Last month we had a set of Cooper Mud Tyres fitted to the Sorento so that we could truly explore it’s off-road potential and also so that Editor Oxley could easily fit snow chains for his upcoming winter skiing excursions. With Editor Barry at the helm, the Cooper MTT tyres got their first taste of mud and clay at Duncan Munro’s Pukerau off-road course in April at the inaugural Kia 4WD Customer Event which saw the attendance of 100 people and 46 Kia vehicles. Kia Motors decided it wanted to give New Zealand owners of its four-wheel-drive models the chance to see how their vehicles perform off the beaten track. With that direction in mind, Duncan charted a course around his property aimed especially at drivers with little experience in off-road conditions. This showed how they could control their vehicle at low speed on hilly and undulating terrain without damaging either the vehicle or the terrain. For many of the owners gathered, it was the first time they had taken their vehicle off-road, but certainly by the end of the day they were developing a quiet confidence and a taste for more adventure. Our Silver Sorento was one of two fitted with proper Mud tyres, and we carried the recovery equipment which was fortunately not required as the dry conditions at Pukerau and the close supervision by Duncan and the Kia Motors team meant that owners were not in any danger of getting stuck. However the vehicles did get covered in dust and cow manure, and were seen heading straight for the car wash afterwards! The success of the one day Kia 4WD Event means that others are being planned throughout the country, to cater for the estimated 3000 owners of Kia Sorento and Sportage 4WD vehicles now registered in New Zealand. “Most owners never get to experience their vehicles in an off-road situation so we have come up with a series of events that will give them the opportunity to see what their vehicles were designed to do – with safety and the environment in mind,” says Todd McDonald, General Manager of Kia Motors New Zealand. Todd McDonald says Kia has a long history in the design and development of four-wheel-drive models, through supplying the armed forced in Korea with go-anywhere vehicles for the past 40 years. That experience has been transferred into models designed for consumers, in particular the Kia Sorento and the Sportage which have become popular models in New Zealand in recent years. Duncan Munro says these Kia owners will now be able to call on the skills they have learned when driving to their favourite fishing or holiday spots away from tar seal or gravel roads. Their vehicles are far more capable than owners realise, but skill and knowledge is required to use them properly when driving off road. Future Kia 4WD Customer Events are being planned for the Lower North Island and the South Island. Events in the Upper North Island will also continue on a regular basis. 705