Kia Sorento review

Natural selection affects SUVs, not just animals, and seven-seaters that drink diesel are starting to look like dinosaurs. So the Kia Sorento – like a species with a strong survival instinct – has evolved.

Instead of simply slinging a petrol engine under the Sorento’s bonnet, Kia has used its expertise in the field of electrification to give the model regular hybrid (HEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) options. You can still get a diesel version, and every version gets four-wheel drive and an automatic gearbox as standard.

To keep the Sorento evolving and avoid extinction, a 2024 facelift to the car has updated its looks, its interior and its pricing. But it’s still up against premium rivals including the Land Rover Discovery Sport and Mercedes GLB as well as mainstream alternatives such as the Skoda Kodiaq.

Is the Kia Sorento one of the best seven-seat SUVs you can get? Read on to find out...

The "self-charging" hybrid (HEV) Kia Sorento certainly feels nippy enough, with 212bhp and 0-62mph taking 9.7 seconds. True, there's a slight delay between you pressing the accelerator pedal and the car surging forwards, but it's not pronounced enough to become irritating, and you won’t struggle when it comes to overtaking or getting up to motorway speeds.

The plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model has a bigger 13.8kWh battery than the HEV and its more powerful electric motor gives the Sorento a little more punch (with 248bhp) and slightly quicker acceleration. With 0-62mph taking 8.8 seconds, it’s still not as quick as the Audi Q5 or the Land Rover Discovery Sport but it’s more than sufficient for everyday driving.

Officially, the PHEV can run for up to 34 miles on electric power alone, although in the real world you'll be lucky to get more than 25 miles. That’s not particularly impressive nowadays, especially when the Skoda Kodiaq PHEV has an official battery range of more than 70 miles. 

The maximum towing weight of the Sorento PHEV is 1,500kg, matching the Honda CR-V PHEV. Even so, the 2.2 CRDi diesel is a better tow car because it can pull up to 2,500kg. We know from its appearances at the Tow Car Awards over the years that it's an impressive option for hauling a caravan or a horsebox.

Even when you're not towing, the diesel gives you plenty of low-down torque. That makes up for the fact it has less outright power (with 190bhp) than other versions, making it perfect if you regularly need to haul a full complement of passengers or luggage around.

The Sorento gets 17in alloys as standard on entry-level diesel and HEV versions, while the PHEV and higher trim levels get 19in alloys as standard (the biggest 20in alloys are reserved for the diesel in range-topping 4 trim).

Our preferred 2 trim comes with the smallest wheels and the best ride comfort. The 19in wheels introduce a slight fidget over surface imperfections and a noticeable thud into potholes, but this is still a comfortable car so it won’t be causing any problems.

There are plusher riding rivals out there though, such as the Land Rover Discovery Sport. You also get self-levelling rear suspension on everything apart from the entry-level trim, which is handy if you’re planning to tow or carry heavy loads.

The PHEV is the least agreeable model in the range, but even that's not uncomfortable – it's just a bit more jarring over sharper imperfections and its ride is not quite as settled, largely because of its heavy battery pack.

The Sorento’s reassuringly weighted steering allows you to place the car confidently on twisty rural roads and also makes it easy to track straight and true on motorways. In town, you’ll find the wheel becomes light enough to twirl easily.

As you might expect, this tall and heavy car wasn’t made with sports car handling in mind. There isn’t a huge amount of grip but it feels composed enough at a moderate pace, with body lean well contained. Not many seven-seaters offer driving thrills, but if you’re after keen handling you might want to look at the more expensive BMW X5.

Body lean is most pronounced in the heavier PHEV, but it's still less roly-poly than PHEV versions of the Discovery Sport. The self-levelling rear suspension helps improve the Sorento's stability and handling when it's being used for towing.

If you're driving either the HEV or the PHEV in pure electric mode then, rather predictably, you won't hear any engine noise. In fact, even when the petrol engine is being used, it frequently shuts off as you slow down and remains fairly quiet when you’re accelerating gently. Hard acceleration reveals a coarser edge to its timbre, but it’s not so bad that it’s a nuisance.

Unlike some hybrid cars the Sorento switches smoothly from electric to petrol power. The automatic gearbox shifts smoothly and the brakes are well judged and progressive – even in the PHEV, which has more aggressive regenerative braking. 

