2011 Kia Sorento: Up Close
On versatility alone, Kia’s redesigned Sorento hits the ground running. It starts under $20,000 and offers (ready?) a four-cylinder or V-6, iPod-compatible stereos, push-button start, third-row seating, rear-seat DVD entertainment and dual moonroofs. Though hardly the game-changer the Soul was, it represents a solid step beyond its predecessor, and it leapfrogs the class in some interesting areas.
Styling merges affable elements from the Borrego SUV and Soul hatchback, but the Sorento’s overall two-box shape doesn’t carve any new ground. The photos make it look taller than it really is; in the flesh it looks like a tall wagon, a la the Mitsubishi Outlander, than its truckish competitors like the Ford Escape and Chevy Equinox.
Cabin materials are inconsistent; there are too many low-rent plastics and underpadded armrests, but it does have upscale headliner materials and startlingly good wood trim for this price range. Inexpensive crossovers aren’t generally known for cabin quality, so the fact that the Sorento excels in any of these areas is good news.
Neither the second nor third rows are particularly roomy. Like the Toyota RAV4’s and Mitsubishi Outlander’s third rows, the Sorento's is viable only for kids, and the second row doesn’t slide forward or back like many competitors’ do. Still, Kia has some neat tricks: Both rows’ head restraints fold down to improve visibility, and they tip forward— like Volvo’s — which all but requires passengers to use them.
“Tastes are changing,” Kia marketing head Michael Sprague told us yesterday. “If you’re not keeping up with them, you’re irrelevant.”
Is the Sorento relevant? Well, it’s more of a shotgun approach: Throw a little bit of everything at the board, and hope the customer finds something they want in the mix. Perhaps in today’s recession-stunned market that’s as relevant as you can get.
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Nice job! Regardless if it has faults. This is a nice vehicle. North America look out.The koreans mean business.