Highlander versus Sorento

[h2owmn]

Bill and Earline, #2 for the win. And if one chooses the second alternative, one has a vehicle worth more than the old one to sell.

We all pays our money and takes our choice.

[Iowa Dave]

Hi Glenn
I had the dealer finish up the tow package just like you did. It was a condition of the sale and worked out well for us. Did that on both the 2012 and the 2018.
Iowa Dave

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

This vehicle is eleven years old. My Ford Explorer was twelve when I gave it to my daughter and it promptly blew a head gasket.

But this is a RAV4 - it has lots of time left.

Originally Posted by gbaglo

There are few gas stations today in downtown Vancouver. Most have been sold to build high rise condos and retail. That's a trend that's likely to continue as young people spurn driver's licences and have no desire to own a vehicle, maintain and insure it.

I'm wondering if I buy a new gas vehicle, will I be able to buy fuel for it in eight years?

I guess I could move to Alberta.

There are few stations because the land is too expensive; gas stations are rare in downtown Edmonton and Calgary, too. It's not a problem for most people, because if they live outside of downtown and drive there to work or whatever, they fill near home; if they live downtown they mostly drive to go elsewhere, and fill near their destination. If they live downtown and drive to work or whatever also downtown, they need to give their head a shake and clue into public transit and taxis... and of course they're prime electric car candidates. There will be gas stations for a very long time to come, in reasonable locations.

All of those non-driving young people still get around, and still mostly in cars... belonging to taxi drivers, friends, or parents.

[Doug2000]

Originally Posted by Bill and Earline

Hi, Glenn,

Glad to hear you are pondering these things. I have several thoughts:

1). Test drives — they’re fun and they’re free. Some dealers even give you gift cards to come in. Try different size vehicles and different trim levels. You may say “this is much better” or you may say “this isn’t much better than what I already have.”

2) Some day when you get the news that you can no longer travel, will you say to yourself: I’m glad I had some years in a new vehicle, or will you say I’m glad I saved some money.

3) Our 2003 4Runner V6 has 110,000 miles and still feels and looks like new. Several people asked to buy it this year. We’ll never sell it, and towed our 21 with it again this year while the Ram was in for yet another emissions recall.

4) Whatever you do, don’t look up the article on the million mile Tundra.

Happy pondering,

Bill

Another Tundra turned 1,000,000 miles. There was a interview on YouTube of the service manager. Note, both Tundras had the 4.6L I have. Not that their any better than the 5.7L, there both awesome. Very reliable,

[Rossue]

The same can be said for GM 5.3 V8. You see a lot of older GM trucks & SUV with that motor.

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by Rossue

The same can be said for GM 5.3 V8. You see a lot of older GM trucks & SUV with that motor.

The 5.3 is a good engine. Problem is, it comes in a GM vehicle....

[Rossue]

Originally Posted by Mike G

The 5.3 is a good engine. Problem is, it comes in a GM vehicle....

Had the 2013 GM Yukon 5 years, having bought it used with 22K miles. Sold it last month in one day for $2500 over trade-in value with 107K miles. Never had one problem , other than the rodent that chewed on a wire.

Hopefully will have the same experience with the new Expedition. Never had owned a GM or Ford prior. Have owned plenty of Toyotas, including 85 Cressida that needed camshafts due to bad design.

[Yakanaka]

We towed our 21 for a year with a Santa Fe XL. Had many negative comments on this forum whenever I mentioned it. It's rated to 5000 lbs. We towed our 21 up the Coquihalla highway and it was surprisingly easier than expected. I have towed our 21 6000kms across Canada and might still be towing with the Santa Fe if it were not for the 4 kayaks we now carry on the roof (of the truck). I now tow with a Ford f150.

[Sawdusty]

Originally Posted by Tinker

Both vehicles are rated at 5,000 lbs for towing with the V6 engine. The Toyota Highlander has the 3.5 l engine while the Kia Sorento has the 3.3l. I’ve heard good things about the Toyota. Does anyone have experience towing with the Sorento? Thanks!