There's some suspension noise over bumps in the road, and a bit more tyre and wind noise at 70mph compared with the best cars in the class, but it never becomes tiring.

At idle, the Sorento's diesel engine is rather grumbly and sends a few vibrations up through the seat, but it fades away once you’re on the move. There’s a minor level of engine clatter when it's working hard, but the car’s effortless grunt means it doesn't happen very often.

If you like a lofty driving position, you'll love the high Kia Sorento – although it’s a shame the entry-level 2 trim has manual rather than electric adjustment for the driver’s seat and no adjustable lumbar support.

You get electric adjustment and adjustable lumbar support from 3 trim up, and range-topping 4 models come with a memory function. The steering wheel lines up neatly with the seat and pedals, and there’s a footrest with plenty of room for your left foot.

The 2 trim gets a basic 4.2in digital driver's display while all trims above that get a sharper 12.3in version. Changing what the screen shows is easy using the buttons on the steering wheel, but you can’t change the layout and it's not as customisable as the ones in an Audi Q5 or Skoda Kodiaq.

Mercifully, Kia has avoided the temptation to bury all the heater and stereo controls within the centrally mounted infotainment touchscreen. There’s still a good old-fashioned knob to control the volume and another one to tweak the interior temperature.

There is a touch panel for controlling some of the other functions and it can be tricky to aim for when driving, but it’s still better than having them separate from the main touchscreen.

Perched up in the Sorento’s driving seat, you’re treated to a good view of the road ahead. The windscreen pillars don’t get in the way too much at roundabouts, and while the rear pillars are quite chunky, there are small side windows at the back of the car to help improve over-the-shoulder vision. Nevertheless, the Honda CR-V is an easier car to see out of.

To help make parking a doddle, every Sorento comes with front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera. You get additional side sensors on 3 trim and above, as well a blind-spot camera, which is good to have, especially if you do a lot of motorway driving. It shows a feed from rear-facing cameras in the door mirrors on the digital driver's display when you use the indicators.

You won’t be left wanting when it comes to infotainment. That’s because a 12.3in touchscreen infotainment system with DAB radio, Bluetooth, built-in sat-nav, and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring is standard on every car. You also get wireless phone-charging on 3 trim and above.

The infotainment system itself is responsive to all of your prods and the menus are easy to fathom. In fact, we’d go as far as to say that it’s one of the best touchscreens in the class. Unfortunately the 2024 facelift has got rid of some helpful shortcut buttons earlier Sorentos had either side of the screen. And we’d still prefer it to have a rotary controller (like the BMW X5 has) to make it less distracting to use while you're driving.

To avoid squabbling over who’s charging what, all three rows of seats in the Sorento have USB ports (there are six in total). You even get a powerful Bose stereo system with 12 speakers on everything apart from the entry-level trim.

For the most part, there’s little to complain about when it comes to the Sorento's interior quality. You’ll find lots of soft, appealing plastic, including on the insides of the rear doors – something that's by no means guaranteed in this class.

There is also chrome and piano-black trim throughout, all the switches operate with precision and everything feels solidly screwed together. If you want full leather seats you’ll need to go for 3 trim or above, as the entry-level trim gets a mix of cloth and faux leather for the upholstery.

Interior quality is about on par with the Skoda Kodiaq but can’t match the Q5 or X5 – both of which feel like true luxury SUVs (and have the price tags to match).

We seriously doubt anyone will find a shortage of head room in the Kia Sorento, and the front seats slide back quite a long way to accommodate long legs.

There’s also plenty of space between the driver and front passenger – because this car has one of the broadest interiors in the class.

The door pockets are a good size and there’s a load of storage under the front centre armrest. You also get a handy cubby in front of the gear selector, which is an ideal size for stowing a mobile phone, some keys and a wallet. It's also where you’ll find the wireless phone-charging pad on 3 trim and above.

Rear space is very generous. The second row seats slide and recline, and unless you slide them all the way forwards leg room is plentiful (a six-footer will find a decent amount of clearance between their knees and the back of the seat in front).

There’s a huge amount of head room and it’s only slightly compromised by 4 trim’s panoramic roof.

