KIA SORENTO 2,2 CRDI 8DCT 7-SEATER SXL AWD

For its penultimate update, Getaway magazine’s David Henning and his colleague loaded the Kia Sorento with mountain bikes and luggage and set off on a 1 000 km road trip, making their way to a media event promoting a new mountain-biking trail in the hills surrounding the Sky Villa in Plettenberg Bay.

The outbound part of the trip encompassed the R327 between Vanwyksdorp and Herbertsdale, taking in the scenic Jan Muller and Cloete’s passes. The Sorento’s multi-mode AWD system and accomplished chassis made progress on unsealed roads feel effortless.

“I had to constantly remind myself to not speed, because you don’t even notice it gaining steam. It was an extremely comfortable ride, regardless of the surface,” reported David.

The Sorento did pick up a puncture on one of the rougher gravel sections, necessitating a roadside changeout. The full-sized alloy spare is located underbody, requiring some effort (assembling and using a crank mechanism in the boot floor) to access.

The Sorento’s on-road manners continued to impress, though the Getaway team discovered sudden throttle inputs when overtaking were often met with sluggish downshifts from the transmission. Switching drivetrain modes did little to alleviate this. Once it’s kicked down, though, the Sorento pulls strongly.

Back in Cape Town, we realised the puncture had occurred on the tyre’s sidewall. Unfortunately, this meant plugging wasn’t an option and a replacement 235/55/R19 Goodyear Eagle F1 SUV tyre had to be sourced at a cost of R4 210.