Kia's new Sorento is above all a handsome car, writes Brian Byrne. The latest generation of the brand's senior SUV brings it forward through the carmaker's design process to where every other model has now reached. But Sorento is more than just good looks and high quality.
Visually, this 7-seater now has the same kind of elegance in its lines as was developed for the smaller Sportage a couple of years ago. The car's version of the Kia grille theme is unmistakable but individual too. The vertical foglight pods give their own special element in the overall 'face' of the Sorento. Side views offer a sense of strength and there's a nice coherence in the rear design. The EX version that was under review lacks the spoiler that comes with the Platinum version, and to my taste is all the better for that.
Get inside, and if you have experience of other Kias recently you'll recognise the upgrade in quality that has been a hallmark of the modern day brand. The well designed instruments too, in a style and format which are premium in feel. Even in the EX there's a very strong level of specification, including the Bluetooth connectivity that some other brands still charge for.
It's a roomy car without doubt. Five adults get super space and confort, while the pair of occasional seats in the cargo area are fine for a pair of smaller people even on a long run. With the middle and rear seats folded there's a whopping 1,530L of load capacity, and if the configuration is for five, the 515L available offers holiday luggage capability.
The power in the new Sorento is a handy-sized 2.2 diesel, but with 197hp worth of punch which is well capable of wheeling up to 100km/h in under 10 seconds. A fine performance for a big car, yet with a quite frugal appetite for fuel at 5.6L/100km and 155g/km of CO2 emissions. A gentle grumble when idling from cold quickly settles down to a very smooth and quiet running even at high-end motorway speeds. And while on those, I have to mention the low levels of wind noise for such a big vehicle.
Sorento rides well, though it doesn't have quite the tautness of handling which the Sportage provides. In some ways that's understandable, as it's a size car that's designed for the very important American market, where Kia enjoys good success. But we're talking marginal impressions here, and Sorento is not a car which anyone buys to throw around the mountain twisties.
There's standard AWD, and a differential lock availablility for those tougher mud environments. An automatic version is available, and both gearbox options are six speed. The manual is nice and smooth in operation.
At €37,990, this is a car which is bought by people who have considered carefully what their motoring needs are. It's not exactly cheap, but if taken against a number of premium SUV competitors which cost substantially more, Sorento now offers at least an equivalent quality, and its unique 7-year factory warranty doesn't come from anyone else.
