Test Drive: 2013 Kia Sorento

2013 Kia Sorento. Click image to enlarge

Review and photos by Tom Sedens

Photo Gallery:
2013 Kia Sorento

The Sorento: world-renowned, noted for its name, a misspelled version of a tiny southern Italian town, and for being the mechanical cousin to the Hyundai Santa Fe.

Okay, the first part is a bit rich, but you can buy this thing in different variations across the globe.

It’s Kia’s upper-crust SUV – they start at $26,895 and come reasonably equipped. I drove the top-of-the-line SX AWD version, which is as loaded as it can get.

The Sorento is a handsome vehicle – it’s not nice enough or different enough to get any double-takes, but it doesn’t do anything to offend, either. The lines are simple, clean and chunky, allowing for some butchness without treading into jacked-up 4×4 territory.

I liked the dark chrome 18-inch rims shod with 235/60R18s, the chrome trim around the vehicle, which was used sparingly (thank goodness!), and the LED taillights. I thought Kia did a good job integrating the foglights.

Under the hood sits a 3.5L V6. It’s a stout one, putting out 276 hp at 6,300 rpm and 248 lb-ft of torque at 5,000 RPM. There’s nothing particularly modern or exciting about the engine, but it’s a decent one.

The power is routed to all four corners via a good old six-speed automatic transmission.

Fuel economy is supposedly half decent – Kia rates it at 11.5 L/100 km in the city, and 8.2 L/100 km on the highway. In mostly city driving with no effort to conserve fuel, and a couple of highway cruises, I averaged 15.3 L/100 km (15.4 mpg). Though this is not fantastic, it’s not surprising considering this is a 1,874-kg (4,131 lb.) all-wheel-drive SUV.

If you want to, you can equip this bad boy with a towing package, which will allow you to lug another 1,588 kg (3,500 lb.) of fun stuff around with you.

I felt the materials in the Sorento were a bit behind the curve. They are nice to look at, but you won’t find a shred of soft plastic on the dash or console, and the whole thing gets a bit Darth Vader. A splash of colour or brightwork wouldn’t kill them, would it? And the faux carbon fibre stuff just doesn’t suit this vehicle. Mind you, does it suit any vehicle?

The seats are quite comfortable, clad in leather throughout, and both front seats are power-adjustable and heated. The driver’s seat is also cooled and has a two-position memory.

2013 Kia Sorento. Click image to enlarge

There’s a decent manually adjustable steering wheel with controls for media, cruise, and handsfree phone. Behind that is a horizontally squashed speedometer, smaller gauges and a simple but highly useful driver information screen.

Everything is powered – door locks, folding mirrors, windows and the front sunroof (there is also a fixed rear sunroof). Entry is keyless and ignition is push-start.

The top of the stack starts with a dated-looking clock, and below that is Kia’s touchscreen, which handles media, phone and navigation functions. The user interface is decent, and it works pretty well – the Infinity-branded system, feeding off a variety of sources, wasn’t very impressive. At the bottom is an automatic dual-zone climate control system. The console houses the gear selector and a nice armrest.

Once you squeeze through the relatively tight rear door opening, you’ll find three seats, three headrests, and three seatbelts in the second row. The outboard positions are quite comfortable and offer reasonable (but not great) leg- and headroom. It seems airy back there thanks to the huge second sunroof. The middle seat is narrow and slightly raised, and straddles a bump in the floor – all of this makes it less than comfortable for adults, but all three of my kids were back there with nary a complaint. You’ll also find two sets of LATCH anchors for kid seats. The seats are fixed on the floor, but can recline.

The front seatbacks are hard plastic, which makes them uncomfortable, if you’re a daddy longlegs and you’re butted up against them.

In terms of convenience, you get adjustable air vents, a 12V plug, tiny door bins, a couple of seatback mesh pockets, and the middle seatback folds down to become a nice armrest with a couple of cupholders.

2013 Kia Sorento. Click image to enlarge

This is the typically tight third row that you expect from a smaller SUV. Getting into the third row is an adventure, and requires one of the second row seats to be tumbled forward – and making that happen isn’t an exercise in personal joy. Once you go through the process of tumbling the seat forward, you’ll find yourself in a claustrophobic rear compartment. There are two seats, two headrests and two seatbelts. Headroom sucks. Legroom sucks. There are a couple of side bins, and adjustable air vents.

Still, if you were a teen or adult and stuck back there for any length of time, you’d become acutely aware of how much the driver hates you for sticking you there.

