We could have gone with the new Kia Sorento and get a pano roof but both me and the wife aren't really sold on Kia right now even thoug the Sorento is exactly the same vehicle as the Santa Fe under the skin. Plus I think the Santa Fe will have slightly better resale value than the Kia, and add in the fact that Hyundai actually has a better deal than the kia I can sacrifice the pano roof for the regular sunroof in our Limited model.
I know where you're coming from but I'm more or less sold on the Sorento, given all the additional features on it over the Santa Fe but pricing is such a disparity right now. When I mentioned the disparity between the Sorento and shared platform Santa Fe to a Kia dealer I was chastised by the sales manager who told me they weren't the same platform at all (instead the Sorento was essentially the same as the Veracruz!). When I told him I could easily find a dozen references on-line to support my case, he told me to come back after I look and "apologize to him". Most bizarre dealership experience I've ever had...
I know this will sound like I'm tooting my own horn but rarely do I ever meet an auto sales person who knows more about vehicles than me. Most of the time I know more about their own product than they do and I don't think I've met sales person who knows their competition like I do. So you have to understand to expect a sales person to know anything about a competitor is asking too much, heck this guy doesn't even know everything about his own product. Make no mistake the new Sorento is the Hyundai, there are a few tweaks her and there but basically they are the same vehicle. The Veracruz is a much bigger vehicle and I know this because I took one out and it has a legit 3rd row seat that adults can fit into. If I were you and had this experience I would email him some info and ask that next time he should do his homework before mouthing off of a potential customer.
It is said that the new Sorento is based on a
modified version of the Santa Fe platform. Suspension tuning is different, and so is the direction tweaking, I'm sure.
So yeah, the Sorento is basically a Santa Fe, but it's a 4-5 year newer design with all the tweaks associated with that. And Kia's are typically tuned a little sportier than Santa Fe.
And just looking at the feature set, the Sorento kills the Santa Fe. For example, you have to get into the Sport or Limited Santa Fe's to get heated seats and a trip computer; those are standard in ALL Sorentos! Automatic Dual Zone climate control is available on the Sorento EX models while, unless I missed it, it's not even available on the Santa Fe at all.
If you compare the feature set of the likely more popular models, Sorento LX-V6 ($29,095) and Santa Fe 3.5L GL AWD ($30,999), you get MORE in the Sorento. Heated seats, trip computer, steering wheel cruise control, Smart key push button ignition, Side mirrors integrated turn signals. And then, you can jump into the Sorento EX-V6 for $31,795 and get leather, dual zone climate control, power driver's seat, 18" alloys. But of course, one could say that all of this is moot with the incentives going on at Hyundai for the Santa Fe these days. Nevertheless, the Sorento can be had with features that just aren't available on the Santa Fe except the most expensive models, if at all.