I have a 2006 Honda Ridgeline and I tow a 19' Escape. I will be replacing my tow vehicle in the next year and was considering the Highlander. However, I understand that the new Toyota Highlander does not have room for a full size spare tire which is problematic for me.

[blhvet]

I was pondering the same question, especially as my new vehicle also had to be my daily driver. I went with the Sorento and I love it!! Tows my 17B like it’s not even there! And I love the Sport mode, which allows me to “change gears” without a clutch - especially nice for the steep ups and downs. The only think I don’t like is the clearance - it sits pretty low, especially with the trailer hooked up. I also wished I’d gotten the higher axle on the trailer, although the TV would still be the limiting factor. Hope this helps!
Brenda

[AK snowbiker]

Originally Posted by Yakanaka

We towed our 21 for a year with a Santa Fe XL. Had many negative comments on this forum whenever I mentioned it. It's rated to 5000 lbs. We towed our 21 up the Coquihalla highway and it was surprisingly easier than expected. I have towed our 21 6000kms across Canada and might still be towing with the Santa Fe if it were not for the 4 kayaks we now carry on the roof (of the truck). I now tow with a Ford f150.

Love our Santa Fe’s, currently have two. While we don’t tow with them they have been one of the most reliable cars that we have ever owned. Getting ready to barge our 2004 down to Washington where it’s going to spend the rest of its life as a grocery getter, ski shuttle for Mt.Baker and Whistler/Blackcomb. Scott

I like bikes!

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by blhvet

And I love the Sport mode, which allows me to “change gears” without a clutch - especially nice for the steep ups and downs.
Brenda

I don't understand. How is this Sport mode different than my auto transmission? I can select a lower gear manually in my RAV4. Just move the shift lever.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

I don't understand. How is this Sport mode different than my auto transmission? I can select a lower gear manually in my RAV4. Just move the shift lever.

It's fundamentally the same thing, although possibly with a different selector mechanism (lever, paddles, whatever), but there are differences between transmissions and their control programming. Most lower gear selections only keep the transmission from using a higher gear (except to avoid running the engine faster than redline); they will still downshift to a lower gear when their programming says to do that, even if you don't want it. There might be some out there that actually hold your selected gear (except to avoid exceeding redline or stalling), but I don't know which (if any) work that way currently. When transmissions moved past 5 forward ratios most selectors changed from a lever with a position for each gear to a "+/-" momentary-contact switch system that the driver just pushes or pulls for the next gear, whatever it is; the paddle shifters work the same way.

Just from the description, the best automatic transmission shift selector design that I've heard of is the set of two-stage paddles that run the Ultimate Power on Demand logic of the Koenigsegg Jesko... but that's a exotic sports car that I'll never be able to afford and can't tow, anyway.

[CarinaPDX]

The Acura MDX, and I believe the Honda Pilot as well, are rated at 5000# with the transmission cooler. The OEM tow hitch kit is an easy install, and is rated for WDH although they say it isn't needed. The wiring kit installs a 7-pin connector, and the car's harness has a connector in the driver's footwell for the brake controller. The 3.5l engine is both powerful and efficient (not necessarily at the same time ) and the 9-speed should be useful (the lower gears are really low). In order to get the high tow rating requires the SH-AWD trims, which again should be useful. The spare tire storage is full size, and one of the first things I did was sell the space saving spare and replace it with a full size OEM spare. I have only towed a modest U-haul trailer so far - that worked out well. I'm looking forward to an Escape in the rear mirror but no experience yet...

[LeonW]

For what it is worth, I have many towing miles on my 2014 Highlander, including the Coquihalla. The only complaint I have about it is that

a) I should have purchased the all-wheel-drive model. But the only time that is an issue is when I am getting the trailer out of storage in January and pulling uphill on an icy surface

b) Since I am cyclist, I often travel with bicycles, but the rear hatch on the Highlander is too low to let me roll a couple of bikes in easily.

