Kia Sorento 2024 review

For the moment, only the 3.5-litre petrol V6 and 2.2-litre turbo diesel grades are on sale. The hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants are coming, but not until the second quarter of the year, according to Kia.

Kia has carried over the same model grades as before, meaning you can get the petrol and diesel in S, Sport, Sport+ and GT-Line guise.

Unsurprisingly, Kia has upped pricing across the range for the updated Sorento, and it’s increased by about $3000 and $3500, depending on the grade. 

Pricing starts at $50,680 before on-road costs for the entry-level front-wheel-drive petrol S, and it tops out at $68,590 for the GT-Line all-wheel-drive diesel. A diesel is $3000 more expensive than its petrol equivalent. Pricing has not been confirmed for the hybrids yet.

Kia has upped pricing across the range for the updated Sorento. (GT-Line variant pictured)

The Sorento has fewer direct seven-seat monocoque SUV rivals since Mazda dropped the popular CX-9 and CX-8 from its line-up last year, so the main two competitors are the Toyota Kluger and the related Hyundai Santa Fe.

The updated Sorento is now pricier than the Hyundai - although a new-gen Santa Fe is coming before mid-year - and on par with some of the Kluger grades.

New Sorento features include over-the-air updates for sat nav maps and more, Kia Connect which uses an app that allows you to remotely start, lock or unlock the car, as well as perform a number of other tasks, new driver assistance features and a pair of new colours - Volcanic Sand Brown and Cityscape Green.

The flagship Sorento tops out at $68,590. (GT-Line variant pictured)

From the base grade up standard gear in the Sorento includes 17-inch alloy wheels, a 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen, digital radio, USB ports, a seven-speaker audio system and, finally, it gets wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto across the range. The fleet-friendly base grade also now gets a push-button start, so no more using a key to start it.

Naturally, each grade adds more and more features, and the GT-Line gets the most gear. It features a heated steering wheel, quilted Nappa leather-appointed seats, mood lighting, heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear outboard seats, head-up display, premium sound system, sun shades, wireless charger and a digital rearview mirror. 

The base grade could do with more gear as the features list feels quite stripped out, but overall the Sorento offers solid value for money.

Aside from the dash, console and tech updates, the Sorento cabin is just as practical as it was before the facelift.

That means decent space across the front row, with comfortable seats on all grades. The lower grades get cloth, while the Sport+ gets leather-appointed upholstery and the GT-Line features the lovely quilted Nappa leather. 

We only drove the Sport+ and GT-Line grades at the launch, but seats in both are well bolstered and comfortable.

Storage-wise, the glovebox is small but it makes up for it with a sizeable central bin. Note that large bottle may not fit in the door cavity, but smaller bottles will be fine. There are plenty of nooks in the console to store and hide smaller items, too.

The Sorento cabin is just as practical as it was before the facelift. (GT-Line variant pictured)

The steering wheel looks and feels nice and those controls are easy to read.

The updated multimedia setup is very modern and while it may take some familiarisation, the menu is logically structured and you can swipe between screens. In the GT-Line, the fully digital instrument display is customisable.

Kia has added a couple of cool features to the facelift. While the base S gets manual air conditioning, all other grades have dual-zone digital controls in the redesigned centre stack. This display doubles as menu buttons for the multimedia, so you can just toggle between the air-con and multimedia controls with the tap of a button. Clever.

The other new feature I am a fan of is a quick link of sorts to the vehicle settings. So the pre-update model - and many other Kia and Hyundai models including Seltos and Palisade - there is an audible speed limit alert function that, annoyingly, activates if you’re just one or two kilometres over the limit. It does this using the speed limit detection, which is not always accurate. 

The Sorento's seats are well bolstered and comfortable. (GT-Line variant pictured)

I have written about this before because the system is more distracting to the driver and should just be a visual warning, not visual AND audio. Read about it here.

Anyway, to turn the system off you previously had to dig into the multimedia menu to find the vehicle settings and then dig further to turn it off. And if you’re like me, you’d turn it off every time you get in the car. It was about five or six steps to do this.

Now there is a handy little star button on the steering wheel that directs you to the driver assist section of the vehicle settings and you can switch it off much faster. Thank you for listening, Kia.

The Kia’s second row has sliding and reclining 60/40 split fold seats, and while the pew is on the firm side, it’s not uncomfortable. Amenities include an armrest with cupholders, USB-C ports housed on the front seat backs, a 12-volt outlet, map pockets, more cupholders in the door-mounted armrest and room for small bottles in the doors.

The Kia’s second row has access to USB-C ports housed on the front seat backs. (GT-Line variant pictured)

To access the third row, just tap the button on the side of the outboard seats and it will fold automatically. Thankfully you don’t need to fold yourself in half to get into the third row.

Once back there, space is tight for a lanky six-foot-one man like me, but it will be fine for kids on occasional trips. They have access to a phone holder, cup holder, USB-C ports, a 12-volt port, air vents on both sides and rear air-con controls on the driver's side. 

I have previously sat in the third row of both the Sorento and the Toyota Kluger, and found the Kia had more amenities, and was a much nicer space than the Kluger.

Open the power tailgate and you’ll find a decent amount of space. With 179 litres (all seats in place), 608L (third row stowed) and 1996L (both rear rows stowed), the Sorento has less space than the Kluger with all seats up, but the Sorento beats it when you drop that rear row.

Also, the second and third row fold flat, which is very handy for loading in big items. 

The Sorento has a full-size alloy spare wheel across all petrol and diesel grades.

Until the hybrid grades arrive, the Sorento carries over its petrol and diesel engines.

That means a 3.5-litre V6 pumping out 200 kilowatts of power and 332 Newton metres of torque. This powertrain drives the front wheels only via an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The other option for now is Kia’s 2.2-litre turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine delivering 148kW/440Nm, and this is the punchier powertrain. The diesel is all-wheel drive and uses an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Kia has made no changes to the engines for this facelift, but meaningful changes have been made by Kia’s local tuning program to improve ride and handling.

The punchier powertrain features a 2.2-litre turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine. (GT-Line variant pictured)

The V6 petrol Sorento is thirsty, consuming an average of 9.8 litres per 100 kilometres on the combined cycle - a fair bit more than the Kluger four-cylinder petrol’s 8.5L figure.

The diesel sips 6.0L/100km, making it the efficiency winner - at least until those hybrids arrive.

The facelifted 2024 Sorento carries over the five-star ANCAP crash safety rating it was awarded in 2020.

The update ushers in new safety tech, specifically Highway Driving Assist in all grades except the base S. It essentially combines the adaptive cruise with stop and go and lane-following assist for freeway driving only.

Note that the curtain airbags do not stretch to cover the third seating row but the Sorento does have a front centre airbag.

Generally the Sorento has a solid standard safety features list on all grades and it includes a safe exit warning, auto emergency braking with a forward collision warning and vehicle, pedestrian, cyclist and junction detection, lane-keep assist, lane-follow assist, blind-spot collision assist, adaptive cruise control, rear cross-traffic alert, a driver attention alert and a rear occupant alert.

The Sorento's update ushers in new safety tech. (GT-Line variant pictured)