far more simpler and intuitive. 

I read online reviews and the other countries were getting far superior in-car AV system- better head unit, better speakers, UVO system, etc, yet we pay higher prices over here in Malaysia. Something is clearly wrong here. I'll have to write in to Kia HQ to inquire further.

As for the rims, the current 19" chrome ones are okay, I guess; but they ain't real attractive either. And since I had a pair of 20" BMW Style 433 M-Sport genuine rims with Eagle F1 Asymmetrical Run-Flat Tires purchased at RM32k @ http://bmwx1sdrive.blogspot.my/2017/08/wts-bmw-style-433-20-m-sport-genuine.html, that was recently taken off from my missus' ride for a change of look; the tire shop informed me that the 20" rims could be shoe-horned into the Sorento with 2 pairs of PCD adapters (from 114.3 to 120). I have searched online and seen that there were other Sorento overseas with 20" shoes, so I know that they would be alright.

The SC told me that they would check with HQ with regards to the warranty if bigger rims were fixed on the ride, and promised to revert to me. After more than a week, it's clear that they have forgotten to check on the matter.

Check to the below handsome example of Kia Sorento belonging to En. Ahmad from Brunei, with 20" CV3 rims. The grill and rims somewhat reminded me of the ones I made on the Harrier prior to getting the Sorento. Nice example indeed.

So far, I dare say that the Kia Sorento was a fine ride; and for the RM200k price-tag that it carries, I am getting a lot of car for the monies. However, the AV system malfunction had been disappointing, and the factory QC and SC customer services could have been better. Overall, I still found the Sorento to be a good purchase so far, but let's keep this review on-going over time.