I’ve been driving the 2016 Kia Sorento for four months now (see Updates 1,2 and 3),
on the road toward a 12-month Long-Term Test Drive. I’ve done a little
bit of everything with the Sorento, from gazelle-like long drives on the
open highway to tortoise-like crawls through dense urban traffic, and
everything in between, and the Sorento has been a great partner for the
journey.
There
are several reasons why I choose to drive an SUV in my daily life. Most
of them focus on the “U” – “Utility.” I love knowing that at any
moment, I could run across a great chair or a pile of wood, or a used
minibike or a copper lawn sculpture, or anything else, and I have the
cargo space to haul it back to my overcrowded home.
The
Sorento has a very decent amount of cargo space, especially in the
two-row/five-passenger version that I’m driving. There’s 38.8 cubic feet
behind the second row. Fold the second row flat, and 73.5 cubic feet of
space opens up.
Only
one problem with the back of the Sorento: it’s a little too nice back
there. I feel guilty putting my old battery charger back there, or that
stack of twigs I found at the beach. I only let my dogs in the back if
they agreed to lay down on a packing blanket, which I spread over the
load floor.
Luckily, Kia had a quick, smart solution. They sent me out a Cargo Tray ($92.70), specifically designed for the 2016 Sorento’s
load floor. It even has a crease along the back third that makes it
easy to access the great underfloor storage compartment without having
to hold up the whole mat. The underfloor storage compartment, by the
way, is brilliant. It’s big enough to swallow a laptop computer or small
gym bag or even a tool kit, keeping them hidden from prying eyes. Kia
also sent me a cargo net ($37.80) that is essential equipment for additional security. The cargo cover ($162) that I requested is not available yet, even though it shows up on Kia’s website.
No comments:
Post a Comment