Kia Sorento Range
Okay, so the secret is well and truly out of the bag by now. Wind the clock back to 2003 and Kias Sorento was an unknown and, if truth be told, a massively underrated package. Few took it particularly seriously but when the value proposition was set against the sheer capability and versatility of this 4x4, established rivals started to squirm rather uncomfortably. It wasnt just a patronising metal for your money equation.
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Sorento owners seem pretty satisfied with their lot, the car topping the 4x4 category in the J D Power Customer Satisfaction survey, so radical changes werent deemed necessary. Youll probably need an old and new car parked next to each other to really get a handle on the alterations to the exterior styling, so to save you the bother, weve done that for you. Virtually all of the sheet metal is carried over but there are revised front and rear bumper sections, a three bar grille replaces the one bar original and the projection-style headlights also give the front end a more contemporary appearance. The tail lights and body mouldings have also been tweaked.
If you were tight for space on your Sorento in the garage, it might be worth bearing in mind that the changes have added another couple of centimetres to its overall length. Although sales of big 4x4s have slowed in the UK over the past 12 months the market growing by a mere five per cent year on year the Sorento piled on an additional 10 per cent sales growth, stealing sales from the likes of Hyundai. Honda, Jeep and even Land Rover. Where the Sorento ran out of steam was in competing with some of those marques more powerful diesel offerings, the 138bhp 2.
5-litre oil burner offered in the Kia not really able to face down some increasingly powerful and sophisticated black pump bruisers. The revised car features a reworked version of the 2.5-litre diesel as its volume engine, this time turning out 21 per cent more power (168bhp) and fully 25 per cent more torque with a peak figure of 392Nm coming at a low down 2,000rpm.
"Expectations are much higher this time around. The Sorento need to work smarter in order to deliver"
This means that instant urge is on tap as soon as you require it, making pulling out of T-junctions and onto roundabouts brisker and thus safer. This power increase comes courtesy of an electrically actuated variable geometry turbo and lops a full 2.6 seconds off the cars sprint to 62mph, the diesel Sorento now bulldozing that benchmark in 12.3 seconds.
Fully Euro IV-compliant, this engine will even return a creditable fuel economy figure of 35.8mpg if driven with a little more circumspection. If fuel bills are a secondary issue, theres also the 3.3-litre V6 to consider.
This has enjoyed an even more potent shot in the arm, with peak power rising an enormous 48bhp over the old, rather agricultural 3.5-litre unit. This means that the petrol Sorento will now get to 60mph in just 8.9 seconds with even better fuel economy thrown in as an additional sweetener.
As well as finessing the styling details and revising the powerplants on offer, Kia has taken a good look at safety, increasingly one of the major drivers when customers come to choose a vehicle of this ilk. For increased occupant safety, ESP stability control, active head restraints and front seat-belt pretensioners are offered, plus a passenger airbag cut-off switch is available. ESP automatically corrects potential skids by braking one or more wheels and/or reducing engine power, while active head restraints protect against whiplash injury. An audible reversing aid is also now offered to help reduce the risk of parking knocks and twin front and full-length curtain airbags are standard.
The quality of the interior has been improved through a revised centre stack and floor console, a neater control layout and higher-quality materials. The centre stack now houses dual-zone air conditioning, a trip computer and a double-DIN JVC CD player with an MP3 compatible stereo system. Comfort has been improved with reshaped backrests on the front seats and multi-adjustable rear backrests. Along with these refinements come some changes to the trim structure.
As well as the current grey interior available on XE and XS, there is a premium black leather and wood effect trim package available on the range-topping Sorento XT. Make no mistake that this is a model that has changed the way many customers shop for big 4x4s. Before the Sorento, Kias smaller Sportage had tried to put a lick on a few compact 4x4s but its key asset its super low pricing originally had a counterproductive effect in a market as style-conscious as this. It was somewhat like turning up at Oscar night in an outfit supplied by Top Man.
Up to a certain point, the price tag was as a constituent a part of the message as the hardware itself. Only through continually improving their products to a point where the logic in choosing a premium badge become almost impossible to grasp did Kia manage to turn the tide. Now the Sportage is one of the biggest selling compact 4x4s and this revised Sorento looks set to accelerate its already promising sales curve upwards. Theres a lot to like about this honest and unpretentious 4x4.
From its rugged ladder-framed chassis to its neat styling and increasingly sophisticated engines, its a car that stands comparison with more illustrious rivals regardless of price. Given that the sum youre paying is relatively so low, it calls into question the wisdom of spending more. If youve an ego that needs propping, those German giants are waiting with open order books. If not, the Sorento could be all the car youll need.
Facts At A Glance
CAR: Kia Sorento range
PRICES: £19,995£26,135 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 13
CO2 EMISSIONS: 206-255g/km
PERFORMANCE: [CRDi] 0-62mph 10s / Max Speed 110mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [CRDi] (combined) 35.8mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and side airbags, ABS with EBD WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE? Length/Width/Height, 4587/1884/1804mm
