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Vehicle Tests > 4WD Comparison: Mid-sized diesel wagons
4WD Comparison: Mid-sized diesel wagons
The Sorento's star starts to fade a little when it's on road dynamics are added into the mix. This is not a bad-handling vehicle, but it's also not one that impresses too much either. The steering lacks precision and communication, and the suspension, not helped by the live rear axle, becomes flustered on poorer quality roads and at higher speeds. The part-time 4WD system also presents a compromise on loosely surfaced or otherwise slippery dirt roads. If you select 4WD in an effort to gain better traction or stability, the electronic stability control is disabled. So while you gain the benefit of 4WD, you lose the electronic 'safety net'.
On a more positive note, the softly sprung and lightly damped suspension offers a compliant and cosseting ride at slower speeds, both on bumpy urban roads and on rough trails. Off road, the live axle at the rear and the double wishbone front suspension also provide surprisingly good wheel travel to the point where the Sorento makes the best fist of things on rutted and loose trails. More ground clearance and deeper low-range gearing would both be welcome, but the same can be said for the Jeep.
The Sorento continues to impress in terms of its cabin and equipment. It offers comfortable front seats, the roomiest rear seat of the three vehicles here and a decent load space that's bigger than the Jeep's while still falling short of the Nissan.
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The EX, as tested here, is the mid-spec model in the Sorento range. The base spec LX (manual gearbox, and no traction or stability control) is some $4500 cheaper again while the EX-L that adds leather, side and curtain air bags, sunroof and more is $5000 more expensive.
Jeep Cherokee Sport CRD
The KK model Cherokee arrived in Australia earlier this year and while based heavily on the KJ Cherokee (late 2001) it bought more aggressive square-edged styling and a new 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine, among other things.
As with the two other engines here, the Cherokee's four-cylinder CRD is a modern design with a twin-cam 16-valve cylinder head, high-pressure common rail injection, and a variable geometry turbocharger. With a claimed 130kW of power (at 3800rpm) and 460Nm of torque (at 2000rpm) it's the strongest engine here in these two critical measures. It also enjoys the benefit of powering the lightest and smallest of our three combatants so there's no surprise to find that it's the clear performance leader by a good margin.
Not only is the performance, in typical turbo diesel style, easy and effortless, it goes one better and is actually quite spirited in the manner that it responds to the throttle. Helping the engine give its best is a five-speed auto (the only gearbox option) that's arguably the most effective here. The Cherokee's 'box is not only a tad sharper and more decisive, but its side-to-side tip-shift control is more easily accessed than the parallel-gate, fore-and-aft tip-shifts of the other two.
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On a more positive note, the softly sprung and lightly damped suspension offers a compliant and cosseting ride at slower speeds, both on bumpy urban roads and on rough trails. Off road, the live axle at the rear and the double wishbone front suspension also provide surprisingly good wheel travel to the point where the Sorento makes the best fist of things on rutted and loose trails. More ground clearance and deeper low-range gearing would both be welcome, but the same can be said for the Jeep.
The Sorento continues to impress in terms of its cabin and equipment. It offers comfortable front seats, the roomiest rear seat of the three vehicles here and a decent load space that's bigger than the Jeep's while still falling short of the Nissan.
read on below advertisement
The EX, as tested here, is the mid-spec model in the Sorento range. The base spec LX (manual gearbox, and no traction or stability control) is some $4500 cheaper again while the EX-L that adds leather, side and curtain air bags, sunroof and more is $5000 more expensive.
Jeep Cherokee Sport CRD
The KK model Cherokee arrived in Australia earlier this year and while based heavily on the KJ Cherokee (late 2001) it bought more aggressive square-edged styling and a new 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine, among other things.
As with the two other engines here, the Cherokee's four-cylinder CRD is a modern design with a twin-cam 16-valve cylinder head, high-pressure common rail injection, and a variable geometry turbocharger. With a claimed 130kW of power (at 3800rpm) and 460Nm of torque (at 2000rpm) it's the strongest engine here in these two critical measures. It also enjoys the benefit of powering the lightest and smallest of our three combatants so there's no surprise to find that it's the clear performance leader by a good margin.
Not only is the performance, in typical turbo diesel style, easy and effortless, it goes one better and is actually quite spirited in the manner that it responds to the throttle. Helping the engine give its best is a five-speed auto (the only gearbox option) that's arguably the most effective here. The Cherokee's 'box is not only a tad sharper and more decisive, but its side-to-side tip-shift control is more easily accessed than the parallel-gate, fore-and-aft tip-shifts of the other two.
next page »
