When I texted my sister Maria that we would be driving the Sorento to Santa Fe, NM and back, she texted back, "What's it like?" I responded, "It'll be fine." After more than a week in it, to our surprise we both felt that it was more than fine. I was worried about the seats, since several MT staffers wrote that they were uncomfortable for long drives, and the trip from LA to Santa Fe is 13 hours if all goes well. But I was perfectly comfortable, gimpy hip and all. Maria spent most of the drive to NM in the back seat, entertaining her 20-month-old, and she said she was more comfortable and less claustrophobic than in her GMC Terrain. A back seat power plug allowed her to easily plug in a portable DVD player to entertain the baby while I listened to satellite radio up front. We had hoped to plug in an iPad to listen to an audio book, but we didn't have the right accessory cable.
The available miles indicator is useful, but I relied too heavily on its estimates. After climbing a big pass near Needles, it went from saying we had 32 miles left to saying we had 7, necessitating an immediate, panicked stop for $4.59-a-gallon gas. We hit a particularly bad just-reopened swath of highway right over the NM border, with traffic crawling less than 30 mph on icy, snowy roads that were barely plowed, with no shoulders. The Sorento never faltered. It gripped well and had enough traction going uphill. We felt safe, even as cars were spinning out in front of us. And the place we were staying was on a rural, rutted road that started out icy and turned into a mud bog. No problems. The heated front seats were welcome on negative-degree mornings.
Once in town, we had to put my 6-foot husband in one of the third-row back seats for a 10-mile trip, and it was laughable how crammed he was. It's like a clown car back there, or a kids' clubhouse. Hard to get into, and uncomfortable once you're there. There should be a sign warning claustrophobic grownups to enter at their own risk.
Our favorite feature by far was the double moon roof, which really did make the cabin feel open and airy, and we got to see the stars and an almost full moon while driving through Arizona at night. A close second was the rearview camera, which came in especially handy when the cargo area was filled almost to the roof with luggage and baby gear. I wished it had blind spot indicators, because its blind spots are significant. It sounds like an irate calf when you push the gas pedal to pass someone going faster than 60 mph. The brakes also are touchy. The glove compartment is the perfect width for plastic tubs of Trader Joe cookies, and steering ergonomics are good, and I like the faux carbon fiber on the dash. All in all, we enjoyed our time in the Sorento more than we expected to, and Maria said she wasn't looking forward to returning to her Terrain.
One odd thing: The nav system told us it would take 20 hours to get to Santa Fe. Thank goodness it was wrong
Written by Emiliana Sandoval
Photos by Jessica Walker