I would consider buying this along with Outlander...

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/25/k...to-renderings/

 

the Sorento is a much bigger SUV.

 

but it will have 4 cyl option, so can't be that much bigger or heavier then Outlander

 

It's Kia, my wife's first SUV was a Kia, That was in 2002. Nothing but problems. They might have improved but I am not willing to "try out and see". Mitsubishi on the other hand, I have known to have a reliable powertrain. It's all about proper maintenance. The Kia my wife used to have, had been maintained religiously by the dealer, but still have all sorts of issues keep popping up all the time.

 

Kia suv...a joke... no way near a Mitsu Outlander.. That's just my take on it...

 

I went on Kelly Blue Book (www.kbb.com) and they showed a 2008 Sorento, but nothing so far for 2009. The 2008 Sorento only comes in a 6 cylinder (no 4 cylinder) and the vehicle weight is 4068 pounds which is about 500 pounds heavier than an Outlander.

Highway mpg is listed at 22 mpg which is 2 mpg less than the 6 cyl Outlander and 3 mpg less than my 4 cyl ES Outlander. Also while the Sorento does comes in a 4WD model, the 2WD model is rear wheel drive. The base model of the Sorento only seats 5, has a MSRP of $22,165, so when you take into account the heavier weight and poorer gas mileage the 2008 model at least doesn't even compare favorably to my 08 4 cyl ES outtie, let alone a 6 cyl outtie.

 

Aesthetically pleasing. It was one of our consideration before buying the Outlander. But the Outlander was much much better.

 

Kia is owned by Hyundai. Hyundai has improved their quality over the last several years, but I've read some reviews that say Kia still has poor quality and reliability.

 

I just purchased my 2008 XLS. While I was in the market, the other SUV's I considered were:

Nissan Murano
Hyundai Santa Fe
Toyota RAV4

My wife hated the Murano because it felt too big and didn't turn well. I hated the RAV4 because I didn't have any leg room in the front seat. We both liked the Santa Fe, but it was a bit more expensive (we looked at the limited models) and they didn't have 0% APR.

 

You guys make a judgment for something that's not even fully announced. I personally like the looks of it, but we won't know for sure until April when 2010 model will be fully revealed. Kia was never my cup of tea, but I've been reading that they are working hard to improve their image, like Hyundai been doing. I like my Outlander, but I think it's very cheaply made for its price... I will not be buying another Mitsubishi unless they change that as well as dealership experience.

As far as Murano comparison, it's not in the same segment as Outlander. You should've been looking at Rogue which is actually not bad.