The JL has nothing on the Kia Sorento

[DanW]

Ok, this is funny and I've got the scoop.

I spoke to Dan Mick, the guide and co-driver of the Sorento in the commercial a couple weeks ago while at Hell's Gate. He and his son took turns driving.

First of all, they spent an entire day (maybe two) trying to get it up Hell's Gate. They tried all kinds of things and couldn't get it done. They then told Kia people they needed to disconnect the front sway bar. (I believe he said they removed the whole thing, but it was disconnected, at a minimum.) He then said it was able to get up the hill. If you look carefully, you should see fine print in their commercial that admits to removing the sway bar.

He said he was impressed with the all wheel drive system on the Sorento. I asked him if he was ready to trade his Wrangler for one and he laughed pretty hard. He said the manufacturers are all coming out there and trying to do what Jeep has done with their marketing. He then said that while there are some good vehicles, until we saw him driving something other than a Jeep, we have our answer.

Hell's Revenge is not really so hard as it is scary. There are drive arounds for pretty much every obstacle. It really wouldn't take much of a trail for a JL or JK to leave a Sorento behind, without breaking a sweat. The Sorento would wind up high-centered and would have it's body, undercarriage, and exhaust system be utterly destroyed. Heck, we had a buddy with a built 4 Runner with us that beat his body work up on obstacles that didn't rub even the exhaust tips on my JL. His 4 runner was lifted with 33's.

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[MoaKane]

That was awesome! Thanks Jeep!

 

[MikeV]

It did, but it took some aftermarket mods to get it there.

Just different tires, come awn ppl lets give credit where credit is due

 

[DavidG]

Hilarious.

 

[DanW]

Just different tires, come awn ppl lets give credit where credit is due

And a disconnected/removed sway bar. That's a sway bar not designed or intended to be disconnected or removed.

In reality, other than looking scary and being pretty steep, Hell's Gate isn't that hard, as long as you keep your wheels where they need to be. That's why they hired the best and most experienced guide in Moab. Neither he nor his son could make the Sorento get up that obstacle after many hours of trying, until they took off the sway bar.

That's not really a knock on the Sorrento. For an road going SUV, which might see snow or light trails, it is great. The problem is that Kia is trying to present it as something it is not. They had to take great care to even get it back there without tearing up the body or the underside. It is no Wrangler. It was a marketing stunt. That said, Dan Mick did say he was impressed with the AWD and traction system. If I were into Kias and needed a good road going SUV, I'd certainly look at this one.

 

[RockChalkWranglerjl]

I own both a JLU Rubicon and a Sorento. I don't think my wife will let me take her Sorento up that!!

 

[DanW]

I own both a JLU Rubicon and a Sorento. I don't think my wife will let me take her Sorento up that!!

Lol! Hey, I didn't take my JL up that, either! Just looking at others doing it scared the hell out of me!

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