Kia Sorento Updates For Better Value.
Kia‘s award winning large SUV, the Sorento, has been given a mild makeover however it’s enough to provide a fresh look both inside and out. There’s also been some model changes. Here’s what’s been done.
Exterior.
There’s revised front and rear bumpers, new LED head-lamps for the now top of the range GT-Line (Platinum has been discontinued) and tail-lamps for SLi and GT-Line, and a new dark metallic finish to the iconic “tiger-nose” grille. Kia says the result is a more sophisticated and purposeful front-end appearance. A new Gravity Blue exterior paint finish is now available, as well as a new design for the Sorento’s 17-, 18- and 19-inch aluminium alloy wheels. The GT-Line gains bespoke enhancements, including four-lamp LED fog lights, red brake calipers, a more prominent sill step, and subtle GT Line badging designed to distinguish it from other Sorento models, plus a distinctive chrome twin exhaust tip.
Interior.
Inside, the cabin features a newly-designed steering wheel and driver instrument cluster, as well as a new climate control LCD display. The dashboard also features a new Audio Visual Navigation (AVN) system which has increased in size from 7 inches to 8 inches. There’s also an increased proportion of soft touch materials and leather for a more premium cabin ambience. Optional black and stone leather upholstery is also available for Aurora Black and Gravity Blue SLi models. The GT-Line driver’s seat is equipped with four-way lumbar support, plus gains unique paddle shifts and satin chrome highlights. The SLI gets two-way adjustable lumbar support to enhance seating comfort.
The new Sorento also offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for full smartphone integration. Android Auto is designed to work with Android phones running 5.0 (Lollipop) or higher whilst Apple CarPlay is best suited for iPhone 5 or newer.
Tesla Powers Up Across Australia.
With the continued growth of the electric car segment, driven (no pun intended…well, maybe a little) by Tesla, the ability to travel further and further across the wide brown land has grown even more. Tesla has expanded its charging network further across Australia with the addition of five Superchargers across Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia and there’s rapid growth of Destination Chargers across the country.
The Supercharger link between Melbourne and Adelaide is complete with the opening of Horsham in Victoria, and South Australian locations Keith, Clare Valley and Adelaide city centre. These additions allow owners to drive from Adelaide to Brisbane emissions-free.
A Prancing Horse SUV and Sweden Gets Plugged In.
It’s now confirmed that Ferrari, one of the world’s great luxury sports car makers, will also release an SUV. This brings Ferrari into line with companies such as Bentley, Maserati, Jaguar, and Lamborghini.
Sergio Marchionne, Ferrari’s global chairman, dubbed the vehicle a FUV, a Ferrari Utility Vehicle, during an address in the US recently.
With a mooted release date of 2020, currently, Marchionne said: ““We’re dead serious about this. We need to learn how to master this whole new relationship between exclusivity and scarcity of product, then we’re going to balance this desire to grow with a widening of the product portfolio.” Australia’s Ferrari representative, Herbert Appleroth said: “He has certainly given everyone some information on where he is thinking.”
When questioned if an SUV model would be an appropriate addition to Ferrari’s Australian range, Mr Appleroth said any future product would be embraced by the local arm and its customers. “Look, any new model that enters this market is highly popular, whatever that is,” he said. “As Enzo always said, he was asked once, ‘What is your favourite Ferrari?’ And he famously quoted, ‘The next one.’ And I think that is the same for us.
Holden: The Day For Closing Is Coming. Part Two.
This is part two of an interview conducted with Holden’s PR guru, Sean Poppitt, before the closure of Holden as a manufacturer of cars and engines in Australia.
Speaking of local products…Keeping the Commodore nameplate has seen plenty of discussion as to whether it should stay or not. What has been Holden’s reason for doing so?
There wasn’t one single thing that drove that decision…there’s a number of different factors we considered…one of the first ones was this: we went out and talked to Commodore owners. We went and talked to non-Commodore owners, and we did a really extensive market research piece, sitting down with customers and non-customers and asking that question. The overwhelming response we got was to keep the name. Of course that doesn’t take anything away from people’s right to have an opinion on this, I would wonder how many of those with a negative opinion are Holden or Commodore owners.
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