Sitting three adults across the second row is made easier by the Sorento's width and the minimal hump in the middle of the floor. The outer second-row seats and both third-row seats have Isofix mounting points (for child seats).

All Sorentos – including the PHEV version – come with seven seats as standard and there's more space on the third row than there is in a Land Rover Discovery Sport or Skoda Kodiaq. Teenagers and adults nearing 6ft tall will have the backs of their heads brushing the sloping roof but leg room is more generous.

The Sorento's sliding and reclining second-row seats have seatbacks that split 60/40 with no ski hatch. That means it's a bit less versatile than with three individually reclining and folding rear seats.

What is very handy, though, is that all versions have a button on the side of each outer seats that makes them tip and slide forward to provide easy access to the third row. There are also switches in the boot to fold down the second row of seats remotely, which makes loading a piece of flatpack furniture less of a faff.

There’s barely any lip to contend with when you're loading items into the Sorento’s big boot and the load area is a usefully square shape, with recesses for extra width right at the back of the car.

Boot space is enough to hold an impressive 10 carry-on suitcases below the tonneau cover in five-seat mode.

Even when the third row of seats is in use, there's enough boot space in the Sorento for a couple of carry-on cases. In contrast, the Land Rover Discovery Sport has hardly any room for luggage at all when all seven seats are being used.

A powered tailgate is standard on 3 trim and above, but there isn’t any underfloor storage nor anywhere to store the tonneau cover.

The Kia Sorento has quite a broad price range, with a big difference in cost between an entry-level diesel and a range-topping PHEV.

Even in its cheapest forms, the Sorento is priced above an equivalent Skoda Kodiaq – but it’s more spacious than that car. It also undercuts premium rivals including the equivalent Land Rover Discovery Sport but it’s not exactly a bargain. To make sure you get the best price, check the latest offers on our New Car Deals pages.

Among big four-wheel-drive SUVs the Sorento HEV's CO2 emissions are relatively low but if you're looking for the most cost-effective company car you'll be best served by the PHEV Sorento, which officially emits 37g/km. However, while the electric-only range of 34 miles means this Sorento commands the least amount of BIK tax it’s nothing special compared with other PHEV SUVs. The PHEV takes around 3.5 hours to charge from 0-100% using a home wall box.

The HEV’s official fuel economy figure of 42.2mpg isn’t bad at all for such a hefty car. However, it doesn’t spend that much time running on electric power, so you’ll get the most out of it in stop-start traffic.

You’ll have to charge up and run on the PHEV’s battery as much as possible to reach anywhere near its official 176.6mpg figure. The diesel model officially averages 42.3mpg, which is on a par with an equivalent Discovery Sport of Kodiaq.

The Sorento is decently well equipped. Even entry-level 2 trim includes heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and climate control.

It’s quite a jump up in price between the trims. The step to 3 trim adds rear privacy glass, integrated window blinds for the rear doors, heated rear seats and an upgraded sound system.

Range-topping 4 trim adds some luxuries, including a system that lets you park the car remotely via a smartphone, a head-up display and ventilated front seats, but it pushes the price very high.

We don’t yet have any specific reliability data on the latest-generation Sorento, but Kia as a brand finished a strong eighth (out of 32 manufacturers) in the 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey overall league table. That was below Toyota and Hyundai, but ahead of Mazda, Honda, Skoda, Seat, and miles ahead of Volkswagen, Nissan, Peugeot and Land Rover.

The Sorento comes with Kia’s fantastic seven-year (or 100,000-mile) warranty to fall back on. The only brand that can beat that is Toyota, which gives you 10 years/100,000 miles if you service your car annually at a franchised dealership.

Euro NCAP awarded the Sorento five stars out of five for safety in 2020, and it scored reasonably well for both adult and child crash protection. Chest protection for the driver in a frontal impact could be better, though.

All models come with active safety gizmos designed to prevent you from having an accident in the first place, including lane-keeping assistance and automatic city emergency braking (AEB), which can detect pedestrians and cyclists as well as other vehicles.

On 3 trim and above you get more safety equipment than the entry-level Sorento, including rear cross-traffic alert, a blind-spot camera system and parking collision avoidance (in effect, very low-speed AEB). It’s a shame rear airbags are only standard on the most expensive 4 trim.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here