Sorento sexes up SUVs
The Kia Sorento sits in second place behind the Hyundai Santa Fe in sales of Korean SUVs here. Paul Owen finds that the newest Sorento may change that.
SORRENTO, IN the south of Italy, and Santa Fe, in New Mexico, are located on opposite sides of the globe, yet they provide the model names of two Korean SUVs that are remarkably close to each other in their design and engineering. The Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe were spawned like automotive Siamese twins, then surgically separated into their own cloning factories before being distributed by rival marketing chains.
Ongoing development of this pair has seen one constantly leapfrog the other in terms of each taking a turn at being the recipient of new technology. Two years ago, the Santa Fe trumped the Sorento with its new underpinnings and stronger high-tensile steel body. Now it’s the Sorento’s turn to return the favour. The latest version of the Kia elongates the Santa Fe-shared platform to new lengths to increase cabin space, while sharpening up the handling to a level that completely cancels out the usual dulling effects of the added real estate.
It all comes wrapped in the clean, crisp design that we’ve come to expect from Kia ever since the company persuaded its chief crayon-wielder, Peter Schreyer, to give up the beer and bratwurst at Volkswagen back in 2006. I have absolutely no complaints about Schreyer’s work, but the bloke really needs to lighten up.
He’s obviously a fan of Men-InBlack movies given his penchant to A longer wheelbase and bigger doors help make the Sorento a full-sized seven-seater, plus there’s a 17 per cent increase in cargo room. wear black from the frames of his Philippe Starck glasses down to his FBI-shiny shoes. Perhaps it was the vulnerability of his dark trousers to dirty door sill smearing that lead to the unique design of the doors of the latest Sorento.
These extend all the way to the bottom of the vehicle and are sealed from underneath, keeping the sills pristine and clean, so that trouser legs no longer come into contact with accumulated road grime and dirt when you dismount
Transverse, front-mounted adaptive all-wheel-drive with sixspeed automatic gearbox
2199cc DOHC direct-injection turbodiesel four producing 147kW at 3800 rpm, 441Nm at 1750-2750rpm.
Maximum speed 200 kmh, 0-100kmh N/A, 7.8 L/100km, 205 g/km CO2, Euro 6 emission compliance, Towing capacity 2000kg braked. Chassis: Front MacPherson struts, rear multilink. Electro-mechanical power steering. disc brakes front and rear. 19- inch alloy rims with 235/55 tyres. Dimensions: L 4780mm, H 1690mm, W 1890mm, W/base 2780mm, Fuel 71 L, Weight 1849kg. Pricing: $61,990 from the Kia.
This innovative door design snuffs out one of my pet annoyances about all SUVs, and the way the Kia drives does go some way towards ameliorating others. The longer, lower new body is obviously much stiffer, allowing the suspension and steering to work from stronger foundations.
These systems have been set up with considerable care, judging by the way the Sorento glides serenely over bumps and its car-like enthusiasm to change direction. Kia is intended to be the sportier sister brand to more-prestigious Hyundai, and the handling of the Sorento via more touchy-feely steering than its Santa Fe sibling affirms the distinction.
As do the responses of the adaptive all-drive system, which instantly redistributes engine output to the rear tyres as soon as the fronts succumb to sledging, keeping the Kia faithfully tracking along the driver’s chosen cornering line.
It all adds up to a more nimble driving experience despite the enlarged dimensions of the third Sorento. Length increases by 95mm to 4.78 metres, with most of it added by an 80mm wheelbase extension. This enables a longer set of rear doors that give better access to the second and third-row seating. Previous seven-seat Sorentos were better suited to dropping off children at kindergartens than high schools as the third row was too cramped to carry young adults. The latestlargest Kia is more fit for sports team duty these days, and there’s a 17 per cent increase in cargo room to accommodate the gear. A nice touch is the hands-free power tailgate fitted to Limited and Premium models, which opens automatically when the Sorento detects that the remote key-holder is within 50-100cm of the rear bumper for more than three seconds.
The new Sorento and current Santa Fe ranges now mirror each other for powertrain options. In Kia showrooms, this means that the largest SUV the brand offers now inherits the Hyundai’s starcrossed product planning. For example, if you want the 199kW 3.3 litre V6 that now makes a more powerful alternative to the 2.4 petrol and 2.2 turbodiesel fours on offer, you can get it in front-drive only.
Likewise, the unavailability of a front-drive four-cylinder model means that the entry price to the new Sorento range is the $49,990 you’ll pay for a 4wd model powered by the 126kW 2.4 petrol. A cheaper front-drive four-cylinder petrol and a more expensive 4wd V6 flagship appear to be glaring omissions, as both would add ‘bookends’ to the range that are appropriate for New Zealand market conditions.
All of my sampling of the new Sorento so far has been while driving 2.2 4wd diesel models, in either $61,990 EX or $67,990 Limited model form. The revised diesel chucks out more grunt than the V6, producing 441Nm of wheel-spinning force instead of 318, and uses more than two litres less fuel every 100km. In the new Sorento, the 2.2 now has Euro 6 emission compliance instead of the Euro 5 rating of the mechanically-similar engine in the Hyundai.
Roughly the new Sorentos cost between $6000 and $7000 less than their Santa Fe equivalents, meaning you get a more spacious, cleaner-running, and keenerhandling SUV for less outlay. I suspect you’re equally likely to have a more enjoyable experience when visiting Sorrento rather than Santa Fe.