Kia Sorento

The previous Kia Sorento wasn’t a bad SUV. It looked good inside and out and offered a ton of value. But that Sorento was an SUV—a full-fledged one—with all that entails: a bulky separate frame, a live axle out back, a jiggly ride, reduced interior room, and a serious fuel-pump addiction. It wasn’t the type of vehicle that plays very well today, what with tightening CAFE standards and increased environmental concerns. And so this all-new 2011 model is less of a redesign than a complete forsaking of that formula, scrapping the old rear-drive-based chassis in favor of a front-drive architecture shared with the Hyundai Santa Fe.

The change has done the Sorento good. Although our drive was limited to freeway jaunts in a preproduction front-drive V-6 model, the much higher levels of driving refinement and overall utility were pretty apparent. The ride was quiet, the straight-line tracking true, and the comforts suitable for creatures. Size-wise, the Sorento sits roughly alongside the rest of the cute-ute segment, which you’d expect, given that the Toyota RAV4, Ford Edge, Chevy Equinox, Mazda CX-7, and Honda CR-V are the targets. But even being a bit longer and a smidge taller than most of its competition—the Toyota Highlander is an ancillary target, too—Kia says weight is down over the previous model by as much as 400 pounds.

Keeping in mind we only used it to change lanes, the steering seems accurate, and it has little on-center play. The Sorento’s 273-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 pulls well during full-throttle merges, although it makes more blustery noise and intake whoosh than seems necessary given the level of thrust; call it all bark and some bite. Kia claims a 0-to-60 time for the V-6 of, well, it doesn’t say, but we can tell you that the Sorento will definitely go 60 mph—and higher.

Beyond the V-6, the Sorento can be had with a 172-horse four-cylinder. The base model is limited to four-banger, front-drive, six-speed-manual spec; LX models can be outfitted with all-wheel drive and use the four-cylinder and a Kia-designed six-speed automatic transmission with manumatic control. The autobox and the availability of all-wheel drive carry over to the top-spec EX, and this trim can be ordered with either engine. We found the six-speed auto to be smooth in its shifts but slow to react to manual inputs, which are best reserved for selecting and holding a gear on a hilly drive rather than for aggressive shifting. Impressions on the full lineup will have to wait until we get a chance to drive the rest in a few weeks’ time.

Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front- or 4-wheel-drive, 5- or 7-passenger, 5-door wagon

ESTIMATED BASE PRICE: $21,000–$27,000

ENGINE TYPES: DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, port fuel injection; DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection

Displacement: 143 cu in, 2349cc (I-4)/212 cu in, 3470cc (V-6)
Power (SAE net): 172 bhp @ 6000 rpm (I-4)/273 bhp @ 6300 (V-6)
Torque (SAE net): 166 lb-ft @ 3750 rpm (I-4)/247 lb-ft @ 5000 (V-6)

TRANSMISSIONS: 6-speed automatic with manumatic shifting, 6-speed manual

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 106.3 in Length: 184.4 in
Width: 74.2 in Height: 67.3 in
Curb weight (C/D est): 4200–4400 lb

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 19–21/27–29 mpg

Where’s Shamu?

Inside, the seats are comfortable and the interior trimmings are attractive, judgments we can make with absolute clarity since we were stuck in a five-hour traffic jam after biblical rains washed out bridges and turned Atlanta into the world’s largest SeaWorld just before we arrived. (We’d love to completely blame it on the rain—Milli Vanilli reference!—but we could have completed our trip in an hour and avoided the jam altogether simply by following the recommended detour. Like our mom always said, we’re jackasses.) The Sorento’s cabin has a nice mix of textures and a handsome, logical design. Our test vehicle had matte-finish plastic wood trim that we preferred over the glossy, chintzy stuff in other examples; if the wood has to be fake, at least the matte look was interesting. The matte trim isn’t yet approved for production, but we’ll attempt to sway the jury by adding that it looked great with the brown and olive two-tone upholstery.

Being stuck in traffic for so long, the standard Sirius satellite radio came in handy, although we have one huge gripe about the tuning in Kia (and Hyundai) vehicles: When selecting a satellite station, you turn a knob as in most other vehicles, but you then have to push the knob to confirm the change. Otherwise, it hops back to your previous selection, which could be several dozen stations away. We’re turning the knob, so aren’t we already confirming our intent to change stations? Is there a whole population of accidental knob turners—let’s just call them “knobs”—out there that we don’t know about? In any event, the stereo sounded good and also includes auxiliary and USB input jacks.

Bluetooth phone connectivity is also on the standard equipment list, and push-button starting, voice-activated navigation with traffic info, and a rear-view camera are optional, so the tech quotient is high. There’s also an available foldable third-row seat, although it’s pretty tight in its upright and locked position and leaves only enough room behind to carry a few dismembered Barbie dolls. Subtract the third row, and the Sorento is one of the roomiest stuff swallowers in the segment, offering 73 cubes of room with the second row folded and 37 with it up. Those figures would have tied for first and come in second, respectively, in a recent comparison test of nine compact SUVs.

Get the V-6, If You Can

Without driving the full lineup, it’s hard to place the Sorento in the pygmy-ute pecking order, but it should be in the thick of things. The pricing will undoubtedly be attractive—figure a base-price range of $21,000 to $27,000 or so—and the baked-in tech equipment is compelling. But even without driving the four-cylinder, we already recommend going for the V-6 if you can swing it. Not only does it have 101 more hp and 81 additional lb-ft of torque, but you only lose 1 mpg each in the city and highway ratings in the process. With front-wheel drive and the automatic transmission, the four returns 21/29 mpg versus the six’s 20/28; all-wheel drive drops those figures by one. All the economy numbers are at or near the top of the segment.

Removing the Sorento from among the ever-dwindling ranks of plodding, heavy SUVs and inserting it into the heart of the crossover market was a smart move, not only from regulatory compliance and sales standpoints but also from the plain ol’ making-a-good-vehicle perspective, too. At a minimum, the 2011 Sorento is a handsome, comfy, value-driven alternative to the leaders in the segment; at best, it might give those front-runners a stiff fight. Like we said, the old Sorento wasn’t bad, but this new one—it will be built at Kia’s shiny new Georgia factory starting in November—is much better.