Pros

• A large number of necessary and optional features
• People in the second and third rows have plenty of legroom.
• Infotainment device that looks good and is easy to use

Cons

• Not as small or cheap as the type before this one.

How do you drive the Sorento? During our test drive, the Sorento’s extra turbocharged engine worked well. This speed is way too fast for a small SUV. We were especially surprised by how quickly it went from 0 to 60 mph in 6.7 seconds and how the power increased as the car went faster. This Sorento is faster than the Volkswagen Tiguan, which is about the same size, and a little bit faster than the Honda Passport, which has a V6 engine. The Sorento is fine getting around other cars or onto roads.

Slowing down in the Sorento is easy because the stop pedal is well-balanced and easy to use. The Sorento stopped from 60 miles per hour at 121 feet, which is shorter than the average for its class. We wish the steering were more exact; how it handles it makes us feel confident.

How comfortable is it inside the Sorento? All three seats are more comfortable than you think for such a small SUV. Our top-of-the-line test car had front seats that could be heated, cooled, and adjusted in many ways. Even though the second-row captain’s chairs were stiff, they were more comfortable and supportive than the bench seats in competing SUVs (a bench seat is standard on lower model levels). Even though they are small and close to the ground, the third-row seats are suitable for sitting. Even though the touch-sensitive buttons don’t work well, the dual-zone temperature control is easy to use.

The ride comfort could be better at slower speeds because vibrations keep coming into the car. At highway speeds, the 20-inch wheels and low-profile tires on the Sorento we tried added to the noise from the road. The Sorento is easy to drive on the highway and makes you feel safe and comfortable.

Can you describe the interior? Despite its compact size, the Sorento comfortably accommodates three persons. There’s more legroom in the backseat of two-row SUVs like the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V. Taller persons won’t have a problem fitting. The third row is spacious enough for adults, though getting there may be a bit of a hassle. The Sorento is otherwise uncomplicated to enter.

The Sorento has several of Kia’s user-friendly features, so even those who aren’t familiar with the brand won’t have any trouble getting around inside. The house’s large windows and open layout make it simple to monitor activities from any room. The additional surround-view camera system allows for high-definition photography, perfect for documenting intricate details in confined spaces.

How good is the tech? Our top-of-the-line test car had a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a Bose audio system with better sound, and a 10.25-inch touchscreen with navigation. Even though the pictures are clear and exciting, some on-screen buttons seem small. The Bose sound system played many different songs but could have been better, and we never found a sweet spot. The speech command system in Sorento is the least impressive technology. It works. There needs to be more adaptability and recognition of everyday language.

Thanks to USB ports and wireless chargers, guests’ tools will always be able to get power. Even though the larger screen doesn’t have WiFi, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility with smartphones are average. The wide range and usefulness of Sorento’s high-tech driver assistance systems are unique. We didn’t get any false alarms or complaints, except for one about a back cross-traffic warning system that was too cautious.

Do you have any plans to put things away? Only 12.6 cubic feet of items, or around five rows of shopping bags, will fit with the third row up. For a compact three-row SUV, this is still enough. The Sorento’s cargo capacity ranges from 38.5 to 45 cubic feet when the third row is folded down, depending on how far the second-row seats are pushed forward. That’s more than the size of two-row compact SUVs like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4.

Another good thing about the Sorento is that it has storage space inside. There are many ways to store items in each of the three rows. The Sorento’s turbocharged engine can pull 3,500 pounds, which is normal.

How well does it use gasoline? The EPA says that our supercharged, all-wheel-drive Sorento gets 24 mpg on the highway. During our mixed-driving test, we got an average of 25.2 mpg. Also, the Sorento doesn’t need expensive fuel because it has a turbocharger. Even though it didn’t get as good gas mileage as the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, the Kia Sorento did better on our test route than the Honda Passport and Subaru Ascent.

What does the Sorento cost? The Kia Sorento is reliable and well-equipped, just like we’ve come to expect from Kia cars. Even though there are some complex plastic parts in the Sorento’s body, the whole vehicle has a high-end look and feel. Even though the higher models may be pricey, the Sorento feels and looks like an excellent deal for the money.

The Kia Sorento comes with a bumper-to-bumper warranty of five years/60,000 miles and an engine warranty of ten years/100,000 miles. After five years and 60,000 miles, roadside assistance has become more frequent.

The Kia Sorento is as fun to drive as a small SUV can be, thanks to its available 2.5-liter turbocharged engine. The Sorento is physically addicting because it has so much power and can quickly get up to speed. Think of the Sorento trip as a miniature version of the well-known Telluride trip.

Since there was always a trade-off, we believed that the old Sorento was being asked to perform tasks that should have been simpler. The 2018 Sorento is a major player in the compact SUV market due to its impressive power and adaptability.

When this article was written, Kia had not made any official comments about the 2024 Sorento. If anything changes, we’ll change our advice, but based on the Sorento from last year, the mid-level S trim is the best deal. The base LX model doesn’t have heated seats or a 10.3-inch tablet, but this model does.

Kia Sorento variants

The Kia Sorento is a small SUV with three rows of seats. It comes in LX, S, EX, SX, and SX Prestige trim levels. You can choose between front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive for the Sorento. There is also a Sorento Hybrid and a Sorento Plug-in Hybrid, and each is reviewed separately.