Kia Sorento 2.2 CRDi 4x4 Auto road test, the Korean giant

Kia is enjoying a second youth. All of its models have been redesigned and all of them boast an attractive and dynamic look.

One of the best examples is its current flagship, the Sorento, which we bring to the Highmotor road test section in combination with all-wheel drive, the automatic gearbox and the 7-seat configuration.

Exterior design: large and attractive

The current generation of the Sorento is by no means the most modern product in Kia’s European range, which includes newer creations such as the new Picanto or the new generation of the Rio, both of which we have tested at their respective press presentations.

Even so, although the design of the current Sorento is already over two years old, it still enjoys a very notable freshness, partly thanks to the model’s low profile, whose sales are not comparable to those of other alternatives from brands more popular with the Spanish public.

If the Sorento’s look stands out for anything, it is its robustness. The very bulky front is made up of a large grille with a “Tiger-Nose” design. Extending from it on both sides are the main headlights, teardrop-shaped and very streamlined. They house the dipped and main beam projectors, as well as the daytime running lights, the latter using LED technology.

The bumper features fog-light projectors set into its ends, which increases the sense of the vehicle’s width. At the lowest part there is a prominent satin-finish moulding which, combined with the plastic protections running along the entire lower edge of the dashboard, gives the Sorento a very “TT” structure.

Its design is pleasant and robust at the same time, well resolved
The solidity of its design carries on along the flank, where the generously sized glazed surface reinforces the family and off-road character of the whole. That Kia has tried to make the Sorento its most rugged product is clear from details such as the lower sections marked with unpainted plastic mouldings or, even more so, the prominent metal running boards fitted to our unit.

Kia has also spent time improving the build quality of all its products. The Sorento is one of its aspirational models, so it has pulled out all the stops in its conception. Chrome details stand out, both on the window frames and on the door handles, which also feature pleasant LED lighting on the front doors.

The rear offers a balanced design, the result of moderately sized light clusters with some LED technology, a rear window that provides good visibility and a tailgate set at a good height which, in our version, also has electric opening and closing. The bumper is finished in black plastic, integrating the fog lights.

The Sorento is, as we mentioned earlier, a large product. This Korean SUV has generous dimensions of 4.78 metres long, 1.89 metres wide and 1.69 metres high, making it a vehicle best used on major roads, and feeling awkward on narrow country lanes.

Interior design, good quality and plenty of space

Once we open the generously sized doors, we find one of the best cabins the Korean firm has created. The third generation of the Sorento has taken a big leap in quality, while also offering a very attractive design that has served as the basis for later developments.

We cannot overlook the big leap in quality of Kia’s latest interiors
The materials used in building this large SUV stand out for their quality. Almost all of the dashboard and doors are made of padded plastics, and the seats are upholstered in good-quality leather. Visually, the Sorento offers its occupants a good on-board experience, with details such as a “stitch” along the top of the dashboard imitating leather. All the buttons also have a solid feel, and some, such as the window switches, feature a very attractive satin-finish surround.

Nevertheless, we once again have to complain about the use of gloss black painted plastic for the mouldings, a finish that looks attractive when clean but gets dirty very easily, and scratches when cleaned with a simple cloth.

The dashboard lines are relatively simple, resulting in a two-level dash, with the instrumentation in the upper part and, in a more central position, the screen of the infotainment system, flanked by two air vents. In the lower part are the climate control knobs and, on the centre console, a good number of storage compartments and a condensed set of buttons for operating various vehicle systems.

The steering wheel, also trimmed in leather, comes in this version with a very powerful heating function and is packed with controls on both sides. The instrumentation, visually simple, consists of analogue gauges at the sides and a large circular display that serves as the speedometer and on-board computer.

Visibility is good thanks to generously sized mirrors and the high driving position. Furthermore, when parking and manoeuvring, this unit gives us the invaluable help of a 360º camera system that generates an image on the central screen, which greatly facilitates tight manoeuvres.

Space on board is, as it could not be otherwise, very generous, at least in the first two rows of seats, where the headroom and width stand out in particular. The Sorento has a particularly wide cabin, which allows adults to be seated without feeling cramped. The second row of seats enjoys longitudinal adjustment and backrest angle adjustment, and also has two-zone heating for the two outer seats, tinted windows, manual sunshades and the invaluable addition of a large glass panoramic roof, which further enhances the sense of space.

