Kia is starting to turn the corner in the eyes of the public with regard to the quality and level of product of its cars. Yes, there are still many non-believers out there, who will continue to think and (wrongly) believe that Kia’s are bargain basement cars that are cheap and uncompetitive. Those people will point to the sales flops of the K900 and Cadenza, if they can even name them, two fairly snoozy sedans, as well as the sporty Stinger, which hasn’t really taken the world by storm, despite some pretty solid credentials. Stinger did nearly outsell the Lexus IS in 2020!
Alas, where Stinger tried to crack open a window, the 3-row family crossover Telluride blew the door wide open. Even nearly 2 years post launch, the Telluride is still one of the hottest tickets in auto town. With Telluride as the de facto brand flagship, what’s to happen to the once top dog Sorento? Sorento has quietly been the workhorse of the Kia lineup, often topping the sales charts in the past few years. In the prior generation, the Sorento had to be a little bit of everything to everyone. It was asked to compete as a budget 3-row utility option well under $30,000 and perform premium luxury duties in the top end SXL trim. In a testament to the brand and what Kia was doing even then, the Sorento could nearly pull it off. I often recommended friends and family to consider a top end Sorento when considering the likes of a Lexus RX.
Now that Telluride is here, Sorento gives up some of the top shelf niceties, but still represents one of the best overall cars to come out of Kia to date. The 2021 model brings in a bravado look to it, something much brawnier than the softly rounded corners of the prior model, while also still distinct from the Telluride big brother.
There’s still a base 4-cylinder engine for the LX and S trims, which start at just over $30,000 and $33,000 respectively. This still provides customers with a fairly price conscious 3-row utility vehicle, which Kia refers to as a 5+2 passenger vehicle, somewhat calling out its own smaller 3rd row. Yes, the 3rd row is on the small end of the spectrum and less comfortable than the purposeful Telluride, and there’s less cargo room behind it when in use, but it’s entirely serviceable for short treks, even for taller adults. I found more room and comfort there than even in some larger crossovers. It’s helped by the fact that the 2nd row moves with ease for entry and the 2nd row has a wide range of adjustment to help proportion the rear legroom between the rows.
Those who peruse an EX, SX or SX-Prestige are treated to a power 2.5L turbo 4-cylinder, gone is the old naturally aspirated V6. While the turbo may is down a hair on horsepower compared to the V6, 281 vs 290, it comes with a punch of torque, 311 vs 252, and being a turbo, that torque is available nearly immediately. In fact, it might be too immediate, as I found the throttle a little touchy/jumpy upon initial acceleration, even in the comfort drive mode. But I loved the power and it’s definitely worth the upgrade over the standard 4.
There’s also a hybrid available, that, at the moment, can only be paired with front wheel drive. It slots between the base and turbo engines in power, but returns a combined 37 miles per gallon of gas, terrific for a 3-row ute. Kia also announced a plug-in hybrid Sorento that will come with all-wheel drive and reach an estimated 30 miles of electric range, which actually pretty high, but not quite the 42 mile of the RAV4, which is admittedly a segment smaller in size, or the Lexus NX450h+ which announced a 36 mile range.
Around town and on the highway, I found the Sorento to be composed, even with 20” wheels on our top-spec SX Prestige X-Line. However, with the short-ish wheelbase it does get a bit upset when going across angled crossings and bumps. Steering is nice and relatively quick and dare I say joyful to drive. It didn’t feel overly heavy or twitchy, with just the right amount of sharpness and response.
As far as features and content, the Sorento still adheres, mostly, to the Kia plans of load it up! An 8” radio/infotainment touchscreen is standard, while a 10.25” screen comes in on the top SX and SX-Prestige. All but the base LX come with the proximity key with easy door access and push button start. Kia also has been doing a great job of offering key fob based controls for remote start.
Standard safety includes forward collision avoidance, sometimes referred to in cars as automatic emergency braking, driver attention warning (with a nice added alert for if the car ahead of you pulls off while you might be, just might be, looking down at your phone or otherwise not paying attention), lane departure warning with active lane keeping assist and automatic high beam assist.
Blind Spot Detection comes in from the 2nd trim, S, and up, and is now active in helping with collision avoidance. S and EX trims come with rear parking sensors, while the SX and SX-Prestige have front and rear parking sensors (Hybrid EX has them up front too).
EX trim and above only have captain’s chairs in the 2nd row, again this is nice for 3rd row access, but I would like to see a bench 2nd row option. There could even be a 5 passenger variant as well for those that might want to forgo the 3rd row for more cargo space.
Unfortunately, Kia does make a number of items exclusive to only the top end SX-Prestige that I think should hopefully make their way down the offering pyramid. You have to get the top spec in order to get things like the surround view monitor (360 parking camera), heated steering wheel, 12.3” instrument panel, branded Bose audio system, power folding exterior mirrors, auto-dimming interior rear view mirror, rear automatic braking, the blind-spot view monitor and ventilated front seats. At the very least I think the items like the 360 parking camera and heated steering wheel should have broader availability for an SUV. On the flip side, lower trims have wireless smartphone connectivity for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, but the SX and SX-Prestige owners needs to connect via USB.
On top of that, the Sorento no longer has 4-way lumbar control for the driver (just a more basic 2-way), no longer has rear sun shades, no more heated 2nd row seats and no more rear a/c controls (there are still vents in the 2nd row at least).
While the 2021 Sorento makes huge strides in overall product offering, I feel it does lose a little bit of its “-ness” as it concedes some position and identity to the mighty Telluride. Hopefully the continued blockbuster success of Telluride will allow Kia to bring some of that magic to this 2021 Sorento as well and not get lost as a middle child between Telluride and the upcoming new Sportage. Although I’d say with the rugged good looks, Sorento does a good job of finding its own place within the ever growing SUV world and feels a bit like the Goldilocks of the lineup, if not quite the Cinderella that Telluride is.
