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Dealers
Marty Padgett
- What is it?: A new crossover aimed between the Honda CR-V and Honda Pilot, among others
- The basics: A smoothly rounded shape, V-6 power and available all-wheel drive
- On sale: January 2010
- Price: $20,000 base (est.)
Earlier this week, TheCarConnection was among the first dozen journalists to drive the new 2011 Kia Sorento, a crossover that's sure to cause some heartburn for the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V. Despite some flooding in Georgia that abbreviated the test route, and the availability of only the six-cylinder Sorento, our drive confirmed a few things. Most importantly, that the Sorento's repositioned size and mission cuts across the crossover class in a useful way, and its first-rate execution continues the string of hits that's included the 2010 Kia Soul and 2010 Kia Forte.
The Sorento used to be a frame-rail, truck-based SUV, but no more. Now it's a crossover based on car pieces--and it's a close relative of the current Hyundai Santa Fe, also built in the deep South about 90 miles from the Sorento's new home in West Point, Georgia. For $1 billion, Kia's built a new plant that's set to build 300,000 vehicles a year in the medium term, with the Sorento accounting for a third to half of that volume. (More to come on this later today).
With the new body and new plant, the Sorento has a new task. Bluntly put, it's to take a chunk out of Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 sales. To do that, Kia's outfitted it with a choice of four- and six-cylinder engines, which trumps the CR-V's sole four-cylinder. And it's also installing third-row seats on the highest-trim Sorento, which throws down the challenge to the three-row RAV4. In the process, the Sorento tangles with all sorts of crossovers sized and priced vaguely close--the list includes the Ford Edge, the Mazda CX-7, the Chevrolet Equinox, even the Nissan Murano and Toyota Highlander.
On style, the 2011 Sorento makes big gains with a nicely proportioned look that draws on Kia cars for its grille and headlamps, and bigger crossovers for its rear quarters. The Sorento sits lower now, and it's taken on some of the cues from Kia's passenger cars, like the "Schreyer line" named for the chief designer Peter Schreyer, that splits headlamps from its grille. The cabin is defined by a somewhat imposing dash with three big oval gauges and a center stack with a large LCD screen flanked by big vents. It's clean, but the plastics on the dash and doors are hard and have a large grain, and some versions have grey-toned artificial wood that sits at the crossroads of Nice Try Street and No You Really Shouldn't Have Boulevard.
Kia offered us a six-cylinder, automatic-equipped Sorento for our test drive--with four-cylinders in the pipeline for a major media drive next month. We were confined to I-85 thanks to the floods in the Atlanta area, but got enough seat time to confirm the V-6's supple howl, smart passing power and the somewhat slow responses of the Kia homegrown six-speed automatic. A pair of paddles for shifting would be welcome, though there is already a manual-shift mode on the console. Kia promises 20/28 mpg with this combination, which probably makes the four-cylinder's 21/29 mpg a choice only for the very price-conscious shopper. Ride and handling are softer than the RAV4 and CR-V, with a touch of rumble on rippled interstates, but the Sorento's one of the typically predictable handlers that make crossovers so much better than big, trucky SUVs. It feels failsafe, and the optional all-wheel drive underscores its new emphasis on safety. Kia's predicting five-star safety for the Sorento, but the NHTSA hasn't had one to crash yet.
2011 Kia SorentoEnlarge Photo What is it?: A new crossover aimed between the Honda CR-V and Honda Pilot, among others The basics: A smoothly rounded shape, V-6 power and available all-wheel drive On sale: January 2010 Price: $20,000 base (est.) Earlier this week, TheCarConnection was among the first dozen journalists to drive the new 2011 Kia Sorento, a crossover that's sure to cause some heartburn for the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V. Despite some flooding in Georgia that abbreviated the test route, and the availability of only the six-cylinder Sorento, our drive confirmed a few things. Most importantly, that the Sorento's repositioned size and mission cuts across the crossover class in a useful way, and its first-rate execution continues the string of hits that's included the 2010 Kia Soul and 2010 Kia Forte. The Sorento used to be a frame-rail, truck-based SUV, but no more. Now it's a crossover based on car pieces--and it's a close relative of the current Hyundai Santa Fe, also built in the deep South about 90 miles from the Sorento's new home in West Point, Georgia. For $1 billion, Kia's built a new plant that's set to build 300,000 vehicles a year in the medium term, with the Sorento accounting for a third to half of that volume. (More to come on this later today). With the new body and new plant, the Sorento has a new task. Bluntly put, it's to take a chunk out of Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 sales. To do that, Kia's outfitted it with a choice of four- and six-cylinder engines, which trumps the CR-V's sole four-cylinder. And it's also installing third-row seats on the highest-trim Sorento, which throws down the challenge to the three-row RAV4. In the process, the Sorento tangles with all sorts of crossovers sized and priced vaguely close--the list includes the Ford Edge, the Mazda CX-7, the Chevrolet Equinox, even the Nissan Murano and Toyota Highlander. On style, the 2011 Sorento makes big gains with a nicely proportioned look that draws on Kia cars for its grille and headlamps, and bigger crossovers for its rear quarters. The Sorento sits lower now, and it's taken on some of the