The third row of seats, made up of just two places, has less space, although an adult could travel there on a short journey. They also have an independent ventilation system. To access these seats, the second-row bench slides forward while the backrest folds down. The opening is not huge, but with a little practice you quickly get the hang of it.

The boot, meanwhile, has a minimum capacity of 142 litres. This figure refers to the space available with all seats in use. If the third row is folded away, capacity rises to 605 litres, thanks, among other things, to the spare wheel, despite being full-size, being mounted externally, under the boot floor.
If we also fold down the second row of seats, capacity rises to a vast 1,662 litres, making the Sorento a true load carrier.

Driving dynamics: easy and comfortable, but better without excess

The third generation of the Sorento is built on the platform of the current Santa Fe and Grand Santa Fe, which in turn is a variation — a deep one, but a variation — of the chassis used by the previous generation of the Sorento.

Its monocoque chassis features McPherson struts at the front axle and a deformable parallelogram structure at the rear, with conventional shock absorbers. It is the most rigid in the model’s history, with a wheelbase that on this occasion reaches 2.78 metres.

Mechanically, the third-generation Sorento relies solely on one engine, a 2.2 CRDi, an evolution of the one fitted to the most powerful version of the previous Sorento, with 200 CV and 440 Nm. This four-cylinder inline unit with variable-geometry turbocharging is paired in our case with a 6-speed automatic transmission with torque converter.

It is homologated to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 9.6 seconds, reaching a top speed of 203 km/h. For its part, the gigantic Korean official consumption figures are 8.0 l/100 km in the city, 6.1 l/100 km on the extra-urban cycle and 6.8 l/100 km combined.

In real life, the Sorento stands out for the smoothness of its movements. Obviously, it should not be forgotten that we are dealing with an SUV weighing around 1,900 kg, exceeding two tonnes as soon as more than two people travel. Nevertheless, Kia’s team has done a good job in tuning the chassis, making the Sorento surprisingly agile, always holding its line and, in short, making things easy for the driver.

The Sorento handles surprisingly well as long as we are aware of what we have in hand
The suspension, despite having a somewhat firm setup, cannot prevent the body from rolling noticeably when making a sudden steering input, something offset by great comfort on the road, also the result of excellent sound insulation, which contributes to the sense of isolation.

It is not the perfect vehicle for our favourite winding road. Its considerable weight combines with M+S tyres measuring 235/65 R17, whose tall sidewall results in very noticeable understeer in cornering. Moreover, the very light steering gives no real feedback about what is happening beneath the wheels.

The Sorento is designed for long road trips with the whole family, where the Korean SUV feels very comfortable. Everything about it is smooth if we want it to be, thanks also to a well-insulated gearbox with long ratios, which helps reduce noise and consumption levels. On the open road, the Sorento hovers around 6.5 litres, while on fast roads it will inevitably climb to 7.5 litres. In town, it is relatively easy to see figures on the computer in the region of 10 litres. During our test, the Sorento returned a final figure of 7.4 l/100 km.

Despite its SUV character, the Sorento is not very comfortable off tarmac beyond dirt tracks. Its low ground clearance — 185 mm — and long overhangs do not allow for great feats, despite having an all-wheel drive system — KIA Dynamax — consisting of an oil-bathed multi-plate clutch.

This system prioritises the front axle, although in low-grip situations it can send up to 40% of the torque to the rear wheels. In addition, there is a button that locks the power split between both axles equally — 50/50 — although this lock is only effective up to 30 km/h.

Range and equipment: how much does the unit you see cost?

The Sorento range consists of a single engine, two gearboxes — manual and automatic — and two drive options — front-wheel or all-wheel — all with five different trim levels. The entry point is the Concept — from €29,829 — available only with a manual gearbox and front-wheel drive.

Above it come the Drive, Emotion, x-Tech17 and Emotion + Luxury Pack trims, the latter being the star of our test. The equipment on our version is very extensive, including items such as steerable xenon headlights, leather upholstery, front seats with electric adjustment, the panoramic sunroof, the 360º camera system, the semi-automatic parking assistant and the high-fidelity sound system.

According to the manufacturer’s online configurator, its price starts at €43,969, a figure that includes a discount from the brand of €8,830. No extras can be added beyond metallic paint, which costs €467.89. Our unit was finished in Snow White Pearl, so the final price came to €44,437, discounts and taxes included.

Technical specifications of this car

Off-RoadKIA Sorento13 versions · from 53,645 €