Kia Sorento crossover review

Kia Sorento: from rugged 4x4 to crossover

Very few manufacturers now build affordable, tough, separate-chassis 4x4s. The Kia Sorento used to belong to that dwindling group, and people hauling heavy trailers up slippery inclines valued its three-tonne towing capacity and low-range transfer box. Kia has now chosen to move on from those buyers, whose ranks are no longer inflated by people purchasing truck-like 4x4s purely for image.

Crossovers are now in vogue, so the completely new Sorento has become one too. Another crossover, then. I have stopped trying to count the £20,000 crossovers that have appeared on price lists over the past couple of years.

Seven-seat practicality in the Kia Sorento

The Sorento does, however, offer something slightly out of the ordinary. It can be specified with two foldaway seats in a third row, an arrangement commonplace in medium-sized MPVs but unusual among crossovers. Many parents occasionally need room for three children and their grandparents, yet would not be caught driving an MPV, no matter how often I point out that an S-Max would suit them better. The Mitsubishi Outlander has done well with much the same idea.

The Sorento's radical transformation reaches its engine, too: a completely new 2.2 diesel producing a healthy 197bhp. It remains reasonably quiet and delivers class-leading fuel economy. Its prospects are further improved because dispensing with the separate chassis and dual-range transmission has allowed Kia to remove an impressive 215kg compared with the previous Sorento.

Four-wheel drive and road behaviour

Although the Sorento is available with FWD, Kia expects the 4WD version to account for most sales. Both versions handle in an entirely unremarkable fashion, but the 4WD car puts its torque down with less drama when accelerating from tight corners, particularly on greasy roads. At the speeds driven by most owners, it feels fairly car-like. If you want to attack bends more enthusiastically, though, buy a car.

With only two occupants, the suspension is firm but controlled enough, which suggests it should not become overly unsettled when carrying seven. The refined nature of the new engine is matched by the rest of the Sorento, which cruises along motorways in commendable quietness. That leaves you free to listen to everybody arguing.

Kia's rapid transformation

The more compelling story is not really the vehicle itself, but its maker. Kia is changing at an extraordinary pace. By quickly improving its mainstream cars (Cee'd over Cerato), creating intriguing new types of vehicle (Soul), and thoroughly re-engineering others as market demand changes (Sorento), Kia's sales are climbing like a firework. Indeed, during the first half of this year, Hyundai-Kia Group sold more cars than Ford Moto Co.