Road Test: 2016 Kia Sorento SX+ V6 AWD
Story and photo by John LeBlanc
The all-new 2016 Kia Sorento should not have surprised me. Oh, I know. The Korean automaker’s tagline is “The Power to Surprise” and over the past few years, each new product introduction brought a surprisingly improved new model; wickedly competitive vehicles that bury the memories of the cheap-to-buy and equally cheap-feeling Kias from the past.
While it’s no surprise the new 2016 Sorento midsized crossover shoots to the top of its crowded midsize crossover class that includes such stalwarts as the Honda Pilot, Nissan Pathfinder and Mazda CX-9 — surprise, surprise — the Kia also challenges a few luxury brand offerings, like the Acura MDX and Infiniti QX60.
The Sorento nameplate has been around long enough to be one of those forgettable early Kias. First seen in 2003, the original was a traditional, truck-based SUV doing its best job mimicking a 1990s Ford Explorer. But the second-generation model moved to the midsized Optima sedan’s unibody platform for 2010, offering room for five or seven passengers. It was a huge leap forward in quality, packaging, features and drivability, and quickly became a best-seller for the automaker here in Canada.
The 2010 to 2015 Sorento offered a slightly bigger body than compact crossovers like the Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4. And while the 2016 model grows in size enough to now be considered midsized, there’s also more refinement and the availability of features usually found on much higher priced vehicles.
Yet despite Kia’s upscale ambitions, the base, front-wheel-drive, five-passenger Sorento LX starts at a competitive $31,059 (all prices include freight and pre-delivery inspection fees). Powered by a 2.4-litre four-cylinder gas engine rated at a 185 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque, a six-speed automatic transmission is standard across the range. All-wheel-drive will cost you another $2,100 and the 240-hp 2.0L turbo-four is available in the $36,259 Sorento LX AWD.
If you want room for up to seven passengers, you’ll need to pop for the $35,744 Sorento LX, which comes with traction at all four wheels and a 290-hp and 252-lb.-ft., 3.3-litre V6 as standard fare. My tester was a fully loaded $50,259 Sorento SX+ AWD V6.
A $50,000 Kia crossover may be surprising to you, however, along with the new Kia Cadenza and K900 luxury sedans, the Sorento is quietly being pushed as a “premium” Kia. The adjective is worthy because the way the topline Sorento SX+ drives, tends to its occupants, and makes its driver grin, is equal to or better than a comparably equipped $60,000-plus Acura MDX or Infiniti QX60.
One way the Kia surprisingly competes with those Japanese luxury crossovers is evident by simply opening one of the Sorento’s four doors. Almost all of the interior surfaces are of the soft-touch variety, with two-tone colour schemes available. And as I discovered in the recent Kia Sedona I spent a couple of months piloting, Kia’s ergonomic designers have been hitting it out of the park lately. Compared to the MDX or QX60, all of the Sorento’s controls are easier to find and use. Plus, Kia’s latest UVO infotainment system is one of the easier interfaces to use, with clear and well-organized graphics and a simple menu hierarchy.
I also wasn’t surprised to find a heated steering wheel, heated and cooled front seats, and heated rear seats in the Sorento SX+. These features are now becoming commonplace in almost any topline Kia, but if you think you need to pay extra for a luxury badge to get the latest in safety kit, think again.
Along with the plenty of creature comforts, every 2016 Kia Sorento comes standard with front side airbags, and front- and second-row side curtain airbags. My SX+ model had a backup camera, rear parking sensors, blind spot and rear cross-traffic warning systems, plus lane-departure and forward collision warning systems on board.
To be fair, most mainstream brand midsized crossover buyers don’t have athletic driving dynamics at the top of their wish list. But beyond the top-notch interior design and a full suite of features, the new Sorento has leaped ahead of its Japanese luxury crossover competition and drives more like a luxury crossover from Germany.
Kia claims it used more high-strength steel than ever in the 2016 Sorento. That’s one reason why the Kia moves with a solid feel and heft typically experienced in German cars. The Sorento’s rigid chassis allowed the suspension engineers to also dial in a very Teutonic-like ride and handling profile; the Sorento SX+’s ride is firm, yet absorbs imperfections in the road quite handily.
As a comfortable and luxurious highway vehicle, the new Sorento also excels. The big crossover is also eerily quiet at highway speeds, cementing its luxury driving experience further. Plus I recorded a remarkable 9.8 litres per 100 kilometres fuel consumption average on a round-trip back and forth from Ottawa to Toronto — better than what I saw in a much smaller 2015 Buick Encore driven on the same route.
Relative to its size, the big Kia also handles quite competently. There’s minimal body roll while cornering, and the Sorento’s steering is accurate with plenty of communication about what’s happening at road level — again, what you would find, say, in a BMW X5. (Yeah, I just favourably compared a Kia to a BMW. Get over it.)
While the two-row models offer a strong value proposition against mainstream rivals like the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, Ford Edge and Jeep Grand Cherokee, well-equipped three-row versions, like my Sorento SX+ AWD V6, can now be cross-shopped with luxury brand showrooms.
Try not to be surprised.