Family value

With its seven seats and value for money price tag, the new Kia Sorento is pitched perfectly at families as James Fossdyke discovered

The immediately obvious change is the curvy new body, but that’s not the only alteration Kia has made to its flagship SUV. Under the skin, there’s an allnew platform with a stronger structure, upgraded engine range, improved steering and suspension. Inside, the cabin has a more premium feel and there’s some pretty impressive equipment hiding in there. The trade-off is a slight price increase - around 5%. So has the Sorento lost its key selling point, or is it merely an even more capable alternative to the seven-seat SUV establishment? Looks and image As well as being longer, wider and lower the new Sorento looks far beefier, not to mention more curvaceous. The bluff front end is adorned with a rather turgid version of the tiger-nose grille that comes across so aggressively on the Cee’d, and the rounded lights give a distinctly un-Kia-like doe-eyed look. Nevertheless, it’s actually quite an attractivelooking beast. Space and practicality Because the new Sorento is bigger than its forebear, interior space has greatly improved. In the ‘standard’ five-seat configuration, the 605-litre boot will be more than enough for a family’s holiday luggage. Pop the two rear seats up to create a seven-seater, though, and that space is compressed to 142 litres, which sounds like more than it is. Behind the wheel The Sorento hardly handles like a sports car, but it’s refined, comfortable and generally a very pleasant steer. Vigorous cornering results in body roll, but it’s no worse than, say, a Mitsubishi Outlander. The advantage of that roll, however, is a smooth ride - the undulations are soaked up with minimum fuss. Four-wheel drive is standard. Value for money Value has been one of Kia’s big selling points, and the Sorento’s £28,795 starting price compares favourably with the likes of the less spacious Land Rover Discovery Sport. The cabin plastics are exemplary, and the build quality seems good. There’s plenty of equipment, with our test car getting leather seats, sat-nav, two-zone air conditioning, alloys, heated seats front and rear, a heated steering wheel... The list goes on and on.