Sorento vs. Outlander. vs. Forester?

[WDWAurora]

Well, we're looking at cars and have narrowed it to these 3. We do have a top choice I think, but would love some opinions. We do kind of want the 3rd row seating as we may have an additional child and, long story short, may have twins, so we are definitely keeping that in mind.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Of those, the Forester would be my choice.

 

[debster812]

Of those, the Forester would be my choice.

Mine as well. I have a 2004 Forester that I LOVE. It does not have 3rd row seating, but it is a great car.

We live in New England, and this car will go anywhere, the weather never gives me a 2nd thought.

 

[Mandychelle79]

My mom has a forester. Its horrible to get car seats into. Weve taken it twice for road trip vacations and this year I want to take my Expedition when we go just so the kids cant touch.

 

[tvguy]

I'd rank the Kia at the top of the list, my brother has had one for a year and loves it, and you can't beat the warranty.

The Outlander, my concern would be service, because Mitsubishi dealers are far and few between.

We had 2 Foresters at my last job as part of our fleet. I wouldn't recommend one to an enemy. They had to be retired before 100,000 miles (normally we run vehicles 250,000 miles). Lots and lots of hardware problems, tailgate hinges on both broke, one falling off on the freeway at 70 miles an hour. Transmissions went out in both and one blew a head gasket.

 

[Syrreal]

I have a Forrester and LOVE it! I've had it for over 5 years now and have never had a problem with it. It drived great in any kind of weather too.

 

[aladams2]

We have a 2011 Sorento and LOVE it!! WE went from a mini van to this and it was a great choice for us. I love the look and feel driving this. I'm a cool "soccer" mom now. My DD 7 and 9 also enjoy it. We bought the one w/o the third row b/c we don't have a need for it since we only have 2 kids.

 

[Mrs.Malone]

I don't know about the other two, but even though Outlander is a great car, and it's nice to have the extra seatbelts for the occasional carpool, you wouldn't want to count on using the third row regularly. It is very small and uncomfortable even for a young child, and if I remember correctly the owner's manual states that you shouldn't put a child safety seat there. Also if you have the third seat up there is virtually NO cargo room left.

 

[merekc]

I looked at both the Forrester and the Outlander recently when car shopping.

I personally will never again consider Kia because that is why I was car shopping. My Kia Sedona which I had problems with from the beginning (and through my entire 4 years of ownership) didn't even make it the life of the loan before it has a major mechanical issue that was no longer covered by warranty (due to mileage).

Anyway, the Outlander third row was really, really flimsy (IMO). I honestly don't know how it passes safety inspection. It also seemed like it had no leg room.

The dealership I was at sold both Subaru and Mitsubisihi. The sales guy said he preferred the Forrester. I test drove it. Liked it but I thought it felt cheap (like my Kia) and thought it had a lot of road noise. I did like the way it drove.

So of your three choices my vote would be Forrester.

I ended up deciding between a used Pilot and a used Highlander (both with 3rd row). I went with the Highlander for about the same price as the Forrester I looked at. It was my favorite ride and overall vehicle of all I test drove. And the used ones were practically new in terms of mileage and they were offering great warranties.

Good luck! Hope this helps.

 

[tvguy]

I personally will never again consider Kia because that is why I was car shopping. My Kia Sedona which I had problems with from the beginning (and through my entire 4 years of ownership) didn't even make it the life of the loan before it has a major mechanical issue that was no longer covered by warranty (due to mileage).
.

Well, if you had over 100,000 miles on it I really don't think you can complain.
One of my co-workers has a 2006 Sedona, she commutes 100 miles a day and just turned 160,000 miles and has been amazed she hasn't even had to replace a water pump yet.

 

[WDWAurora]

Interesting opinions! I actually did come to the conclusion about the Outlander that the 3rd row was WAY too flimsy, and did read that car seats aren't allowed in it, so that basically took it out of the running. We just don't really like the Forester. We're trying to like it, but we just don't. So...right now we're thinking about the Kia.

merekc-it really sounds like you had a lemon! I definitely think that happens with all brands sometimes. My mom had 3 Ford Tauruses in a row, and the second one NEVER worked right. The other 2 were awesome. You just never know.

