by "Arrivederci" (arrividerci)
Published 11/14/2017 at 14:51
by "Arrivederci" (arrividerci)
Published 11/14/2017 at 14:51
No Tags
STARS: 1
After much help from fellow Oppos about the process of totaling a car and then working with the insurance company on a settlement, we’ve finally settled and have found a replacement for her poor 2012 Rogue.
Needless to say, the insurance company didn’t budge on their settlement offer, despite much complaining from me and getting the agency involved as well. Whatever - like I said, their initial offer wasn’t terrible, but after a bit of research on comparable cars, I thought it was a little undervalued. I thought the whole claim was handled rather poorly, so we’ll be taking our business (house, two cars and personal property policies) elsewhere once this is all buttoned up.
Having a short timetable to buy a car kinda sucks. I’ve usually taken my time in the past because I haven’t been under the gun like this. Not to mention having an unwilling participant in my wife, who was feeling a little sorry for herself about being in this situation to begin with.
Last Friday we both had to burn a vacation day to go out and test drive all the AWD CUVs - Nissan Murano SV, Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited, Mazda CX-5 Touring, Ford Edge Titanium, Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2.oT and Kia Sorento EX V6.
The Murano was surprisingly nice and the CVT didn’t bother me nearly as much when attached to the big, torquey VQ. Nice ride, amazing seats, quiet and tons of features. The Outback was nice, but didn’t feel quite as well built as the Murano and suffered from a lot of wind noise from the mirrors at speed. Sadly (for me), we nixed it from the list. The CX-5 was up next and while I loved it and it drove spectacularly, my wife nixed it because of cargo space, saying she wanted something bigger than her old Rogue.
When the dealer pulled the Edge around it was really very attractive. It was finished in this beautiful blue paint, almost like Subaru’s WR Blue. I guess it was just Deep Impact Blue, but it really popped in the sun. The interior was especially nice with all the bells and whistles. However, it just didn’t drive very well. We both came away with the term “clunky” which I suppose isn’t surprising given the previous candidate was the excellent CX-5. I suppose it also didn’t help that the taillights were full of condensation like on an old BRZ.
Next up were the Korean cousins - the Santa Fe Sport 2.0T and the Kia Sorento. The Santa Fe Sport 2.0T was extremely nice - of course, part of that was to due with the fact that the dealer’s demo was in an Ultimate trim, which had all the bells and whistles. The 2.0T was strong and full of torque - I read somewhere that it hits peak torque as early as 1450rpms, which makes it feel great just bumming around town. Certainly not fast or anything like that, but it doesn’t struggle to move at all. Surprisingly nice ride and very quiet. I wasn’t a huge fan of the seats, but my wife seemed to like them.
Last stop was the Kia dealership - the only Sorento EX V6 they had in stock was FWD. The salesman assured us it would drive the same, so we took it out and it’s a very nice rig. With the V6 it has three rows, though the last one would be a pinch for anyone over the age of 8. With the third row down, it has tons of cargo space. The EX comes with a number of options as standard and this one had a package with some nice additional kit, which was all wifey-approved.
We went home that night and each independently ranked our favorites, then compared. We both listed the Sorento first, I had the CX5 second and she had the Santa Fe in that spot, so we fortunately had agreement without debate (those of you who are married will know how beneficial that is!).
I started digging on AutoTrader/Cars/CarGurus and sourced a nice CPO 2016 Sorento EX V6 AWD about 50 miles from us, so the next morning we went to the bank, got a check and headed over. We pull up, meet the salesman I set our appointment with and he had the car detailed and ready to roll. We get in - immediate smell of smoke. Dammit. We hop out without ever taking a ride and I silently curse myself for not asking. He assures us it can be taken out, but I tell him that it’ll never go completely away, and tell him that we have to regretfully pass. Problem was - that was my only option. These things are mostly FWD, at least in the South.
My wife hits up AutoTrader/Cars/CarGurus as I drive us back home. We stop at the Kia dealer in our town, they only had a new (2018) one and couldn’t get it where we wanted on price. Next stop was a used one a town over, but it was a base EX and only FWD, but the price was good, so we kept it in our minds. Last option as darkness was falling was a 2017 EX V6 that was better equipped but still FWD. We liked it and decided to try and work out numbers. Dealer refused to budge on price, their dealer-installed items (VIN etching, paint protection, all the usual garbage). I gave them the price I wanted to pay, they shook my hand and basically said “see ya.”
Defeated, we went home. Back at the house, I get back on AutoTrader/Cars/CarGurus and have a small realization - the V6 isn’t the only option on the EX trim (I had been sorting by it on a filter). The wonderful 2.0T like in the Santa Fe Sport 2.0T was an optional engine. I remove my filter and expand my search radius, finding a well-priced example about 300 miles away. I called them up yesterday, talked numbers and made a deposit. 2017 model, 2.0T engine, AWD and the equipment package we wanted (blind spot, rear cross traffic, power liftgate and some other stuff). Remington red over stone beige. I could’ve gotten a better deal if I had time on my side, but all things considered, I think we did okay, and we’ll make the trek to get it Friday-Saturday.
TL;DR - tested a lot of CUVs, decided on the Sorento. Got skunked locally, so I found one about 300 miles away, and we pick it up this weekend.
