Thanks VJ, sounds like you are a happy owner. I only have concerns that KS is a problematic car that cost a lot to repair and leave me without a car for days.

i know quiet a but of similar owner, as in any cars, its all maintenance and how one drive it...since its SUV...many pakai bantai aje...obviously mechanical joint is gonna give ways.

Since you are buying second-hand as me, do ensure to check it up at the service center before purchasing, it will give you a peace of mind.

all the best bro...but if you want more power, santa fe 2.2 diesel is an option as well

I intend to buy Sorento because I want a proper 7-seater. Santa Fe is a bit small for that purpose. Other big 7 seaters are too expensive e.g.
Odyssey, Estima. Sorento comes with style as well.

Hmm, bought is about the same size and build on the same platform, its only cosmetic changes that differs...and for msian marker, santa fe concentrates on diesel and sorento for petrol.

I didnt like the older version, but the new facelist is much much better

https://www.mudah.my/2014+Hyundai+SANTA+FE+...AN-76207049.htm

Again, there is no right or wrong, its individual preference...all the best mate

Maybe you want the Kia grand carnival?

Most sorento owners are in the Kia sorento UM Malaysia fb page. Including me. Upgraded from suprima s to this car. Rarely visit F&f now. Maybe can ask questions there.

So far I had the car since November last 2017. Loving it. Mine is HS pre facelift.

There is an owners whatsapp group about 180 members. So far I can tell all are happy with the car.

I went to carbase or was it carlist Malaysia. Placed all 7 seater suvs, sorento wins almost all categories. Even now I think will still be good value for money. The santa fe is a bit expensive. Outlander is a no go. No ac in second and third row unless you count the ac in the floor.

If you need to carry 5 or more, I suggest kgc.

Downsides of sorento is that it needs euro 5 diesel. Since the new normal diesel is b10, better stick to euro 5. For more than a year I had to commute 30 km/45mon one way to get to euro 5. Now e5 is available in Kota Bharu.

This post has been edited by mystvearn: Jul 10 2019, 08:57 PM

Thanks for the suggestion. I did think about it but Sorento is more stylish although the back row can only sit 2 five footers.

Thanks. I will join the FB group. May I know what is kgc?
Also what is the difference between owning a petrol vs diesel and pro and cons.

Kgc = kia grand carnival.

Petrol vs diesel
Pros of petrol
Car cheaper to buy. Diesel more expensive.
Car battery cheaper. Maintenance may be cheaper.
Can use Ron 95. Diesel recommended euro 5.

Pros of diesel
Way powerful than petrol. 9 sec 0 to 100. Huge torque. Useful for stop start traffic and overtake. My suprima also kalah with this car. 400 nm torque. Theee is this guy overseas who uses his sorento to play tug of war with hilux with lorry. His sorento win all. Got videos online.
Get better mpg due to diesel
8spd transmission. Petrol only 6 spd.
No need to rev engine hard to get power. Nature of diesel engine. More refined than petrol.
Most of the units sold are diesel iinm.
Mileage for long distances can get up to almost 1k km per full tank. My personal record is 960 km for full tank. If stick to national speed limit can get near the 1k mark. I drove from KL to batu pahat to kota Bharu on one tank. Technically can reach kb, but stopped at pasir Puteh since that was the only place at that time with e5 diesel. I refuel 4-6 weeks once since my daily commute is about 20+ km whole day.

That is what I remember on top of my head. The rest can ask in the fb group. Also please test drive it. You will get a better picture of the car. Then can do the math. At that price, what are your options. I cannot think of any other more value for money 7 seater suv.
New santa fe is more expensive. Slight better than sorento. Same engine. Not sure if it is worth the extra 10k++.
Outlander not refined. Poor interior layout. Has better off road capability. Petrol engine. Can topup anywhere.
Xtrail, 3rd row unusable to adults. Plastic interior. It is the cheapest though. Petrol. Xtrail exterior looks good though.
Fortuner, best off road capability, not refined on roads. Also fortuner too high. If you have old parents, they are not going to like that step ladder. If you are the type masuk kebun all the time then worth it. Can use normal diesel. Ladder frame. Fortuner seats fold to the side of the window if not mistaken. Fortuner more expensive.
Isuzu mu-x. Plastics interior. Not refined. Great off-road capabilities. With on the fly transmission selection. 3rd row good for adults. But seats in the last row don't fold flat. To raise the floor so adults will be comfortable. Also high vehicle. Can use normal diesel. Same class like fortuner. Ladder frame if not mistaken.

