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2014 Kia Sorento First Impressions

2014 Kia Sorento
Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre
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Mathieu St-Pierre
Upping the ante
Scottsdale, AZ -- The SUV still rings in as a vehicle of choice for countless families in North America. Although nearly all of them are CUVs and/or car-based, their rugged looks and tall stance still position them high on the “want” list of many shoppers.

With competition being what it is, three years without any significant changes can harm what is otherwise a very good product. The Kia Sorento was good, and now Kia have gone and made it better. The order of the day in West Point, Georgia -- where the Sorento is assembled -- was to “sophisticate” the value of the product.

That, they did. And mighty well, I should add.

You might not be able to tell by staring at it, but the 2014 Kia Sorento is over 80% new or bettered. I will touch on a number of the improvements made to the vehicle, but the one thing that remains true for the Sorento is that it is a safe, family friendly vehicle as demonstrated by Kia’s recent Super Bowl ad. That, and the fact that this Kia is not a bottom-feeding automobile; it features all the latest technology one could want.

The nitty-gritty
If it was possible to remove all the sheetmetal from a 2013 and 2014 Kia Sorento, line them up side-by-side and eliminate all tags, most of us would be hard-pressed to say that they are the “same” vehicle. This is in large part explained by the fact that an all-new 18% stiffer chassis now serves as the building block of the new Sorento. In fact, the new Sorento uses the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe’s architecture.

What does it all mean? The 2014 Kia Sorento rides better than it ever has, better in fact than the majority of its competitors. The suspension serves up a clean and well-judged dose of comfort and poise to make the Sorento quite at home on twisty mountainous roads.

Throw in the 2014 Kia Sorento’s standard new Electric Motor Driven Power Steering, which has a great impact on steering feel and precision, and my point is further supported. Also -- and like its Hyundai brethren -- FlexSteer (three modes: Comfort, Normal and Sport) is now available. My feelings here are that, although cool, it’s pointless.

The punch line
And now, to the heart of the matter: The 2014 Kia Sorento gains gusto over the 2013 CUV. The real news is the 290 hp 3.3L GDI V6 which also produces 252 lb-ft of torque. This is the same powerplant now featured in the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe, the one with three-row seating.

The other beating heart is the return of the 191 hp 2.4L GDI 4-cylinder engine. Both are still joined by a 6-speed automatic transmission and either front wheel drive or Torque On Demand all-wheel drive.

The 4-pot is the proverbial go-to choice as it provides all of the necessary punch. The new 3.3L V6 is the real catch. It is smooth, quiet and generates a good dose of low-end torque. It is not blisteringly powerful, as one could imagine, especially when compared with Hyundai’s turbocharged 2.0T 4-cylinder.

The Hyundai’s 2.0T does suffer from some low-end lag and a higher-than-desirable thirst for fuel. So far, fuel mileage penalties -- if there are any for the 3.3L over the outgoing 3.5L V6 -- have not yet been made available.

Kia’s luxury CUV?
The right ingredients always make everything taste better. It’s as though the new platform has infused some of its “goodness” into the vehicle. The 2014 Kia Sorento feels solid, as though carved from a single piece of high-strength steel.

Noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) are all but eradicated, and this endows the Sorento with a luxurious sense of quality. This feeling is further enhanced by a new, elegant dash and centre stack which is made of soft-touch material, top-grain leather and other fine-looking material appliqués.

The 2014 Kia Sorento’s onboard ambiance is not a coincidence. Depending on trim, the number and nature of available convenience features and technologies is enough to make a number of luxury car manufacturers blush: heated and cooled front seats; a second-row heated bench; Bluetooth; a reverse camera; navigation with 8” LCD touch-sensitive display; and so on and so forth are all for the taking.

For the looks and the space
Again, the new platform’s advantages are obvious. The overall length increase adds extra second and third row legroom and the new rear suspension’s compact design allows for a slightly larger trunk. Up front, although the seats are short on support and padding, all other manners of space abound.

The revised exterior styling is underwhelming at first, but if you take the time to go through the gallery, you’ll immediately notice that the revised front and rear fascia, and new wheels, make a world of difference -- and a good one at that. The light-bar LEDs included with the top-line SX are especially cool.

The 2014 Kia Sorento’s price has not yet been announced, but expect it to be in the $26,000 (LX 2.4L FWD) to $42,000 (SX) range.

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    2014 Kia Sorento
    kia sorento 2014
    2014 Kia Sorento
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    Mathieu St-Pierre
    Mathieu St-Pierre
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