"Jcarr" (jcarr)
11/14/2017 at 14:58, STARS: 0
I bought a 2003 Ram when I graduated from college in 2006. The previous owner was a heavy smoker and I successfully got the smell out by leaving a few dishes of dry coffee grounds in it for a week or so.
"Arrivederci" (arrividerci)
11/14/2017 at 15:05, STARS: 1
Then how’d you get the coffee smell out? ;-)
"Jcarr" (jcarr)
11/14/2017 at 15:08, STARS: 1
Ha, I actually got the grounds all over one day when I took a drive and rolled the windows down. They were everywhere, but they vacuumed right up.
Swear to God, it worked.
"OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars" (jakeauern)
11/14/2017 at 15:08, STARS: 0
What part of the South are you in?
"KevlarRx7" (kevlarsupra)
11/14/2017 at 15:09, STARS: 1
Why would you want to? Can’t beat the smell of coffee!
"Arrivederci" (arrividerci)
11/14/2017 at 15:09, STARS: 0
Had we bought that one, I’d definitely be willing to give it a try!
"Arrivederci" (arrividerci)
11/14/2017 at 15:10, STARS: 0
North Carolina
"OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars" (jakeauern)
11/14/2017 at 15:12, STARS: 0
Ahh. I’ve been as far east into NC as Asheville. Did I get spoiled on my current and only exposure to the state?
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/14/2017 at 15:14, STARS: 1
I had a lower-spec Santa Fe Sport as a rental car over the summer and really rather liked it. The Sorento 7-seater is a nice option because you can get the 3rd row without having to step up to the bigger size on the outside like the non-Sport Santa Fe.
I might prefer the 2014-15 Sorento for myself, because the styling is a little less dustbustery. For whatever reason, Kia did a mid-cycle refresh of that generation where they changed basically the whole chassis underneath, and a new dash, but only slightly updated the styling. The 2016 is basically the same platform as the 2014-15 but with the new styling and interior, and that’s when they introduced the 2.0T option.
No, they’re not fun to drive, but they’re utterly competent at being comfy cruisers with more room than compact CUVs while still not being huge.
"MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s" (mastermario)
11/14/2017 at 15:14, STARS: 1
It worked* for you...I can’t speak for you but I don’t have a great nose. My mom’s Altima was previously smoked in and as far as I can tell we got the smoke smell out, but my wife has an extremely good sense of smell and she can still smell it.
"Arrivederci" (arrividerci)
11/14/2017 at 15:17, STARS: 1
I don’t think so - Asheville is both our liberal and beer capital, and is a ton of fun in a crunchy sort of way. Boone is great as well if you want to stick in the mountains and that area generally offers better skiing if you’re into that sort of thing. The middle of the state has a few nice small cities (Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Durham, Raleigh), but not much else. The coast is beautiful with lots of great beaches and the Outer Banks, which are certainly worth a visit.
"OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars" (jakeauern)
11/14/2017 at 15:20, STARS: 0
I enjoy beer, greatly. I need to drive further on I-40 though. I’ve touched every mile from Barstow, CA to Asheville but nothing further east.
"Arrivederci" (arrividerci)
11/14/2017 at 15:20, STARS: 0
Forgot to mention - small bummer on the Sorento 2.0T - there’s no third row. The third row only comes on cars with the V6, oddly enough. Of course, it would be folded down 99% of the time with us, but in that 1% pinch, it’d be nice to have.
"Arrivederci" (arrividerci)
11/14/2017 at 15:21, STARS: 0
That’s what I was afraid of. I didn’t doubt they could’ve masked it when we bought it, but when we hit 100* the next summer, I feel like it would come right back out.
"Arrivederci" (arrividerci)
11/14/2017 at 15:22, STARS: 1
Do it! I-40 runs all the way to Wilmington, which is a nice beach city. Lots of great beaches near there and you’re not too far north of the Redneck Riviera if that’s your bag.
"Nothing" (nothingatalluseful)
11/14/2017 at 15:24, STARS: 2
There was zero chance of getting the smoke smell out of the Civic. I replaced the seats, tried coffee grounds, ozone thingies, etc. When I bought it, there was a stew off ashes, butts, and what may have been water or some other liquid substance. When I pulled the console to clean the carpet, there was nearly a solid reproduction of the console in ashes underneath.
I guess it all depends on how the smoker treated the vehicle. I think the only thing that would’ve resolved it in that car was a complete interior gut job. I guess an ozone generator may have done the job as well.
"Nothing" (nothingatalluseful)
11/14/2017 at 15:25, STARS: 0
Congrats, sounds like quite the thorough research job, especially given your time frame!
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
11/14/2017 at 15:39, STARS: 0
Ah, I didn’t realize the 2.0T was 5 seats only.
Part of me thinks the Sorento should only come as a 7-seater. Because that way it would have a clear differentiator from the two sizes of Santa Fe: 7 seats like the big Santa Fe in the size of the Santa Fe Sport.
Instead, a 5-seat 2.0T Sorento is basically exactly the same as a Santa Fe Sport. I mean, that’s not a bad thing, I like both of them, and plenty of people don’t really need the 3rd row.
But I think the Sorento could carve out its own niche.