Kia Sorento Sport+ 2021 Review

The base price for the new Kia Sorento has jumped by around $4000 with the introduction of the new generation. Naturally, that higher pricing is a consequence of amortising the costs for developing an all-new model to replace one that had been on sale in Australia since 2015.

But the new Sorento does up the ante for equipment, including advanced driver assist safety technology.

The vehicle tested is the Kia Sorento Sport+ with diesel engine, priced at $55,850 plus on-road costs as standard, plus $695 for the Gravity Blue metallic paint option. This model sits second from the top in the four-tier model range. Only the flagship Sorento GT-Line surpasses it for standard kit.

The Sorento Sport+ offers buyers 19-inch alloy wheels with a full-size spare (on an alloy rim to match the road wheels), leather upholstery, keyless entry/start, height-adjustable power tailgate, remote engine starting, heated front seats/steering wheel, privacy glass, auto-dimming rear-view mirror and heated side mirrors.

That’s in addition to the standard specification for other Sorento variants, with features like a 10.25-inch touch-screen, Android Auto/Apple CarPlay connectivity, satellite navigation, dual-zone climate control with additional controls for third-row seats and a 10-way electrically-adjustable driver’s seat.

As with other Kia models, the Sorento comes with a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. Roadside assistance is on offer for the first 12 months, and service intervals are either 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

The new Kia Sorento has just received a maximum five-star ANCAP rating which confirms its status as one of the safest models in the large SUV category.

In part, this is due to the advanced driver assist systems that are now on board and which have really elevated the Sorento from an ageing also-ran to possibly the top rung of active safety in this segment.

Consider the gear that’s fitted; there’s autonomous emergency braking (AEB) that will detect pedestrians and cyclists, as one example, and it operates with a finely chosen balance of volume and stridency so that you won’t soil your underwear.

You also get multi-collision braking, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, driver fatigue monitoring and Safe Exit Assist (to ensure you don’t ‘door’ a cyclist or step out in front of a car approaching from behind).

Kia also has an auto-steering system dubbed ‘Lane Following Assist’, and based on a night-time drive along a country road winding uphill for several kilometres, the Sorento was exceptional at picking the faded line markings and the gutters at the side of the road. It wasn’t perfect, but as an example of the art, the Sorento’s system is the best I’ve experienced so far.

The new Sorento is also equipped with seven airbags, including side-impact airbags to protect the thorax of each front seat occupant, plus side curtain airbags and one centre airbag to keep the driver and front passenger from bashing into each other.

While the driver’s side mirror won’t adjust far enough to entirely eliminate the blind spot around the car’s right rear flank – and that does detract from the otherwise ideal driving position – the Sorento does come with blind spot monitoring anyway, so it’s not a huge problem.

The vision from the Sorento’s driving position is generally commendable. Front and rear sensors are handy for parking in tight spots, but the Sorento also has a reversing camera with dynamic guidelines displayed in the infotainment screen.

The high beam assist is excellent too. On just one occasion was the system slow to respond to an oncoming car, which was approaching from the right around a tight bend. Otherwise it was great, and particularly for a vehicle priced at this level.

Almost unbelievably, a test run of the diesel-powered Kia Sorento Sport+ through the country and suburbs resulted in a posted fuel consumption figure of 6.2L/100km. The official combined-cycle figure for the oil-burning Sorento is 6.1L/100km. Kia must be one of the few brands in the market to publish fuel economy figures consumers can take seriously.

But the Sorento is not just a fuel sipper. The 2.2-litre diesel four-cylinder provides excellent power delivery – with little turbo lag, and easily modulated torque from just rolling lightly onto the accelerator.

The engine has the torque to hold a gear on a moderately steep hill with the cruise control set to 80km/h. It will plug away in sixth gear at engine revs below 1500rpm without labouring or struggling to any significant degree, but the powerplant goes hard when the driver is hoofing it too.

Mostly, however, the engine just gets up to speed without a lot of fuss.

