Over the weekend we went to Clumber Park with the kid's to go cycling, we arrived early and had our pick of the parking. When we called back a the car we had a new shaped Kia Sorento parked at one side and Hyundai Santa fe parked at the other.

My point: both car's had 59 plates on them, but looked so badly made and cheap at the side of our Freelander.

Why do people buy such vehicles when you can have a Land Rover ? it can't be price, I bet both vehicles cost in excess of £23,000 with out a problem.

The Kia did look very cheap and nasty.

long warranty...........5 years, reliability, good towcars, etc

also probably get more for your money ??

Iain

I must agree with Iain. I had a Santa Fe a few years back and the five year warranty was a nice back up....Having said that, in the time I had it, it never once had a single fault!

I have to disagree with you twodogs.

I have had a new shape Santa Fe as a company car when they came out and to be honest it was a nice driving car, had everything I needed and indeed wanted. Yes it may not have been finished as well as the Freelander 2, but it certainly was a good car to drive and be in.

I currently have a 60 Plate Sorento KX3 Auto. Just short of 200 bhp and torque of 422nm so it pulls like a train. 6 speed auto with full leather trim, which for a car from the far east is not bad quality. Heated electric seats, 7 seats, full length glass sunroofs and it hash all the toys I would want albeit not sat nav.

Inside is a nice place to be, admittedly the dash is a hard plastic rather than the soft touch of the freelander 2 and maybe the ride is not as polished as the Freelander but it is definately not unpleasent and it holds the road great for such a large car.

My Sorento, with the extras i have had fitted like running boards and wind deflectors came to just over £31000, which yes you could have a great spec Freelander 2 for, but different people like different things and with the bad reputation Land Rover has with reliability people will look elsewhere and with the security of a good warranty, the Sorento having a 7 year year warranty and the Hyundai has 5 and in my experience neither car suffers from anywhere near the problems that the Freelander does.

When Land Rover start offering such good a good warranty like Kia and Hyundai people will start to gain more faith in the product. When customers come in my showroom and look at a Sorento, I always ask what other cars are they considering and 9times out of 10 it is a Freelander 2 and the reason they come to see us is for the warranty and reliability.

Now if it was my £31000 i was spending what would i have???? A Freelander 2! Why, because nothing beats a Land Rover and thats why we have them even though most of the dealers are rubbish, the customer service is shocking, the product falls apart quite often but its in our blood. Gone S383 ABA Freelander 2.0 XEDI Rioja Red
Gone NT02 CUA Freelander 2.0 TD4 ES Blue
Gone ND06 URU Freelander 2.0 TD4 Rimini Red
Gone NA56 VJN Freeelander 2.0 TD4 Black
HERE OE07 JRX Freelander 2.2 TD4 XS Rimini

over the last two or three years we have been frequenting quite a few caravan sales premises as we have a notion for one, and have spent a lot of time speaking to caravan sales people, caravan owners, etc

through experience most of them favour the Kia and Hyundai and swear by them over the Landrover, indeed I was advised on numerous occasions not to go for the Landrover by these caravanning experts.

I think one thing the Landrover has over these is status/class and a bit of snob value, but not really much else.

Iain

Wow....

So far you all disagree with me...but the fact is that both cars look very cheaply made.

I've a wheelie bin down the garden that is made of the same plastic as the dash in a
Kia Sorento.

I shoot with two chap's that have the old style Sorento's, both have had warranty issues
and neither have been covered ! So much for a good 5/7 year warranty.

Bone, sorry but £31,000 for a Sorento....

I have had a number of Land Rover's and I have NEVER had a problem with, the car or the dealer,
I must be lucky.

I do maintain what I first said, park a Freelander next to either of these cars and you will see
what I am taking about.

I think I must be a low rent snob.

never mind all that, buy for one reason...... British.

And British chicken too spuds bread biscuits anything wheat or spud based,... fill yer trolleys ... oilseed rape oil, tasty and good for you drink it neat, go on At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

I am onto my six Freelander and every single one have them has had faults bar one which was my 99 Xedi.

The old shape Sorento was covered by a 3 year warranty and did suffer a problem with the transfer box but this was mainly due to not using it correctly or not using it at all.

Kia are really good for warranty claims. I have had customers with the tinest of problems, even caused by their own neglienct and we have managed to recitfy it with no cost to the customer.

I will not tell you that Kia forgot to paint the inside of all the doors on my new demonstrator!

If i am being totally honest, i probably like the look of the new Sorento more than my Freelander but like i said i would buy the Land Rover everyday of the week. Probably, yes because of snobbery Gone S383 ABA Freelander 2.0 XEDI Rioja Red
Gone NT02 CUA Freelander 2.0 TD4 ES Blue
Gone ND06 URU Freelander 2.0 TD4 Rimini Red
Gone NA56 VJN Freeelander 2.0 TD4 Black
HERE OE07 JRX Freelander 2.2 TD4 XS Rimini

CG,
Hear hear. In 40 yeas of driving i've always bought built in uk. Not Nissen or Honda either!!
But i've good reason to be biased!

Pegleg - I'm curious about the Nissan and Honda thing, is that because thy don't make anything you like or 'cos they're foreign owned? Blue

I respect these other cars. If we all had the same car, the world would be pretty boring. My dad has an 07 Audi A4 and although there is a perceived 'cut above' thing with german cars over say a Vectra, he just bought it cos he likes it and just gets on with driving without making comparisons. There is also a prestige thing with Land Rover.

Other 4x4's = Better reliability record, lots of car for the money etc even if they do look cheaper

Freelander 2 = Land Rover, the best 4x4xfar. Nuff said!

P.S,

The aussies say that if you want to go to the outback, take a Defender but if you want to come back then take a Land Cruiser.
This is something that Land Cruiser owners can boast about and fair play to them. Still, they are still driving a mere pretender to the 4x4 throne........

Land Rover: The Kings LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

iain cooper wrote:

Most of them favour the Kia and Hyundai and swear by them over the Landrover, indeed I was advised on numerous occasions not to go for the Landrover by these caravanning experts.
Iain

I don't mean to sond too snobbish...but why do these people recommend the Kia and Hyundai as tow cars?? I bet I get a damn site further in one day towing a 2 ton trailer in our freel in a lot more comfort at higher speed in a more relaxed manner than I would in either of the other 2??

Not that I'm jumping in with both feet! And admittedly I haven't driven either of the other 2. But I'm not expecting to be surprised when I do. Mine: 2012 Golf GTI Edition 35
Family's: 2009 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Auto, Stornoway

Yorkshire - God's County

I was at a clay shooting ground this morning and over heard a group of chaps talking, his 6 week old Sorento has a gear box problem !!!.

The vehicle is with the dealer and will be for the next few weeks as the parts needed to fix it are not in stock,
in fact not in the country !!! Two to three weeks for them to arrive from the far east.

Good job it's covered by the warranty ????

I know you can have a problem with any vehicle, but all that time to fix it.

Never buy a car from people that eat dog's, it just not right.

Quote:

Never buy a car from people that eat dog's, it just not right.

As Clarkson once said: "Over there, a dog isn't just for christmas, there should be some left over for boxing day as well".
 LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey