Welcome to weird spec, a recurring series where I go over some of the more mundane oddities of the automotive world. It’s easy to tick off great options on great cars, but those who tick off strange options on normal cars deserve credit too. Believe it or not, the second-generation Kia Sorento was briefly offered with a six-speed manual gearbox, albeit with limitations. For instance, you won’t get body-color mirrors, or a rear armrest, or really anything truly fancy. However, air-conditioning, power locks, power windows, and a stereo with Bluetooth, a USB port and an auxiliary input all come standard, as do 17-inch alloy wheels.
The interior still looks reasonably nice today. It’s hard to beat three rotary knobs for HVAC controls and although glossy dark trim isn’t to everyone’s taste, those looking to defend piano black and its ilk will enjoy the Sorento’ interior. It’s easy to see why so many people bought this generation of Kia’s midsize crossover given the modern amenities and spaciousness. Granted, you won’t find a dashtop digital clock on most new cars, nor will you find the other oddity located in the center console.
See that? A manual handbrake, easy to adjust and prime for snowy shenanigans. It’s even console-mounted as opposed to the foot-actuated arrangements often seen in manual crossovers. You might even need it in an emergency case, given the big elephant in the room. Yes, these manual Sorentos are all equipped with a port-injected variant of the much-maligned Theta II engine known for rod knock and the occasional fire. To make matters worse, Kia hasn’t yet covered these vehicles under recall, although NHTSA investigators are looking into engine failures on 2011 Sorentos. Stranger still, the 2012 Sorento with the same 2.4-liter port-injected four-cylinder engine falls under recall, as does the 2012 Sportage with its port-injected engine built in South Korea. It’s worth noting that engine failures don’t appear to be as widely-reported on models with multi-port injection as they are on models with direct injection, yet they still can happen.
At the same time, 175 horsepower at 6,000 rpm in a crossover weighing roughly 3,500 pounds doesn’t sound like it would have thrilling acceleration, and EPA fuel economy is slightly worse than on automatic models. Figure 20 mpg city, 26 on the highway, and 22 combined.
Because the manual is limited to the base model, the Venn Diagram of midsize crossover buyers and manual gearbox enthusiasts is almost two separate circles, and the engines in these manual Sorentos could exit stage left at any moment, these things are relatively cheap. I say relatively because the used car market is absolutely insane right now. Sure, the one I’ve swiped the photographs of is listed for $8,000, but here’s one with 139,836 miles on it up for sale at a Ford dealership for $6,500.
I don’t think I’d advise buying a manual Kia Sorento, but I’m glad they exist. They’re true spec sheet oddities that make virtually no sense given the target market and yet still got made. Even if Kia only sold a handful, traffic’s slightly more interesting when you consider someone might be driving a three-pedal midsize crossover.
Lead photo credit: Seller/Autotrader
It makes no goddamn sense. OEMs have no idea how to position manual transmissions in the market.
Have to imagine but a handful of them were ever sold…I’ve never seen one, and it appears automotive journalists doing test drives were the major market.
But it’s almost retro – a domestic mid-range sedan with a stick, but in the ’10s.
I think MY2012 was base-only though as they got ready to redesign to the global design – which in turn did allow more options again like leather even. At least on the options sheet, it might have been just for the press mag test cars.
I bet there’s less than one hands’ worth of you in the entire country…Buick should have tracked you all down and gotten you to appear at events as its “see we told you enthusiasts like Buicks again!” example!
You think the Venn gap of the Kia is wide? Try sliding door microvan buyers and MT enthusiasts. Still there’s no greater fun to be had with sliding doors.
I still have the ’12, and best of all it was pretty cheap with the manual – only $5000 back in Feb 2021 with about 110k miles, and in a great burgundy-red color.
It has the 2.3L with the 5 speed. The ’09s and later also have a vent blower in the aft center console to better cool/heat the back.
Gotta keep it going so the kid I brought home from the hospital in it can learn to drive it.
I’ve loaded that thing up with a 4 bike rack on the roof and full of camping supplies and it still goes…
Hit 193k miles, and met a deer it didn’t like… Only issues I had were with shitty passenger-side engine mount, with FoMoCo label…
Hit 193k miles, and met a deer it didn’t like… Only issues I had were with shitty passenger-side engine mount, with FoMoCo label…
Car & Driver already worked on an MS3 into Mazda 5 swap.
Now a CX-5 manual I have yet to try.
If I was in the market for a CX-5, I don’t think I’d get a manual though. The only way to get a manual was on the base spec where you couldn’t even get AWD
Hit 193k miles, and met a deer it didn’t like… Only issues I had were with shitty passenger-side engine mount, with FoMoCo label…
So is yours Porsche swapped (my guess)? I guess there is a chance it’s a subie H6 as well.. Cool vanogan either way!!
Dealerships are also owned by old men convinced Americans will never want hatchbacks. These are the guys who will represent the dealership at whatever meeting or convention the manufacturer holds, so their feedback is what counts.
Considering we have to wait for cars or fight for inventory right now anyway, maybe we should just be able to order them as we want and wait an extra bit for delivery.
Dealers want whatever they can get the highest margin on. Hatchbacks are typically on the lower end so they have the lowest margin. Dealers would much rather sell you a two year old crossover based on that platform, way more money in it.
It is odd they bothered with it in the U.S., but there were a few base model SUVs that still had manuals then and the basic powertrain was already in other models so guess it wasn’t a lot of effort.
Like an idiot, I spent years trying to get my wife to drive a manual. Now she absolutely insists on it. Considering we are in an area that got 10 FEET of snow our first year here and she has to commute, AWD is also on her requirement list. She’s in a ’17 Forester right now, and the only real options at the time for manual and AWD were Mini, Jeep and a few Subarus. We bought the best trim of Forester we could with a manual. Sadly, there was an XT Forester available that year… only with a CVT.
We’re already frustrated looking for potential replacements.
From tractor type engines to screaming rotaries a manual transmission is the way to go.
I’m not buying another ICE car unless it has a manual. I’ll row my own gears till there are no more gears to row or no more me to row them, whichever comes first.
