Accelerate Mpls

Kia’s tagline is “The Power To Surprise,” and as of late they have truly been surprising. Revamping an entire vehicle line-upand adding new models all within a very short period of time is no small feat. First there was the new Soul followed by the new Forte, and now they have completely revamped the Sorento.

If you do not remember the last generation Sorento, no one will fault you. It was nothing special, just another body on frame SUV that got lost in the crowd selling on price, not features. Some compared its looks to the first generation Lexus RX300, which some would view as a compliment.

The front of the Sorento features Kia’s new signature grille, flanked by swept-back headlights. In some ways the headlights almost look related to the Acura TL. The honeycomb grille is matched by honeycomb surrounds for the fog lights, which which are placed in the bumper. The way light from the fog lights hits the ground makes them almost act more like driving lights then actual fog lights.

The sides of the Sorento have two sculpting points – one runs the length of the window sills until it flows into the C-pillar. The second sculpting point is low near the bottom of the doors. This brings in the sides to give the Sorento a less slab sided appearance.

The wheels on this particular Sorento were 18-inch alloys which fit nicely within the wheel wells. The side mirrors had LED repeaters while the tail lights continued with the honeycomb look from the front grille. While the front has more design character then the rear, I would say overall the exterior is a huge win.

Like the exterior, the interior is mostly a win. The new corporate steering wheel has buttons for most major functions, and they are strategically placed so your hands do not leave the wheel as often. The dashboard is made of hard plastic, but it looks decent. The interior lighting is ret and the gauges are white and red, which make them very easy on the eyes while driving at night.

The seats were all day comfortable, though the side bolsters on the front seat backs were a bit hard. The rear seat can easily accommodate three people, with a nearly a flat floor for your feet. The rear seats do fold down 60/40, but not completely flat due to the design of the rear seat bottoms.

If I had one major gripe about the interior, it would be the navigation system. The system itself works terrific and the street names are very legible with no jagged fonts. However, the system warning each and every time you turn on the car takes forever to allow you to hit accept and move past the warning screen. I am talking a ridiculously long time. There is standard iPod integration, along with Sirius satellite radio and Bluetooth.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the front seat heaters – they worked quite well, although they aren’t the fastest to heat up. Once on, they performed on par with what a Minnesotan would expect.

The only interior trim piece I could really find an issue with was the main center piece of plastic covering the front of the steering wheel. The top cut line was uneven and somewhat jagged. While disappointing, overall I was impressed with the build quality inside the cabin. While hard plastics are used in many places, all touch points such as arm rests and other areas were covered in a leatherette-like material. The interior is, without question, very class competitive.

The Sorento I was in had the base 2.4 liter four-cylinder engine putting out 175 horsepower and 169 pound feet to the front wheels. A V-6 and all-wheel drive is optional. The power is put down through a one-choice six-speed automatic with a manual shifting gate to the left. Off the line the Sorento has adequate power, but once up to speed you will need to plan your passes carefully. Highway passing is not a point and shoot decision. I also noticed that the transmission often got confused as to what it should do. When slowing to a stop from about 30 MPH the transmission would sometimes not know when to shift and suddenly make a large clunk as it shifted into a lower gear. It felt like a programming issue, though it could be an issue with this particular Sorento.

I wonder if Kia plans to put the four-cylinder from the new Optima, which puts out 200 hp and 186 lb-ft , into the Sorento as the base engine in the future. The slight bump in power would possibly help the situation with passing power on the highway. The new 2.0-liter turbo that is coming in the Optima would also be a good engine option, since it has more horsepower and torque then the optional V6.

Driving the Sorento was enjoyable for the most part. I averaged 18.8 mpg in the city and 25.2 mpg on the highway. A bit lower then the 21/29 EPA rating. The suspension is a little firm though that didn’t bother me. With that firm suspension came quite a bit of noise over rough surfaces. On the highway more road noise made its way into the cabin then expected, though it was acceptable, just not class leading.

The Sorento I was in was a EX with both the limited package and premium package 1. With a total of $3,750 in options the sticker price on this Sorento EX was $29,340 after destination. That puts it right in the heart of the CUV segment.

With competitors like the new Chevrolet Equinox, Toyota Rav4, Ford Edge and many others, the Sorento can’t be just good enough, it has to be great. There is no question that Kia has good design direction both inside and out. The four-cylinder powertrain is adequate, but I’d probably opt for the V-6. The bottom line, if you are in the market for a CUV to haul the family around, you would be making a large mistake if you didn’t have the Sorento on your list. Turns out Kia’s marketing slogan does work – with its new styling language, the new Sorento really does have the power to surprise.

