Kia Sorrento (2013)

The Kia Sorento (2013)Published: 28th September 2012

The face lifted seven-seater

2013 Kia Sorrento will go on sale in December 2012, with a new 2.4 litre direct-injection petrol engine being amongst the enhancements.

The revised Kia Sorrento is available with one petrol engine and two turbo diesel units – the petrol unit is a 2.4 litre Theta II GDI engine which produces 192 PS and 242 Nm of torque. On the combined cycle the fuel consumption is recorded as 32 mpg.

Our choice would be the 2.2 litre diesel engine which produces 197 PS and 436 Nm of torque, so not only is it more powerful than the petrol unit, it is quicker and fuel consumption is more respectable. The CO2 emissions are lower at 153 g/km compared to 202 g/km of the petrol unit.

There is a smaller 150 PS 2.0 litre diesel that produces 382 Nm of torque with CO2 emissions of 159 g/km, there seems to be little benefit in it over the 2.2 engine with fuel consumption being higher at 46 mpg to the 2.2’s 49 mpg.

The 2.4 GDI and 2.TCI are available with either a six-speed manual or automatic gearbox, where the 2.0 TCI is only available with a 6-speed manual transmission. All engines are available with either 2WD or 4WD depending on the model.

The 4WD drivetrain is an 'on demand' system that delivers 100 per cent of engine torque to the front wheels during routine city and highway driving. Whenever a front wheel loses grip up to 50 per cent of the torque is automatically transferred to the rear wheels. In severely slippery conditions the driver can select Lock Mode, which delivers 50 per cent of torque to each axle.

Access to the cabin has been improved by the 10 mm lower ride height. The cabin floor has also been lowered, increasing legroom by 30 mm (second row) and 9 mm (third row).

There have been a number of enhancements to both the interior and exterior - New front and rear bumpers now feature unconventional upright fog lights. There is a new front grille and headlamps with LED positioning lights, and a new tailgate with reshaped LED combination lamps. Depending on model, the Sorento's updated styling is completed with 17-, 18- or new 19-inch alloy wheels.

On the inside there are more soft-touch surfaces - with a satin chrome finish for the door handles, air-vent surrounds and switches - plus a new LCD instrument cluster, new centre stack with seven-inch LCD display screen and a new centre console featuring (on automatic transmission models), a straight-gate selector with a leather-booted lever.

Kia have spent a lot of time with revisions to the bodyshell ensure it meets the latest official crash test standards, the existing Sorento was awarded a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating – the new model promises to improve on this, especially as the tests are now more stringent – a key feature being that the bodyshell’s rigidity has been increased by 18 per cent.

The revised Kia Sorento will be equipped with up to six front, side and curtain airbags. All Sorentos will be fitted with an active bonnet which raises the rear edge during a collision to reduce the severity of pedestrian injury.

Active safety technologies available will include ESC (electronic stability control), VSM (vehicle stability management), a reversing safety camera mounted on the tailgate with a 130-degree wide-angle lens, HID Xenon headlamps and HAC (hill-start assist control), which prevents slip-back when pulling away on inclines.