On the freeway the Sorento is very quiet, cruising along at around 1600rpm and producing a subtle hum from the engine, accompanied by some muted road noise.

Matched to the engine is an incredibly smooth dual-clutch automatic transmission. Like a better example of conventional automatic with a torque converter, the Sorento’s dual-clutch unit is always in the right gear and is highly adaptive for applying engine braking on a downhill run.

It’s not readily identifiable as a dual-clutch transmission other than a couple of tell-tales – the engine braking in reverse gear, for example, or the computer-controlled ‘pulsing’ of the clutch while reversing slowly on the brakes.

But all in all, this is an extremely impressive transmission.

The Kia Sorento Sport+ rides well, and when switched to Sport mode the large SUV also feels quite secure in corners. Although the tyres do protest as speeds rise, the Sorento does convey that it’s up for pressing on a little harder too.

The Kia’s cornering prowess is in the same ballpark as the Hyundai Santa Fe’s, but the handling feels a little closer to neutral and the Sorento has just that little extra grip to find some extra speed exiting bends.

Not that any of that is ultimately important to typical family car buyers, who will rather prefer the brake pedal feel as it is: soft, but progressive.

Stomp on the pedal and the Sorento does provide strong braking, with enough feedback for the driver to temper the pedal pressure to suit the situation, which means soft stopping in the city and suburbs too.

All the Sorento’s controls are in the right place and easy to use. It’s a minor niggle, but the volume setting for the Sorento’s sat-nav-based voice prompts for school zones was adjusted a little too high for comfort.

Adjusting the volume level lower was not something that can be done using either the volume control knob on the left of the infotainment screen or the toggles on the steering wheel. You have to go into the settings menu to readjust the volume, which is a little time consuming.

Still on the subject of the satellite navigation, spoken-voice route prompting did glitch briefly, but righted itself immediately.

While the Sorento does offer voice recognition, it’s only available through the CarPlay or Android Auto systems, making it somewhat laborious to enter a destination in the satellite navigation system if you don’t have your phone with you at the time.

The front seats hold the occupant securely at higher speeds and under heavier braking, but also wrap around you softly and provide plenty of support for touring over longer distances. Climbing in and out is made easier by the Sorento’s ideal hip point.

Gaining access to the third row is as simple as pressing a button to release a spring-loaded latch for the seat to slide and tilt forward, but the single-seat entry to the rear is on the driver’s side, closer to the road, not the footpath.

Nevertheless, with the same spring-loaded arrangement on the passenger side as well, you don’t need to be Hercules to tip forward and slide the larger and heavier section of the seating for the kids to climb into the hind seats. 

Accommodation in the third row is adequate at a pinch for adults of average height, but anyone 180cm or taller will find the headroom there to be at a premium, as is kneeroom. It’s really for kids only, which is true of most seven-seaters.

Older teenagers might endure the third-row seats for 10 minutes, but not a minute more. At least they have their own climate control switchgear and vents for comfort.

There is plenty of space in the second-row seats, however. And they recline, slide and lock in place when folded, which means flat flooring for sliding in heavier and larger loads when you’re using all the available space to carry goods. Passengers there have access to three USB ports to recharge portable devices, and one 12V outlet.

Boot space is tight when the third-row seat is raised, and between the rear drivetrain components and the full-size spare on alloy rim under the boot, the load floor might be too high for users who are shorter in stature.

In a recent comparison of the Kia Sorento GT-Line and the Mazda CX-9 – the Mazda considered the benchmark in this class, and acclaimed as the carsales Car of the Year back in 2016 – our team gave the win to the Kia.

After spending a week with the Kia Sorento Sport+ Diesel DCT, I’ll add my own plaudits.

The previous model of Sorento was a great offering in 2015, but it’s hard to believe that just five years have passed between the introduction of that model and the launch of its successor.

Such is the gulf in refinement, safety and sophistication.

How much does the 2021 Kia Sorento Sport+ Diesel DCT cost?
Price: $55,850 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 148kW/440Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 6.1L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 159g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2020)