KIA Sorento; Dedicated Discussion, Owner/ Fan Club Thread

[faakhir19]

Fortuner is dead and only Prado sells around 10 million mark.

🤦🏻‍♂️

[hussain182]

Well last generation carnival was a 7+ seater plus had the same V6 engine plus was loaded with features and was cbu with great build quality. Was priced lower than the Fortuner at the time. Still very few units were sold.

I agree that Kia’s success with the Sportage says a lot but i think people picked the sportage over Civic/corolla because of the perceived additional features etc and being a supposedly higher category (crossover vs compact sedan) and not because they think Kia is a superior brand.

Kia must tread carefully and not let the success of the Sportage get to its head. The market has shown that if you offer good value people are willing to accept new brands and even pay extra but you cant offer an outdated product and expect to compete. This is the 3rd CKD product kia is about to launch and out of its 3 products 2 are obsolete. Any brand goodwill earned from the Sportage is wearing thin at this point.

[faakhir19]

IN MY OPINION, Sorento is not going to get good sales. There are two reasons:
1. 3rd generation Sorento looks like a van, no one in Pakistan wants to spend 7 million plus on a van looking SUV.
2. Price. There is less customer in 7 seater range. Those customer would only choose Toyota. The reason in reliability and proper off Roader.

[faakhir19]

Well last generation carnival was a 7+ seater plus had the same V6 engine plus was loaded with features and was cbu with great build quality. Was priced lower than the Fortuner at the time. Still very few units were sold.

Exactly

[Nabeel_Ali]

You are comparing a van to a 4x4 jeep? Doesn’t make any sense. A van has a completely niche market in Pakistan. Well if you see carnival; KIA lucky still managed to sell all of its units.

Anyways yeah and sportage now due to its better features and value has made a name in the market which all in all has made KIA a brand in our small market. Now people gradually have accepted them and so there is a chance of success whatever they bring next sensibly.

Unfortunately, our insane duty structures and domestic inflation makes it really hard to bring anything new here. You can see why Honda Atlas doesn’t update the city and Indus dragging 11th generation corolla. I for one can understand because I work with vendors of the big three. Making/assembling anything here is extremely costly. Still I am not supporting either of them because we pay hefty amount and should get latest generation. I still applaud Lucky group for taking a huge risk in our market and bringing in new options. It’s still better than nothing to see a big seven seater SUV along with Fortuner. More options are always good and so is competition.

[Nabeel_Ali]

Let it come in the market and than looks can be judged properly. If priced right there is no harm in choosing sorento. And FYI no one is also choosing costly Fortuner as well.

[hussain182]

You are comparing a van to a 4x4 jeep?

I think a lot of people will be in this case. The only diff is the sliding doors.

[hussain182]

Ok i know thats not fair. And i do agree that theyre making an effort at least. But my only issue is that why not go all the way and bring the 4th gen?

[Nabeel_Ali]

Brother fourth gen requires a completely new assembly line which is only available in Korea and USA as of now. It’s really complex to set up and extremely costly. So KIA lucky just bought old assembly line jigs from Korea and installed them here.
On the other hand, these companies also have to think when greenfield status ends. The parts of forth gen sorento are really complex for our vendors. It will be pain in the ass to make it here where as third gen sorento parts are really simple and are shared with sportage.
There are many reasons which are hard for us consumers to understand.

[hussain182]

There are many reasons which are hard for us consumers to understand.

Well its not the consumers job to understand or sympathize with their problems. Consumers just have to make a decision whether the product being offered is good enough for their money. And in this case I personally dont think this one is. You may feel differently.
But lets see how others feel.

[Nabeel_Ali]

I said in terms of why we don’t get latest models and features.
Obviously it’s ones personal choice where to spend money lol. And whether one likes it or not sorento will make market here according to our dynamics.

[hussain182]

sorento will make market here according to our dynamics.

Dont agree

[Nabeel_Ali]

Doesn’t matter

[hussain182]

Doesn’t matter

Neither does your opinion buddy.

Time will tell.

[Nabeel_Ali]

Yup that’s what I am saying from the beginning.
Shouldn’t be conclusive 24/7.

[hussain182]

Shouldn’t be conclusive 24/7.

Dunno what thats supposed to mean but i guess ‘same to you bro’.

[Nabs]

Sales are zero. It’s been quite a while since I saw a zero meter Fortuner.

Own is because production is zero. Dealerships aren't taking any bookings and whatever is left in the market or at dealerships has skyrocketed. Its not because of the consumer demand. Indus is only producing Yaris nothing else.

Actually, according to latest data from PAMA, Indus Motors sold record number of Fortuner in November 2020 (349 units), up 220% from November 2019 (109 units).

Demand is high, production is high, dealerships aren't taking booking because they want you to buy at own.

btw, I hate Fortuner because its the most uncomfortable mid-size SUV in the world. The only benefit of it is its big and can go off-road. But people don't go off-road on these. People want "uchi gadi" here, and its the only local "uchi gadi". An ugly uchi gadi.

[Nabeel_Ali]

Actually I was talking from my own perspective. On roads I have yet to see a zero meter Fortuner. The figure does say that sales have increased but it can also be due to corporate/public sector as Fortuner is the only zero meter suv that can be given to officers.
Hardly anyone is buying Fortuner due to insane price and value it offers as you mentioned above. It’s a terrible option because of comfort alone.
Now I don’t know how will this old gen sorento be but due to comfort, power and versatility (7 seater) and “unchi gaddi” factor it can definitely make market ... just like sportage filled the gap.

[qwertypoiu]

How do you spot a zero meter fortuner? And how do you different between pvt and corporate ones 🤷‍♂️

[Nabeel_Ali]

Lol the plates say it all.