Let me be frank. Despite the elegance of the latest Kia Sorento, a car like this is not everyones cup of tea. Not everyone needs a seven-seater equipped with a boot the size of Fingal’s Cave, powered by a superb 2.2 turbo diesel pumping out near 190bhp and capable of taking you to near 125mph. Nor do they need an eight speed automatic with five different drive modes and an intelligent 4WD system with manually selectable lock mode, that has a 2500kg max tow weight. Neither do they need one equal to the task of transporting The Temperance Seven with all their kit, plus a Party Seven can of Watney’s Red Barrel all the way to Inverness without having to stop to recharge batteries. No. – Some folk will prefer a Trabant.
But…If you’re on the trail for SUV serendipity you just might want to say ‘Hi’ to this big and bold Sorento which has consistently received accolades as one of the best large SUVs. It’s a sleek and appealing ‘whip crack away’ seven seater from Korea with an indomitable presence that’s practical, classy, top quality and well equipped inside and outside.
Since its entry into this highly competitive market, competitors have quaked. And with good reason, for you’d be hard-pressed to match the ‘bangs for bucks’ that Kia makes it their business to deliver. At £53,575, the Aspire top spec.7 seat 2.2 diesel is up there with the best for much less – and it’s top quality too.
We all know that the appeal of the SUV is dependent on ultra practicality and versatility. You can go anywhere with anyone in any weather and virtually on any highway short of the Rocky Mountains in one of these because it is no ‘soft-roader’. It has different drive modes for different challenging conditions. Of course, it’s important to evaluate how it performs on-road where it will spend most time. I’m pleased to report that it handles and rides well – steam ‘rollering’ over potholes that would damage your spine in lesser vehicles. It makes light work of traversing our decaying road network.
There’s acres of room for five and their luggage and if you flip up the other two seats from the boot floor, there’s still room for luggage. Put all seats down and you have a veritable pantechnicon. Inside, comfort is as…er…as comfy as comfy can be. There’s even a button that, with a single push, fully reclines the front seats
for that much needed snooze at the end of a long trip.
The name given to this model takes you back to the strains of mandolin music and Dean Martin’s smooth baritone voice. I was caroused in comfort and at the traffic lights the powerful Bose sound system enabled me to drown out the ‘boom boom’ sounds coming from the blacked out hot hatch next to me.
This latest Sorento: an embodiment of everything one could wish for in a seven seat SUV. Here is sunshine under a full sunroof; here is wisdom, gravity and concern; here is beauty; here is practicality, comfort and economy – and here is a seven year warranty. Do you think the likes of Vauxhall, Peugeot, Renault and Landrover would chance a warranty like that? I think not.
