Sorento/Santa Fe/Rexton – reviews?

Jingleballs

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It looks like my Shogun is broke again – the abs light has been a problem pretty much since I bought it – got if fixed and now the abs light is back on constantly again and today my handbrake light wouldn’t go off! We know the abs sensor may be faulty and price to repair is over £400. After spending over £1k on repairs in the first 2 months of owning it I’d said if I had any further problems within the next year I’d be trading it in, taking a hit financially as I’ll never get the price I paid and getting another 4x4.

The 3 listed are the one’s I’d consider as ideally I’d like to go back to a more car like 4x4 as I don’t like the tractor-ish feel of the Shogun.

Anyone tow with these – how gutsy are reliable are then? What’s the fuel consumption like? Shogun is around 25 mpg just for general driving so want something more efficient than that! Any ideas on road tax etc?

Any thoughts?
 
I really want a santa fe - cant comment but have a hyundai coupe now and its been fab for past 5 years - they are ultra reliable cars being korean. Am defo thinking of trading in for santa fe
 
We tow with a sorento, All i can say BRILLIANT!!, we two with a 510, two horses and have stopped on a hill before now, pulled away brilliantly, no trouble what soever, mum has to drive around it every day two and not to gutsy,

would definetly recommend!
 
Another vote for the Sorento, which I also understand has won numerous towing awards. It is fantastic for towing, and as an everyday car as has many luxuries included. My model is an XE and came with sun roof, cruise control, heated leather seats etc, as standard. I have done 74,000 miles in it and has only gone into the garage for a yearly service and mot. It was also invaluable last winter as we live in the Shropshire hills, where we had snow for 5 weeks, but didn't have a day when I couldn't get in and out.
The only down side was when I filled it up with diesel last week and cost £78! Don't blame the car though as when I first bought it, it only cost to £55 to fill up, so shows the rise in fuel prices......
 
Third vote for the sorento. It's fab. We just towed my horse to an event - 200miles round trip, used less than half a tank of diesel. A nice refined drive too and TONS of boot space in comparisson to your shogun. (my last car was a shogun).
 
I have had a couple of Rextons and can honestly say they are hell of a lot of car for the money, they are really well built and reliable in my experience and just feel very well made. I would have another over my current range rover.
 
Without having had either I would say the Sorrento and the Santa Fe are pretty similar although I would say as a new car the Santa fe may be a little more expensive. The Kia always gets good reviews for its towing capabilities and I always think personal recommendations are the most reliable. My friend has an older santa fe and they love it for towing BUT they only have the kids ponies as far as I am aware so it's not going to struggle with them!

All in all though for the size of car and what you get for your money gadget wise i don't think you can grumble. It's always going to be heavier on fuel there's no question about that but I don't think either are as thirsty as say a Jeep Cherokee!

Also with the Kia and Hyundai they have a 5 yr warranty so you could feasibly (depending on budget) pick up a 2nd hand one with some warranty left.
 
We have an 05 Santa Fe, auto petrol 2.8 V6. It tows really well and is a good car in general. It dos about 30mpg, and about 25mpg when towing (this is mostly downt to the engine size and it being auto, the same engine but desial (auto) will only do 7 more mpg, so about 37mpg when not towing and just over 30mpg when towing) It can tow 2300kg i think, which is quite good. They are very reliable and can be cheap to get hold of.
 
I have had a couple of Rextons and can honestly say they are hell of a lot of car for the money, they are really well built and reliable in my experience and just feel very well made. I would have another over my current range rover.

We have a rexton and agree its a lot of car for your money, a lot of extras with most cars are basic with Ssanyong.

Im sure i read somewhere they some how connected to the merc 4x4's ?
 
Also with the Kia and Hyundai they have a 5 yr warranty so you could feasibly (depending on budget) pick up a 2nd hand one with some warranty left.


I was recently told by a kia dealer that if the car is second hand the warranty id NOT transfered. if bought from a dealership though they would give you 1 years warranty no matter what was left on the original one. :(
 
Just replied to you about this on another thread! Love my Sorento altho I don't know how Sidney fills theirs on £78! Mine easily takes £100 to fill the tank from emtpy (80L tank).

When I was looking for a tow car I considered the Santa Fe. I was in the Hyundai dealers looking at a £13,000 Santa Fe and the guy actually said I would be better off with a Terrican at £7,000. Apparently the Terrican is more on a par with the Sorento than the Santa Fe.
 
Another vote for Sorento - tows my Rice trailer with horse and pony no problems up and down our hilly countryside, although we did get stuck in the muddy field once.
 
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