So depending on on your usage, sorento santa fe one class. Xtrail outlander another. Fortuner mux another. Also note that kia is no Toyota. Parts are there, hard to find oem.

If you stay in pedalaman or estate areas, maybe fortuner mux better choice. Budget people might want the outlander xtrail. Comfort good nvh and sophisticated interior might want santa fe sorento. When I bought the car, only one out of more than 10 people could tell it was diesel. The rest thought it was petrol. This is standing from outside while car running.

Since the gomen introduced the b10 diesel, I see more fortuner, Ford hilux fill e5. Even though they can use the lower grade fuel. My neighbour said that he save at least RM 20 when doing long distances with e5 in his pickup. Also engine quieter.

I am confident of the 2.2 d engine since my neighbour using the same engine in his 8 year old santa fe. Still going strong. No issues

Thanks for me most important is I am not buying a car with lots of problems where there are frequent repairs not due to wear and tear. I have heard too much from car service centres.
I don’t mind taking Petrol as it is cheaper cost outlay. Maybe the difference is 10k but I don’t think I can save 10k worth of petrol vs using diesel. Maybe by using petrol it will cost me 400/ month and using diesel is 600/month. Savings of 200 every month is only 6k in 5 years.

Thanks bro for explaining.

You must mean 400 per month for Diesel and 600/mth for petrol, not the other way round.
The truth is , the diesel model may cost you extra 10K more than the petrol, but you must know that when you sell off the car years later, you will also get back higher price for your diesel model compared to petrol, so that 10K is not all lost, in that sense.

What is more important to most Sorento owners is the exhilirating drive of the turbo diesel with higher torque of 442 Nm. The natural aspirated 2.4 Litre petrol engines gives out only 225 Nm of torque in comparison. As such, not everything can be measured in ringgit and sen, IMHO. Imagine climbing a slope or overtaking a car on the highway like a breeze.

Extras in the diesel variant are (worth mentioning)
1) 19 Inch rims compared to 18 inch in the petrol
2) ISG (Idle Stop Go )
3) 8 Speed gear box vs 6 speed in the petrol

FC in the order of City / Highway / Combined as stated in the brochure :

Petrol : 13.4 / 7.2 / 9.5 Litre/100 km
Diesel : 7.3 / 6.0 / 6.5 Litre / 100 km

Great analysis!! Thanks.

Great to see direct feedbacks from the owner. I also keen to have sorento for my expanding family. Space+style+power is pretty much sorento has. I'm just wondering can we get Singapore specs(gigantic panoramic roof) here in Malaysia? If can, how?

Singapore units are all CBU from Korea, so they can ship various specs assembled from Korea plant without any problem.
But in Malaysia, we need to do CKD or semi KD in mass production assembly to bring down the taxes, hence, Kia Malaysia could only offer 1 variant each for Diesel and petrol. It is not possible to get a unit with sunroof here, unless you are an AP holder and wish to import one directly from Korea. :-D

I didn't realize that?! So the new units doesnt come with panaromic sunroof? Thats not good...Kia had always known to bring in sunroof, from early Optima days....sigh!

Mine is a 2013 model, has full sunroof.

Oh mann. How I wish my kids could enjoy the sky while I'm driving. Btw, thanks for the info sir. Looks like need to gosok some dato/menteri. Lol 🤣

Will Kia bring in Telluride for Malaysian market?

No plan to bring in this model to Malaysia.

In conjunction with the 62nd Malaysia Independence day, Kia Malaysia is giving away Free fuel voucher worth RM 620 for 62 lucky winners when you purchase a KIA vehicle from 15th August to 30th September 2019 (by registration). The names of the winners will be announced sometime in early October 2019.