2013 Kia Sorento. Click image to enlarge

The Sorento has decent storage options. The glove compartment is nice, there’s a useable open bin at the front of the console (with a nice rubberized bottom as well as two 12V plugs and the aux/USB plugs), two cupholders in the console and an enormous storage bin (with a removable organizer tray) under the armrest lid. Door bins are fine, and include a bottle holder.

The cargo space is good. The typical configuration (third row folded down – the seats fold 50/50) yields 1,047 L. You can cover this volume with a retractable, removable soft tonneau cover. Fold down the second row, and you’ve got yourself a 2,052 L cave to work with. Conversely, should you be using the third row as a torture chamber, you’ll be left with a laughable 258 L space – enough for a couple of flat, vertical packages.

The V6 never leaves you wishing for more power. It’s fantastic for driving around the city – power delivery is smooth and immediate, especially off the line.

2013 Kia Sorento. Click image to enlarge

The transmission, while not particularly fast, is always very smooth. It has a manual shift option, but considering how slow those shifts are, I found it was best to leave this auto to its programming. Also, because it’s a bit ponderous, you’ll find it takes a second or two to get moving when you step on it to pass someone – the engine is willing, but it has to wait for the transmission to find the right cog.

The suspension was where I felt the Sorento needs work. It’s pretty truckish, and nowadays, without true off-road cred, that’s inexcusable. We’ve come a long way, baby, and for a soft-roader like this, we expect a buttery ride. The rebound rates are too stiff, and the cabin lurches over bumps and bigger joints, as well as rutted, snowy roads. Wait – that pretty much describes all the Edmonton roads, soooo… yeah, not the most comfy ride.

2013 Kia Sorento. Click image to enlarge

Handling is okay, but not great. It will hold corners, but the Sorento always felt spongy and top-heavy to me, and there’s quite a bit of lean into and out of corners. That’s not terribly unusual for this class of vehicle, though.

The all-wheel-drive system seems to be very competent. I never experienced less traction than I expected, and I drove mainly on snow-packed, icy streets. The turning circle is fantastic for a vehicle like this, and parking it was a cinch.

Noise is very well controlled during city driving – engine, wind and drivetrain sound is negligible. Unfortunately there was some very noticeable wind noise coming from the sunroof when we hit the highway.

Visibility out of the Sorento is good, except the rearmost pillar section is enormous, and can get in the way of some shoulder checks.

I definitely took issue with some of the fit and finish. I didn’t like the gaps between some of the dash and centre-stack trim, and I found insulating foam coming out of a seam in the back passenger compartment.

2013 Kia Sorento. Click image to enlarge

I always appreciate one or more 12V plugs in the cargo area – there are none to be found here.

Speaking of convenience I appreciate, I was a bit surprised to find there was no power liftgate – I don’t even believe it is an option on the Sorento. At this price, it should at least be an option.

Is it just me, or does it come across as cheap that they would include a cooled seat for the driver, but not the passenger?  Ergonomics are pretty good, but I found it strange that the rear wash and wiper buttons were moved to the dash.

At first glance, the Sorento seems like a fantastic vehicle, and in many ways, it is. It offers quite a bit, including a smooth, powerful engine and transmission combo. But the ride and the quality of materials throughout the cabin left me wanting more for my money. The little omissions of conveniences here and there may seem trivial when they stand alone, but when you consider them all, I found I wanted more here.

WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) was middling. She liked the styling and the high driving position. She didn’t like the ride (it spilled her coffee – twice!) and she didn’t like that the vanity mirror lights need to be manually turned on. She missed the power tailgate, too.

2013 Kia Sorento. Click image to enlarge

I enjoyed the Sorento and the things it did well, but I’m not sure I’d want to put up with this gas-swilling kidney-jostler in the long run. You’d be wise to check out the competition, particularly its cousin, the Hyundai Santa Fe in five-seat Sport configuration, or the soon-to-arrive seven-seat XL style.

Pricing: 2013 KIA Sorento SX 3.5 AWD
Base price (SX 3.5 AWD): $41,295
Options: none
Freight: $1,650
A/C tax: $100
Price as tested: $43,045

Competitors
Chevrolet Traverse
Dodge Journey
Ford Explorer
GMC Acadia
Honda Pilot
Hyundai Santa Fe XL
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Mazda CX-9
Nissan Pathfinder
Subaru Tribeca
Toyota Highlander
Volkswagen Touareg

Crash Test Ratings
National Highway Safety Administration
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

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