KIA Sorento; Dedicated Discussion, Owner/ Fan Club Thread

[Thinking]

why cerato is dead brother. there is so much gap in sedan market at the moment. there is mainly no other option other than corolla & civic in medium size sedans :(.

[fazalwahab11375]

I think if KIA brings a small crossover instead of CERATO, it can fly off shelf very easily instead of a sedan. Everyone prefer a crossover now and if KIA price it around 4 Million, I m sure it will be easy sell for a crossover than a sedan like Cerato. Again my opinion.

[wasiqshahab94]

Seltos as a replacement for cerato seems acceptable provided it is priced right and kia doesn't sell us the 'its an suv, hence more expensive' chooran.

The only reason small CUVs have almost killed off sedans across the globe is their marginal price difference over them while offering greater practicality and space. If seltos starts under 3.5 million, it could sell well.

[wasiqshahab94]

Launching previous sorento however seems like a comical decision.

[hussain182]

Are pakistani auto-assemblers getting some kind of bargains on discontinued model assembly lines? If so, how much cheaper are they?

Btw dont think an older generation is gonna cause much of stir for Kia. Its gonna cheapen their brand image which isnt that well established yet.
In fact if a couple of more quality issues, maintenance charges issues surface they could be in deep waters.
Must tread carefully and play the right cards by bringing the latest gen.

[fazalwahab11375]

I have posted my opinion after I heard about Sorento. With new Sorento just coming to dealers in US where it is made locally.. What is your opinion? Do you think KLM can bring the 4th generation at the same time when it is made available in overseas market ? Please share your thoughts.

Keeping in mind our market size and investment needed to bring a vehicle which is on brand new platform. Even KIA US spend hundreds and millions of dollars to upgrade their facility to facilitate the assembly of new Sorento.

Additionally, the 4th generation of Sorento is available ONLY with new family of SmartStream GDI Turbo engines in global markets. KIA PK will not take a chance with a Turbo engine because of quality of local fuel. Although local fuel is moving towards better grade and emission standards , its still long to go before every petrol pump in the country becomes a stranded. Even in case of Sportage, KIA dealership wants owners to have the catalytic converter cleaned after every 10,000 kilometers at cost because of fear of emission system failure or issues with engine. Bringing a 4th Generation of Sorento with much more sensitive engine and emission standards at this time when company is building trust on its customers in new market would not be ideal and it is too risky.

Again it’s too early to say but this is what I believe going to happen..a 3rd generation.

[fazalwahab11375]

@wasiqshahab94 ^^ need your insight as well

[hussain182]

I have posted my opinion after I heard about Sorento. With new Sorento just coming to dealers in US where it is made locally.. What is your opinion? Do you think KLM can bring the 4th generation at the same time when it is made available in overseas market ? Please share your thoughts.

Keeping in mind our market size and investment needed to bring a vehicle which is on brand new platform. Even KIA US spend hundreds and millions of dollars to upgrade their facility to facilitate the assembly of new Sorento.

Additionally, the 4th generation of Sorento is available ONLY with new family of SmartStream GDI Turbo engines in global markets. KIA PK will not take a chance with a Turbo engine because of quality of local fuel. Although local fuel is moving towards better grade and emission standards , its still long to go before every petrol pump in the country becomes a stranded. Even in case of Sportage, KIA dealership wants owners to have the catalytic converter cleaned after every 10,000 kilometers at cost because of fear of emission system failure or issues with engine. Bringing a 4th Generation of Sorento with much more sensitive engine and emission standards at this time when company is building trust on its customers in new market would not be ideal and it is too risky.

Again it’s too early to say but this is what I believe going to happen..a 3rd generation.

I see your point and keeping in mind our industry trends it wont be that surprising if they do something like that.
But it would be a terrible decision imo. If they cant bring the latest generation then why bring this particular model at all why not choose another from their lineup like Cerato or Seltos.
Even if they choose to launch an older gen, local assembly will still require a significant investment. Why not go all the way and bring the latest their brand has to offer esp when they are new and need to establish themselves.

[usman19854]

the 4th generation of Sorento is available ONLY with new family of SmartStream GDI Turbo engines in global markets

Incorrect, Australia (an RHD market) is stated to get the naturally aspirated 3.5l V6 alongside the diesel range.

[usman19854]

I think they're scared of bringing a sedan fearing it'll go through same thing that picanto went through. People are probably not ready to buy a new brand at an equivalent price tag and more expensive maintenance than established players (Toyota & Honda in this case)

[usman19854]

, I personally think that KIA Pakistan might not be bringing a “ FOURTH “ generation Sorento and instead we will see a local assembled “THIRD"

Since it's currently a personal opinion by fasal sb maybe we can keep the hope alive lol

[fazalwahab11375]

THANKS for correction. I think it still does not make sense for PK market keeping in mind, how new the model is in international market. I believe that V6 is only FWD ?? KLM market AWD version is loaded variant. Bigger engine and non availability of AWD in local PK market might not make sense.

Again God knows KLM strategy.

[zuhaibafzal]

What i think, this outdated Sorento can't compete with Fortuner. KIA may delay the launch and bring the new generation.

They are already struggling with outdated Picanto. So, i really hope this time KIA won't repeat the same mistake.

[fazalwahab11375]

well it will take them long to develop THE 4TH GENERATION and by June 2021.. they will lose the green field status incentives. they cant price it cheaper.

[usman19854]

KLM should be simply bringing seltos, if they can price Sportage range from 4.5-5.5m they can price seltos Ka decent variant around a grande and given there's no one else in this segment except a fancy carry dabba brv it's going to sell like hot cakes.

[usman19854]

If they're really that eager to enter 7-8m wali segment why don't bring us a V6 stinger? I doubt people will buy Sorento over a fortuner given the latter is a better off roader and is probably cheaper to maintain.

[fazalwahab11375]

Well Stringer can't be a CKD and CBU will cost more than both kidneys. The 3.3L V6 Stinger will cost alot reason being KLM cant get a duty subsidy on it.

As per my info, CKD Sorento will be 2.4L

[usman19854]

As per my info, CKD Sorento will be 2.4L

sounds like a really bad decision on their part.

[fazalwahab11375]

again sir.. I am not 100% sure. this is what a very close friend of mine told me and he is related with KLM.

[wasiqshahab94]

Like @hussain182 said, if things are that unfavorable for 4th gen Sorento, why bring it at ALL? Why not a more palatable product?

Our market is small as is, and this 7-8mn SUV segment is smaller still. Why launch something clearly inferior to Fortuner? To sell less than 100 units a month? that's just setting yourself up for failure.

They did the same thing with picanto, older generation, inferior to cultus in almost all aspects while costing the same. that's why it failed.

This would not be the case with cerato as it is a new car that goes toe to toe with established players. And seltos would capture a completely untapped segment in our market.