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 :
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