I'm still aiming to replace the F2 this year as its coming up to its 6th birthday, and like a lot of other forum members, I'm not taken with DS as a replacement.

I popped into a Kia garage to look at a Sportage, but was drawn to the Sorrento, but it might be over budget. I was pleased to see that Kia now offer a 7 year warranty on their new vehicles. With retirement coming up the thought of 7 years of warranty is appealing if I'm living on a pension.

Does any forum member have any experience of the latest Sorrento or Sportage? Updated- Waiting for a Scotland v England 6 Nations home win. 24th Feb 2018
Gone-1972 88 SWB Soft top
Gone-1981 24v FFR Lightweight
Gone-2009 Freelander 2 TD4 GS manual
Gone before it bankrupted me- 2008 Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto
2013 Freelander 2 SD4 GS Auto

Not personally, no, but my neighbour bought a Sportage in 2012 and it didn't miss a beat. He replaced it with the newer facelifted version in 2017, and has had nothing but problems with it. The best that the supplying dealer is offering is to split the repair costs, as he reports that NOTHING appears to be covered by the warranty, and everything seems to be excluded under a "fair wear and tear" clause buried in the small print.

My advice would be to read the warranty document carefully, and look at relevant forums as well as the likes of Which? And Honest John.

The 7 year warranty only applies to the drive train, if manual not the clutch, everything else is wear and tear 60,000 miles, don't know what happens if you don't make the 60,000 miles. When I had one I got a load of they're all like that on just about every question when I thought it was a problem, won't go down that route or Hyundai again.
The Freelander is the most reliable car I have owned needing only tyres, one set of front pads and a elbow hose on the boost side of the turbo at €100 including labour in 6 years.  my PC is slightly to the right of Genghis
2012 HSE SD4 In Orkney Grey now gone, best car ever.

This isn't sounding too good since I was considering one next - SPORTAGE . Guy next door is on his second and the first looked brand new at 100000 miles and no problems.
The KIA garage 5 minutes walk from my house have a good reputation. It might depend on the dealer and their relationship with KIA. I had a Hyundai Tucson 6 years ago and everything that went wrong was replaced when in warranty - including whole clutch- no questions asked . Things might have changed now the presence in the market is greater ??

I'd keep the Fl2 and budget for repairs it's got plenty of life left in it at 6 years old .

Mark 2009 FL2 TD4 SE (Sadly gone)
2007 FL2 TD4 GS (The wifes , gone after 8 great years)
2012 FL2 SD4 SPORT LE(Gone and missing it)
2015 DISCOVERY SPORT 2.2SD4 HSE (Now gone)
2014 Ford Bmax 1.0 ecoboost ( Gone but what next )
2014 Ford Focus 2.0tdci Zetec S (Gone,but what a car)
2020 Ford Fiesta ActiveX 1.0 Ecoboost
2024 Skoda Kodiaq 1.5 Tsi SEL

I have just bought another LR extended warranty plus LR assist for a year. For me it works out £790 or about £15/week or one cup of coffee a day. Not a bad deal really.

A friend had a Kia saloon and had a clutch slave cylinder go. It was 6 years old and they sorted it with no questions. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE

bxzx16v wrote:

I'd keep the Fl2 and budget for repairs it's got plenty of life left in it at 6 years old .

Mark

bxzx16v wrote:

I'd keep the Fl2 and budget for repairs it's got plenty of life left in it at 6 years old .

Mark

I used to work at a Kia dealer, KIA have very carefully put commas and full stops in certain places, you have to read the small print with their warranty. There are allot of millage limitations to all these long term warrantys. They are fairly solid cars but the 7 year warranty doesn't cover everything.

This is a great example some of the really nasty exclusions from their warranty cover. I would treat their idea of fair wear and tear with some contempt

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic....;t=1710156

I rest my case.

Driver power survey puts Kia 3rd and the Sorento 4th in the best cars to own

Taken from the Auto Express:

With the Kia Sorento, the Korean car maker takes a different approach to Driver Power front-runner Lexus in the large SUV market. It offers seven seats as standard at a more affordable price, together with conventional petrol and diesel engines, instead of the RX’s hybrid powertrain.

Respondents to our survey say the Korean brand is onto a winner as a result: the Sorento climbs three places over its Driver Power 2018 position, overtaking the RX in the process to clinch an impressive fourth overall. Key to this success is practicality; no other car ranked better in this category.