Other than that, I am a very happy camper.

[Defenestrator]

You may not be missing out as much as you think on the AWD Highlander. I never used it on ice, but in slick rainy or dirty conditions I found the AWD mode to be, well, dumb. It reacts a bit too slowly and doesn't make great decisions. I'd prefer to have a bit less traction but consistent response rather than the hard-to-predict fluctuations I got from the AWD system in limited traction.

For ice, just get a set of snow socks or something and you're better off than if you had AWD. Or actual snow tires, if you need them often enough to justify the cost and hassle.

[kevfeely]

I have a 2018 Sorento SX (V6 / 290HP) and I have towed my Escape 19 over 10,000 miles in the past 18 months. I live in Denver so I use it a high altitudes regularly. At about 10,000 feet in elevation, the transmission seems to "get confused" as to what is the best gear to be in. It is definately alittude realted. The Kia and the TT still make it comfortable over the passes, just not as efficiently at times as I would like. I could over-ride this by selecting the manual operation. I have questions as to whether the transfer case is solid enough to tow the Escape as well. I had the transfer case replaced under warranty at 16,000 miles and it is making noises again when accelerating out of right turns from a dead stop.

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by Sawdusty

I have a 2006 Honda Ridgeline and I tow a 19' Escape. I will be replacing my tow vehicle in the next year and was considering the Highlander. However, I understand that the new Toyota Highlander does not have room for a full size spare tire which is problematic for me.

The 2018 Highlander we purchased came with Michelin latitude tires on 14 spoke wheels. The salesman who had heretofore been accurate on all questions I had for him said a full sized spare would not fit under the vehicle due to clearance issues with the hitch. I pondered my options and devised a couple alternatives that I thought would work. I bought the Highlander. Then Eric Thompson (Thoer) advised me properly that an aftermarket rim and the same size latitude would fit. I bought the wheel, got a full sized identical tire to what was on the vehicle and mounted it easily underneath the Highlander. The salesman was wrong. I jacked him pretty good when the survey came my way because he told me wrong. I may buy another Highlander from this dealer some day but not from this salesman. The donut is down in the shop and will only reappear under the Highlander at trade time. There’s an inch and a half to two inches clearance all around on the full sized spare. Which, since I have one, I predict I’ll never need one. By the way, I really like my 12volt battery powered Milwaukee tire inflator. Keeps my inflation spot on when I am jacking pressures around depending upon the task at hand.
Iowa Dave

[Jackhackle]

I owned a Highlander several years ago and had no trouble towing a 3,000 # 18 foot boat with it. My feeling is that Sorrentos do not ave the grit of a Toyota

[Sawdusty]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

The 2018 Highlander we purchased came with Michelin latitude tires on 14 spoke wheels. The salesman who had heretofore been accurate on all questions I had for him said a full sized spare would not fit under the vehicle due to clearance issues with the hitch. I pondered my options and devised a couple alternatives that I thought would work. I bought the Highlander. Then Eric Thompson (Thoer) advised me properly that an aftermarket rim and the same size latitude would fit. I bought the wheel, got a full sized identical tire to what was on the vehicle and mounted it easily underneath the Highlander. The salesman was wrong. I jacked him pretty good when the survey came my way because he told me wrong. I may buy another Highlander from this dealer some day but not from this salesman. The donut is down in the shop and will only reappear under the Highlander at trade time. There’s an inch and a half to two inches clearance all around on the full sized spare. Which, since I have one, I predict I’ll never need one. By the way, I really like my 12volt battery powered Milwaukee tire inflator. Keeps my inflation spot on when I am jacking pressures around depending upon the task at hand.
Iowa Dave

That is good to know. I will now consider the Highlander when I replace the Ridgeline. I also like the Sequoia but it won't be upgraded until the 2021 model year which may be too late for me.