Kia Sorento 2.2 CRDi KX-3 review
by David Finlay (25 May 2010)
The latest-generation Sorento is one of those cars which demonstrates how far Kia has come in a short space of time. Five years ago it would have seemed, at best, extremely unlikely, five years before that completely impossible.
It's one of Kia's best-looking models, for a start. It's quite elegant in a chunky sort of way, to the extent that I smiled as I looked at it while coming out of my local bank and realising that it was by far the most attractive vehicle sitting there (though a few minutes earlier I had cursed its huge rear pillars and consequent lack of visibility as I tried to reverse into the parking space).
It's smart inside too, as well as being comfortable and very spacious, both for passengers and for luggage. Each of the seven seats fitted to all Sorentos other than the entry-level model (which has just five) is nicely shaped, though lack of legroom means that the ones which can be folded up out of the floor in the third row are strictly for children only.
The 2.2-litre turbo diesel engine - again available in all versions other than the most basic - is new, replacing the previous 2.5 and providing better fuel economy of 42.2mpg combined along with more power. Maximum output is a robust 194bhp, which would be too much for some other SUVs to cope with but is easily handled by this one. The engine is a bit raucous, though, barking into life from cold and never fully receding into the aural background even when it has reached normal operating temperature.
In his launch review, Richard Dredge praised the Sorento's ride and handling. I'm not so sure about the ride; on one occasion I'm sure I felt the back end skip sideways an inch or so in mid-corner, though admittedly that was on one of the worst-surfaced pieces of A roads in my county.
Even on more acceptable tarmac, I don't feel that the Sorento does an especially good job. But there's a possible explanation for this. The range-topping KX-3 reviewed here is, at the time of writing, the only Sorento I've driven, and it has larger wheels and lower-profile tyres than all the others.
Admittedly, there isn't much in it (the KX-3 is on 235/60x18s rather than 235/65x17s, if you like to know this sort of thing) but that could be enough to make the difference. I'll be interested to see if the cheaper models have superior ride quality.
(Update: according to Kia UK, it's a suspension issue, caused by the Sorento being set-up for German roads. Our generally rougher tarmac throws it into confusion.)
Be that as it may, the handling (and I'm as one with Dredge on this point) is tremendous, far beyond what you might expect from a manufacturer which devotes a relatively small proportion of its time to developing SUVs. The Sorento feels exceptionally secure, which is all the more surprising considering the amount of power its engine can produce.
Apart from the 18" wheels, the KX-3 also gets leather upholstery, an electric panoramic sunroof and xenon headlights in addition to the equipment available further down the range. Add in the cost of automatic transmission and a few other extras and you could easily end up paying more than £30,000, but the Sorento does feel worth it - and that's another thing nobody would have contemplated saying ten years ago.
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