In Review; Kia Sorento Station Wagon

Thank you to our personal contract hire and leasing customer from Newton-le-Willows (Merseyside), for using the CarLease UK team for the supply of their new vehicle.

Working with local customers is always a pleasure, as it provides the team an opportunity to meet the customer face to face and to deliver the cars personally. If you are based in the Manchester or Liverpool area and you are looking for a more personal and on-site leasing experience, do feel free to visit our team here at Kings Business Centre in Leigh (Nr Manchester).

The car shown, the Kia Sorento Diesel Station Wagon 2.2 CRDi KX-1 5 Door Manual, is another great example of a growing trend of 7-seat SUV-style vehicles. As we have explored in many of our blogs and reviews, there is a trend of customers electing for this type of vehicle more so than the traditional “bubble-shaped” MPVs – think Ford Galaxy, Seat Alhambra and VW Sharan.

Running multiple vehicles is simply unaffordable in our modern economy, so you need to get a vehicle which sort of meets all your aesthetic and practical needs and requirements.

The SUV fills this growing demand and the market continues to grow at an unbelievable rate.

In terms of the vehicle here, the Kia Sorento SW KX-1 (voted the number 1 7-seat SUV according to Kia), the customer elected for the following configuration:

· Graphite Metallic Paint

· Cloth – Black

· 17″ Alloy Wheels

The KX-1 is the “base model” within the Kia range:

· KX-1 – see below

· KX-2 – 18” alloys, leather upholstery, 7” satellite navigation, front/rear parking sensors, front/rear heated seats, air conditioning, heated steering wheel, cruise control and LED daytime running lights;

· KX-3 – xenon headlamps, 10 speaker Infinity sound system, panoramic sunroof, smart key system, power tailgate, driver power seat; and

· KX-4 – The elite model adds 19” alloys, 360 around view monitor, smart cruise control, ventilated seats, driver power seat and smart cruise control.

In terms of the KX-1, the car comes standard with privacy glass, tinted glass, hill start assist, trailer stability assist, cruise control, reversing parking aid, body coloured door mirror, Bluetooth, rear spoiler, cornering lights, Led headlights, air condition, 12V power point in row one and two, auto light control, load area lights, rear spoiler, folding key, 17” alloys and a temporary spare wheel. You cannot add any further factory options; you need to upgrade to the 2, 3 or 4 noted above.

On the technical-side, company car drivers can note the P11d of £29,190.00 and CO2 at 149g/km. The 2199CC 6 speed manual engine offers 197ps, 0-62 times of 9 seconds and combined MPG at 49.6. Service intervals are set at every 12 months or every 20,000 miles, so do consider the driver-maintained vs funder-maintained conundrum too.

So would the Kia be your leasing deal choice in the 7-seat range? Or would you be looking at the Hyundai Santa Fe, Nissan X-Trail 7 seat or Skoda Kodiaq?