SWEET SPOT

We’re getting acquainted with the Kia Sorento for a few months after being impressed with how it performed in a recent road test. This generation Sorento has been on sale for about three years but its recent midlife update included subtle styling changes, more advanced safety tech, eight-speed auto and further finessing of the suspension.

We’ve picked the base Sorento Si diesel, which I reckon is the sweet spot in the range. Full retail is $47,400 drive-away, starting from an RRP of $42,990 plus on-roads. However, Kia has finally — and formally — slashed it to $43,990 drive-away, making it a compelling proposition.

It has most mod-cons covered, including autonomous emergency braking as standard, rear view camera, front and rear sensors, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The Sorento is one of the few SUVs with a full-size spare and deserves a special mention for that. What’s the point of having a family car for the great outdoors if you have to limp home on a skinny space-saver should you cop a flat?

The Sorento looks fresh for its age and the seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty is still the best in the business, giving it an edge even as more brands are switching from three to fiveyear warranty coverage.

It also means that when you sell the car after four or five years (the industry average for newcar ownership) it still has factory warranty left on it, to give the next owner peace of mind.

My favourite aspect, though, is the way it drives. The original version of this generation felt a bit heavy on its tyres, the suspension could thump over some bumps and I would have preferred the steering to be more precise.

The updated model — on smallish 17-inch alloys shod with tyres with a tall sidewall — does a much better job of soaking up bumps and steering with accuracy.

The only things on my wish list so far are a sensor key with push-button start and a power tailgate. First-world problems — and handy features designed to walk buyers up to dearer models in the range.