And while the RX’s infotainment system is a weak point, owners praise the Sorento’s satellite-navigation set-up, plus the stereo, smartphone connectivity and overall user-friendliness of the technology.

The Kia also offers a top-notch interior, with comfortable front seats, neat styling inside, impressive build quality and a good view out from the driver’s seat. You say it looks good and is solidly built on the outside, too.

But its status as a large SUV isn’t the only thing the Sorento has in common with the RX; it also shares the Lexus’s high running costs. So while owners give the big Kia a genuinely impressive rank for its competitive servicing bills, fuel economy is felt to be undeniably disappointing.

Has it ever gone wrong?

Yes: 19.7%

A fifth of you say your big Kia went wrong, with engine issues standing out as most frequent.

Living with a Kia Sorento


Nigel Milligan drives a Kia Sorento in KX-2 trim, and you’d be very hard-pressed indeed to persuade him to buy any other car.

“I’ve only had this one for a month, but it’s my fourth Sorento. It’s just so versatile,” said Nigel, an IT manager from Heywood, Lancs. “We’ve got a big family and we can all go out in it easily. It can even fit three bikes on the roof. Whatever we as a family need it to do, the Sorento can cope with it.”

Nigel was initially drawn to the big Kia SUV’s pulling power and grip. “We’re into caravanning, and I need a big 4x4 to pull the caravan and get onto and off slippery pitches,” he explained.

The Sorento has been able to cut it even when the going gets really rough. “During the Beast from the East, it ploughed through two feet of snow,” he said. “The wheels were caked in the stuff, but it didn’t stop going.”

Nigel has also been pleased with the all-important aftersales experience. “The dealer has been fantastic,” he added.

The Sorento offers good value, too, according to Nigel. “You get a heck of a lot of car for your money,” he told us. “I’ve got Apple CarPlay, a reversing camera, heated seats. If I won the lottery tomorrow, I’d stick with a Sorento.”

I’ve ran Hyundai Tucson 1st generation and a 2nd generation Santa Fe, couldn’t fault them. Never met the service department staff until service time. 21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200

No heated steering wheel though, I note! That's a deal breaker having had one

In all seriousness, all cars go wrong sooner or later. Some quicker than others. Dealer attitudes matter, as do longevity of components. The FL2 is a Ford Focus underneath, proven reliability, and inexpensive (rear diff/PTU excepted) as and when bog-ordinary parts fail.

A hidden tip with the TD/SD4 engine if you have any issue with it. Take it to an independant Peugeot specialist...it's the same 2.2 HDi engine found in everything that they made from the 1990's in their 406's right up until very recently. You are likely to get a better diagnosis in half the time and at half the price from one of them.

I need Apple car play like a hole in the head, hardly a recommendation for reliability, though could be handy when waiting for the Green Flag in some isolated spot in the mountains, but maybe not
I don't know about the latest but I lost the links on the front roll bar at 14000 with a Mk2 SF and had the same number of problems in 5 years my 1997 from new Disco 300 had in 9 years, however neither ever left me stranded or unable to achieve my destination, though a had a scare with the SF in France with a loud knocking that went away after 300miles, never found out what it was but the idle was rough ever since, hence the Freelander my PC is slightly to the right of Genghis
2012 HSE SD4 In Orkney Grey now gone, best car ever.

Last edited by Dartman the one on 3rd May 2019 6:09 am. Edited 1 time in total

I used the warranty on a new Sportage back in 2013. The head unit died a number of times until they eventually put one in that didn't fail. The cruise control would also cut out at any random point. There were no quibbles with the repairs.

They were less inclined to investigate the difficulty of engaging reverse and first at random points. I eventually traded it in for my now FL2. Wouldn't go back.

Oh and the visibility in the Sportage was horrific. Tiny back window and massive pillars. FL2 TD4 GS 60 reg Facelift - so many issues
2019 DS. Terribly unreliable.
Sold DS for a 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Fingers crossed....
Sold Outlander for a 2014 SD4 SE Tech because I’m mental
Now greatly regret selling the Outlander. MPG of the FL2 is atrocious and so are the fuel bills. Fun though 😎
Couldn’t afford the fuel bills so back to an older Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Significantly better than I remembered it to be…