New Kia Sorento oozes refinement
KIA SHOULD’VE brought out a previous generation Sorento for side-by-side comparison with the all-new model at its South African media launch earlier this week, but it didn’t. Luckily, I discovered a staffer’s five-year old demo unit hidden in a far corner of the parking lot, where I was able to conduct an impromptu old-versus-new assessment.
And the results were impressive. Kia uses the refinement word like it’s going out of fashion in the third-generation Sorento’s press material, and being able to sit in both versions’ seats, feel their dashboasrds and close their doors, revealed that this new Sorento takes sophistication very seriously, with higher quality materials and a much modernised interior to put it on par with similar pseudo-premium offerings like Hyundai Santa Fe, Jeep Cherokee and Toyota Fortuner. And yes, improvements in door thuds are evident too.
Overall feel is very solid, and predominantly black interiors make for upmarket and classy ambiances. Optional dash trims come in dark wood grain, carbon look or piano black, and a new wrap around dashboard houses infotainment systems with either a basic 3.8-inch LCD display or 4.3-inch colour touchscreens with reverse camera functionality. A bigger 10-inch display with navigation is also available as a R10 000 option.
New gizmos include heated and ventilated front seats with 14-way adjustments and memory functions in top models; active headlights which turn with steering angles, blind spot monitors, lane change assist, Advanced Traction Cornering Control (ATCC), and colour TFT instrument clusters.
An electronic tailgate can also open automatically if you stand behind it with a key, but the 15 second wait might be a bit inconvenient with hands full of groceries. Five seconds would be better.
Exterior dimensions have swollen only by a few millimetres here and there (the roof is actually 15mm lower), but clever seat cushion designs make for better headroom, and boot space has grown substantially from 515 to 660 litres behind the second seating row.
Seven-seater derivatives with the third row folded get a little less space (606 litres), but with all rows folded total space is a whopping 1732 or 1662 litres respectively. The third seating row which comes standard in the top two model derivatives could come in handy for kiddie haulage, but is a little tight for adults.
Kia has stuck with its trusted 2.2litre turbodiesel with outputs of 147kW and 440Nm, but updates to internals give it better mid-range torque and it’s also quieter than in previous Sorentos. This CRDi engine comes in three of four model derivatives, and is only paired with a six-speed auto gearbox. I drove this engine in the top SX all-wheel drive model at the launch event held on the unkept roads between Nelspruit and Hoedspruit, where it cruised effortlessly and smoothly with low revs at cruising speeds.
There’s a healthy acceleration punch if you force the transmission to kick down a gear, but it’s unnecessary in most situations with such a broad torque spread. I was also impressed with the soft ride quality, even with the biggest 19” wheel size and low profile tyres fitted to the SX.
I wasn’t able to test the Dynamax all-wheel drive system over any offroad terrain, but it’s a pretty basic setup, as it was in the previous model. The all-wheel-drive Sorento is driven by its front wheels in most situations, but can send power to the back axle when needed if the front detects slippage. As before it can also be locked with a 50/50 split for traversing moderately tricky surfaces.
An entry-level model with a 127kW/225Nm 2.4-litre petrol is a new addition to the Sorento range, but without a turbo this engine is a bit overworked in such a big vehicle. This derivative only comes with a five-speed manual gearbox, and is somewhat stripped down compared to diesel models with cloth (instead of leather) seats, manual (instead of electronic) handbrake, a less fancy climate control system, and no stability control programmes. Standard features do, however, include rear parking sensors, AUX and USB connections, a six speaker audio system, ABS brakes, and remote central locking. Pricing KIA Sorento 2.4 LS – R379 995 KIA Sorento 2.2 CRDi LX – R499 995 KIA Sorento 2.2 CRDi EX AWD – R599 995 KIA Sorento 2.2 CRDi SX AWD – R634 995
All models come with Kia’s fiveyear/150 000km warranty, and three years unlimited roadside assistance. The Sorento 2.4 also comes with a fouryear/90 000km service plan, while diesels have five-year/100 000km maintenance plans.