Anyone got a Hyundai Tucson or a Kia Sorento?

[ShouldHaveListenedInBiology]

Because of moving to a more rural location (we need to drive along a field track to reach our house) I am looking for a 4WD. I'm also currently pregnant and suffering with pelvic pain so thinking of going for an automatic.

I am quite short and wondered how I would get on with putting baby into the back and the general climbing in and out with my iffy pelvis. Currently have a Skoda Octavia - am I going to regret getting a bigger car? I need to park in a multi storey car park too.

Anyone with either of these or something else totally brilliant that would fit the bill?

We have one of the older Sorentos ('07) and it would pull a tank while also being v.comfortable and, surprisingly, economical, on long journeys. handles cross-country well, so a field track would be fine.

I'm 5'2" and find it great on the small children front (ours was 1 when we got it). The height/foot space in the back seats makes it v.easy to climb in to click in belts/straps etc so minimal back-strain. I've also fitted in two HBB and an RF in the back on occasion.

Friend has just bought the new model Sorento and, while a bit more soft-roader, again, would probably manage tracks fairly easily, just not as good as the older ones if you're considering if the off-roading is a bit more rugged.

Thanks for the reply! It would be one of the older ones we'd be going for so that's really useful. The track is a bit rough in places but not too bad.

With regard to the car seat, how do you think it would be to fit a group 0+, like the ones from a travel system? We've got a Familyfix base so it would just be to click into place. I'm just aware that they get pretty heavy once they get past the newborn stage!

I have a Tucson - I'm also short, pregnant, and in a rural location with pelvic pain

I really like it, the heated seats have been a godsend recently with the cold weather and the pelvic pain. I don't have a problem getting in and out unless a car parks too close to me at work, and although I've not tried it yet I would say the back seats are probably at the perfect height for getting babies in and out of the back.

The only minor irritations I've had with it are the side windows don't clear properly if you wind them down and up again but I believe that is a common complaint with modern cars, and it also has an irritating beep when the temperature drops below 4c

I've been driving it in icy and snow recently, I had a bit of a skid last night on an icy corner but it corrected itself well and I didn't end up in a ditch.

It also has parking sensors/cameras which makes parking in multi-storeys extremely easy. You just line up the lines on the screen with the white car park lines and reverse in.

I have a Tucson. As much as I like driving it.. it's crap to park. I didn't realise how limited the visibility was till I tried to reverse park it..
I can't fault it otherwise. As a scout leader it was the size of the boot that attracted me to it due to the size of the boot. My dc are older now so only use a booster seat.
I have however fitted three (massive) 18yr olds in the back and they all had enough leg room without complaining (ds1 and his friends would soon moan)

I had a Nissan juke previously so was a big step up in size wise for me. I did have a reversing camera in the juke which I now think I relied on too much and I can't park now.. I didn't get the qashqai as the Tucson boot was bigger..

It's very economical too. A tank of diesel lasts me almost three weeks and I drive 40 miles a day on dualy to work and back 5 times a week.

I like the size of the boot if I didn't tell you enough in my last post

I concur with poppies about the boot

:high fives pastabest:

So the Tucson boot is large then...

Thanks everyone, this is useful. I just spotted a Tucson in the supermarket car park and it didn't look as humungous as I had feared. Hopefully going to see them soon, I have never driven an automatic before, I presume it's easier than manual?

I'm ok at reversing and manoeuvring - I learned to drive in my dad's enormous Peugeot estate and have an Octavia estate now. The reversing sensors on that packed in ages ago and I've managed ok - I agree that you can become quite reliant on them.

If you have a base then the travel seat should be fine - it has IsoFix. The seat manufacturer probably has something online to confirm though.

Boot is also a good size and parking and manouvring not generally a problem, but there is a blind-spot caused by the bar between driver and rear seat that means you definitely need to turn your head when moving onto the motorway!

Today I discovered I can't reach the middle of the window screen to de-ice it!! Had to get my tall ds1 to reach and do it for me!! (I'm 5 5')
Or I need to drive a step around with me and keep it in the boot

Ahhh I just rock the windscreen blowers up to 'Hi' and then switch the wipers on with a blast of antifreeze/screen wash from the washers. Usually clears it pretty quickly.

I have 2 miles of private farm lane to go at though before I reach a public road so my visibility doesn't need to be 100% straight away which also helps

I loved my Kia Sorento automatic - dream to drive, didn't feel too big.

I did find it expensive to run though - when something broke it was a fortune to fix - that's true of 4x4's in general though.

If I needed another similar car in future I'd get another Sorento.

My mechanic told me that Kia's and Hyundai's are effectively the same underlying mechanics anyway so very little to split the two.