cues from Kia's passenger cars, like the "Schreyer line" named for the chief designer Peter Schreyer, that splits headlamps from its grille. The cabin is defined by a somewhat imposing dash with three big oval gauges and a center stack with a large LCD screen flanked by big vents. It's clean, but the plastics on the dash and doors are hard and have a large grain, and some versions have grey-toned artificial wood that sits at the crossroads of Nice Try Street and No You Really Shouldn't Have Boulevard. Kia offered us a six-cylinder, automatic-equipped Sorento for our test drive--with four-cylinders in the pipeline for a major media drive next month. We were confined to I-85 thanks to the floods in the Atlanta area, but got enough seat time to confirm the V-6's supple howl, smart passing power and the somewhat slow responses of the Kia homegrown six-speed automatic. A pair of paddles for shifting would be welcome, though there is already a manual-shift mode on the console. Kia promises 20/28 mpg with this combination, which probably makes the four-cylinder's 21/29 mpg a choice only for the very price-conscious shopper. Ride and handling are softer than the RAV4 and CR-V, with a touch of rumble on rippled interstates, but the Sorento's one of the typically predictable handlers that make crossovers so much better than big, trucky SUVs. It feels failsafe, and the optional all-wheel drive underscores its new emphasis on safety. Kia's predicting five-star safety for the Sorento, but the NHTSA hasn't had one to crash yet. The general right-sizing of the Sorento means more interior room and a take-it-or-leave-it third-row seat. Front and second-row passengers can be full-sized adults and still not feel cheated; there's Equinox-sized space here, with about a half-inch of headroom for six-footers in back, sitting beneath the new panoramic sunroof. The third-row seat is off-limits for the middle-aged man--the cushion's on the floor, and with reclining second-row seats, it's impossible to see anyone over 12 years old making a willing choice to sit back there. It is flexible for kiddie carpools, though, and the third row folds flat to open up a big cargo space with a decently low cargo floor and a hidden storage space below the floor itself. Initial build quality, particularly from a brand-new vehicle in a brand-new plant, is encouraging. There's more to come with the Sorento--in fact, we've published our 2011 Kia Sorento Bottom Line while we wait to sample the four-cylinder version. While we toil, you can see a raft of photos and related news over at our 2011 Kia Sorento page. And stay tuned: as soon as we've updated other reviews, we'll pit the Sorento against the RAV4, CR-V, Equinox and CX-7 in a playoff round to find out which crossover's best for you. TheCarConnection's Bottom Line: The 2011 Kia Sorento takes a right turn in its transition from off-roader to all-weather wagon: it's sized right, timed right, and packaged right.
Responses (13 total)
By sore #1, Posted: 9/22/2009
You might call this a crossover but the profile looks very SUV like. I hope for Kia's sake they can keep all their buyers convinced that it is not an SUV
By greedo #2, Posted: 9/22/2009
Can't wait to see more of this...I've been really impressed by the Kias I've seen lately. Not cheap by any means, especially compared to similarly-priced cars.
By autoguy #3, Posted: 9/22/2009
What great value- they really are putting on the pressure- watch out for Kia-they are coming in strong!!
By jim #4, Posted: 9/22/2009
Kia and Hundayi are going to role the usa market in 5-6 years. With these great offers and cost/effective cars, lots of people will buy them and not much more expensive cars like honda,toyota. Not to mention brands from detroit.
By SUVcrossoverWhatEVAH #5, Posted: 9/22/2009
Weird. Looks like the rear (which I like) and the front (bleccch) were designed in two different countries. At least the front is fixable easier than the rear.
I've been impressed by Kias lately too. The Forte is sharp. This one is sharp too ... from the rear.
By AutoBoy #6, Posted: 9/22/2009
marty, sounds like a solid product. very curious to get more details as the offical launch date is set.
By Edward #7, Posted: 9/22/2009
A little derivative from the pics, but I haven't seen one in person yet, obviously. Kia/Hyundai is doing well with the split-personality thing in the U.S. Seems like Hyundai is the new Toyota and Kia is the new Honda, eh?
By Franky #8, Posted: 9/23/2009
That's an interesting car. Can't wait to read the full review for it...
By Sorento Owner #9, Posted: 9/24/2009
Marty, This car is not same class in Honda CR-V & Toyota RAV4 grade.
Hyundai Tucson/Kia sportage are Honda CR-V & Toyota RAV4 grade car.
-----------------------
Check, Official Honda and Hyundai website.
Hyundai Tucson/Kia sportage are Honda CR-V grade. Hyundai Santa Fe / Kia Sorento are NOT same class in CR-V class.
http://automobiles.honda.com/tools/compare/select-competitor-similar.aspx?ModelName=CR-V&ModelYear=2009&AICGroupNum=5096&AICNum1=25708&LastState=%2Ftools%2Fcompare%2F%3FModelName%3DCR-V%26ModelYear%3D2009%26AICGroupNum%3D5096%26AICNum1%3D25708%26LastState%3D&Filter=&Mode=&Photo=
http://www.hyundaiusa.com/vehicle/comparison/comparison.aspx?vehicle=Tucson&year=2009&trimID=24406
-----------------------
Check Euro NCAP classification.
Hyundai Tucson = Honda CR-V = Toyta RAV4 ; Same Class
http://www.euroncap.com/small_off_road_4_4.aspx
Hyundai Santafe & Kia Sorento are cleary out of CR-V class.
http://www.euroncap.com/large_off_road_4_4.aspx
By Sorento Owner #10, Posted: 9/24/2009
1. Hyundai Tucson / Kia Sportage = Comapct SUV.
Honda CR-V & Toyta RAV4 class
http://www.euroncap.com/small_off_road_4_4.aspx
2. Hyundai Santa Fe / Kia Sorento = Midsize SUV.
Toyota Highlander & Honda Pilot & Nissan Pathfinder.
http://www.euroncap.com/large_off_road_4_4.aspx
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