Full Disclosure – The review vehicle was provided by Kia

2010 Buick LaCrosse

I have heard the “New GM” say over and over again that any product launch can not be just a launch, it has to be a success.  The new LaCrosse for Buick is no exception, and in fact, this is the car that is helping to “reinvent” the Buick brand.  The Enclave that debuted two years ago went in the reinvention direction, it was however, less reinvention and more a new segment for the brand.  The Enclave was the vehicle that started generating younger foot traffic into Buick showrooms.  That is a good start, and this new LaCrosse looks to keep that momentum going.  So how is the car?  Well this is not your grandpa’s Buick.

The last generation LaCrosse was a curvy affair that had four headlights and the bland styling of white bread.  Buick has set its sights upon some new comers and some industry leaders ranging from the new Lincoln MKZ and Acura TL to the recently updated Lexus ES350 and let’s not forget the aging, and not gracefully I might add, Toyota Avalon.  These are the “main competitors” in GM’s view.  The list makes sense to me, although I believe, the main direct competitor is the Lexus ES350.  The advertising is poking at Lexus and the Buick is actually better looking.

The exterior design of the new LaCrosse has a very strong sweep spear line down the side.  The character line goes continuously from the headlights all the way down the side to the tail lights, creating a long and flowing line that helps to give the sides character.  This, along with curves toward the bottom of the doors, keep the car from appearing slab sided.  The front has a new modernized interpretation on the Buick waterfall grille.  Following the current trend, this car has a high belt line and the result is down right good looking.  No yawn inducing smoothed out jelly bean here.  The bland styling from the previous generation LaCrosse has been kicked to the curb for LED tail lights and that bold character line down the side.  With dual exhaust and finishers, the whole outside screams “I have style”.

Everyone that got in the interior commented on how nice the Lexus was.  That is until I told them it was the new Buick.  It took their breath away.  Once you get past that you are in a Buick, you have to stop yourself because suddenly you want to admit you like this Buick.  It is ok, someday it will be the cool thing, and this is the big first step toward that day.  The interior was designed with input from the Chinese division within GM.  Why would they do that you ask?  The answer is because Buick is a smash hit over in China, so they decided to have the market where Buick sells best design the interior.  Lets just say, bravo.  The gauge cluster looks great, probably one of the best in any GM vehicle.  The whole entire dash is covered in soft material which is how it should be.  The bottom, by your knees and where the glove box is, continues to be made of hard plastic.  It does look good, and you will rarely touch it.  The steering wheel both tilts and telescopes to help find the perfect driving position.

The car I had was a top tier CXS model with no additional options other then special paint for $195.  The sticker price was $33,960.  Equipped with an auxiliary jack and a USB port you could listen to your music from your iPhone or iPod through the Harmon Kardon branded sound system which sounded great.  I would even venture to say it rivals the Mark Levinson sound system in the Lexus ES350.  The wheels were 18″ with chrome plating.  I really liked the CXS standard heated steering wheel.

The car comes with three different engines.  The top shelf CXS I had came with a one choice 3.6 liter V6 featuring direct injection putting out 280 hp and 259 lb-ft to the front wheels.  Rated at 17/27 mpg, the car averaged 21.5 mpg with a mix of city/highway driving.  If you step down one trim level to the CXL you can get all wheel drive as a option, but you can not get the 3.6 V6, you have one choice, a 3.0 liter with 255 hp and 217 lb-ft.  The base CX model comes in front wheel drive with the 3.0 V6 standard though a 2.4 liter four cylinder with 182 hp and 172 lb-ft is optional.  I was surprised with how well the torque steer was in check with front wheel drive and the larger 3.6 liter V6.

So it seems all cheers here right?  Buick hit a home run with no flaws.  Well not exactly.  The car uses old goose neck hinges for the trunk which significantly eat into the trunk room.  Though the arms are covered so they can not crush luggage, that does not stop them from eating trunk space in a large way.  Yes the Lexus ES350 uses them too, but that is not an excuse.  Also, the seat tracks in the front have a very open design that, in theory, could easily devour a long evening gown while moving back or forth.  Also, as I have mentioned, I am not a huge fan of this high belt line trend.  Sure I am being nit picky I will admit that, but they did that good of a job.  My biggest complaint is simple.  You can not see the rear end when backing up.  This thing needs a back up camera stat!  The only way to get the back up camera is to have the optional navigation package.  When the back up camera is standard on the GMC Terrain, which has a base price less then this CXS, something is not right.

The new LaCrosse certainly is not your grandpa’s Buick anymore.  This cars main target are the people shopping for a Lexus ES350.  It hits that target while being a better value, having more character, and is overall better looking.  Certainly a few things I mentioned could use tweaking, but overall this is a nice execution on General Motors part.  Buick’s new marketing slogan is “The new class of world class”, and for the first time this brand has a car that is world class.