We are going to go and look at the Rav4 and the Highlander. The Highlander is a little more than we want to spend, but I think we can get it down low enough, especially since we would only really need the base model.

 

[merekc]

Well, if you had over 100,000 miles on it I really don't think you can complain.
One of my co-workers has a 2006 Sedona, she commutes 100 miles a day and just turned 160,000 miles and has been amazed she hasn't even had to replace a water pump yet.

Sorry I tried to condense a long story into a short quick statement. My problems started when the vehicle was a month old. I had to take the vehicle in about every 5,000 mile due to a repeat issue that they could never identify the problem with it. In addition, I had other problems occur along the way. Stupid, inconvenient issues like my locks would quite working.

When the vehicle was 6 months old I tried to trade it in and Kia wouldn't even give me a decent trade in value on it. The issue I had was no longer under warranty at (I believe) 80,000 miles. It occurred around 83,000. Yes, they advertise 10 year, 100,000 but that doesn't include everything. I would expect a vehicle to make it under 100,000 miles without a major issue when it has been maintained per the car makers requirements. Even the dealership said a car my age shouldn't have this problem.

I may have had a lemon but it tainted me forever against Kia. To me it is more than a lemon when I had over 15 warranty repairs on multiple issues. IMO Kia=Crap! My other issue is that it had no value when I traded it in because it is a Kia. It is a vicious cycle that when you buy an inexpensive car because of the price and the great warranties you will not have any value at the end of the loan if you want or in my situation needed to trade it in. It wasn't worth making my costly repair on a car with no value and no long term future.

I think people need to visit and/or check websites of dealerships because I think vehicles that often seem out of your price range can often be found cheaper than you realize. Especially if you are willing to buy one that is 1 or 2 years old. And especially in this economy, there are tons of deals out there.

Just my 2 cents. OP Good luck!

 

[tvguy]

Sorry I tried to condense a long story into a short quick statement. My problems started when the vehicle was a month old. I had to take the vehicle in about every 5,000 mile due to a repeat issue that they could never identify the problem with it. In addition, I had other problems occur along the way. Stupid, inconvenient issues like my locks would quite working.

When the vehicle was 6 months old I tried to trade it in and Kia wouldn't even give me a decent trade in value on it. The issue I had was no longer under warranty at (I believe) 80,000 miles. It occurred around 83,000. Yes, they advertise 10 year, 100,000 but that doesn't include everything. I would expect a vehicle to make it under 100,000 miles without a major issue when it has been maintained per the car makers requirements. Even the dealership said a car my age shouldn't have this problem.

I may have had a lemon but it tainted me forever against Kia. To me it is more than a lemon when I had over 15 warranty repairs on multiple issues. IMO Kia=Crap! My other issue is that it had no value when I traded it in because it is a Kia. It is a vicious cycle that when you buy an inexpensive car because of the price and the great warranties you will not have any value at the end of the loan if you want or in my situation needed to trade it in. It wasn't worth making my costly repair on a car with no value and no long term future.

I think people need to visit and/or check websites of dealerships because I think vehicles that often seem out of your price range can often be found cheaper than you realize. Especially if you are willing to buy one that is 1 or 2 years old. And especially in this economy, there are tons of deals out there.

Just my 2 cents. OP Good luck!

Does your state have a lemon law? Here in California as few as 4 repairs can cause the lemon law to kick in and the manufacturer to buy the vehicle back.
Not sure if you've kept up on used car prices, but they have skyrocketed to the point where a new car may be cheaper. Cash for clunkers has caused a shortage of used cars, driving prices up.
According to this article, used car prices are at record highs.

http://content.usatoday.com/communi...11-begins-used-car-prices-are-skyrocketing-/1

 

[Kahana-ri]

I adore my 2004 Kia Sorrento! It roomy, never have mechanical problems, so comfortable, we have 4-wheel drive so perfect for New England weather, and I can fit three kids in the back. The back storage area is awesome and fits so much...stroller, groceries, my work stuff, etc. I must brag too that my Kia 'turns on a dime.' It has such awesome power steering, I can maneuver it anywhere. Needless to say, once my poor cherished Kia reaches the end of its long driving career - I will be getting a newer version!