2024 Kia Sorento review: Australian first drive

Model on test: GT-Line diesel AWD

Kia is absolutely sauntering right now, buoyed by a series of well-received new cars.

After the fillip from the Wheels COTY-winning EV6 and the excellent seven-seat EV9, the Korean giant has turned its attention to one of its volume favourites.

Late last year we tested the run-out version of its Sorento seven-seat SUV in a group test and it put some comprehensive manners on the rest of the bunch.

As such, there must be an element of hearts sinking into boots amid rival manufacturers as Kia whips the wraps off its Sorento PE. That's 'Product Enhancement' in Kia-speak, but most of us would call it a mid-life facelift.

Before we wade into what's changed, it's perhaps worth positioning the Sorento within Kia's huge and growing range of SUVs.

The Korean marque's rapid push to electrification is well documented, with the EV6 and newly arrived EV9 spearheading the charge. Following later this year will be the baby Russian doll version of the EV9, in the Minecraft-rendered shape of the EV5.

But, let's face it, not everyone's after an EV, and Kia will still sell you (in ascending size) a Stonic, a Seltos, a Sportage or a Sorento. The seven-seat Sorento MQ4 generation only debuted in 2020, so it's about due for a facelift.

Still, maybe it's a case of ask and you shall receive. In our sub-$80k large SUV comparison, the Sorento didn't turn in a faultless performance.

As Dylan Campbell noted, “an abundance of black gives it a dark vibe, while its 10.25-inch infotainment display now seems a bit small for the richest grade. The menu graphics look a bit last-decade and the lack of USB-C outlets further betray its age – as does wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.”

Kia fixed all of that in this latest update to the Sorento and had it left the changes to that, it would, in all likelihood, have been enough to see this version of the car into its dotage at or near the top of the class. Unwilling to gamble on near or near enough, Kia went further. Quite considerably further.

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What hasn't changed are the basic bones of the vehicle. Or indeed, what you'll find beneath the bonnets.

The 3.5-litre petrol front-wheel drive variant and the all-wheel drive 2.2-litre diesel model provides the power for the vast majority of Sorento customers and these come in four trim grades: S, Sport, Sport+ and GT-Line, the latter of which mops up over 30 percent of all sales. Kia expects the diesel engines to account for fully 80 percent of all Sorento registrations. So much for diesel being on the skids.

On top of that, there are hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of the Sorento also offered – albeit solely in GT-Line trim – and they'll be arriving on our shores later in 2024, so we'll set those electrified models aside for the purposes of this review.

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For 2024, Kia has targeted five key areas

It clearly needed to refresh the interior design, but it has also updated the exterior detailing to distinguish it from its predecessor, it has included additional comfort and convenience features, it has boosted safety and it has also improved the vehicle dynamics.

The styling changes are possibly the only real area of contention. The pre-facelift Sorento was an undoubted looker but, to me, the preoccupation with grafting elements of the EV9's front end onto the Sorento has given it a pinched, squinty front end that's neither one thing nor the other.

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Left: 2024 Kia Sorento, Right: 2023 Kia Sorento | Wheels Media

The 'face' of the car has vanished, and the previously rather svelte Peter Schreyer tiger-nose grille has enlarged to a bit of a bottom-feeder maw.

The rear end treatment is a good deal slicker, with neater rear lamps and a more rugged look to the bumper assembly and skid plate.

Two new paint finishes, Volcanic Sand Brown and Cityscape Green, have been added to the colour palette, bringing the exterior colour choices to a total of nine.

Unfortunately there's only one no-cost paint finish, Clear White. You'll have to pay extra for Snow White Pearl, Mineral Blue, Steel Grey, Gravity Blue, Silky Grey and Aurora Black Pearl.

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Left: 2024 Kia Sorento, Right: 2023 Kia Sorento | Photo: Mike Stevens

Jump inside the cabin and the updates are considerably more cohesive.

Much of the design influence hails from the EV6, with that car's integrated curved display being introduced to first the Sportage and now the Sorento.

It not only comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, at last, but also features Kia's latest iteration of the Connected Car Navigation Cockpit. As in the EV9, the latest Kia Connect system is installed, with its capability to receive over the air software updates.

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Above: The 2024 Sorento's dash, below: The 2020-2023 design

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Kia Connect also includes some neat features like a valet mode that allows the user to monitor where and how the car's being used, it can lock and unlock the vehicle beyond the range of a traditional key fob, can precondition the cockpit temperature and defrost the car and will adopt the driver's last preferred settings upon system start.

Models from Sport+ upwards can also open the windows if required to vent hot air as you approach.

The GT-Line gets a 4.3-inch instrument cluster, and a huge 12.3-inch display with moveable icons, the performance boosted by a new chipset. There's a capacitive touch control to switch between HVAC and infotainment. This is activated quite cryptically via a long press on a toggle switch.

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2024 Kia Sorento Sport+ instrument display

Models below GT-Line get a smaller 4-inch digital cluster (above), and it pays to inspect the spec sheet quite closely – because Kia's been pretty clever with the trim walkup. Lower grade models miss out on some key pieces of kit, like in-built navigation.

There's a new and improved head-up display that now shows the turn-by-turn instructions from Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as well as Kia's native nav. Like many such systems it disappears if you slip on a pair of polarised sunglasses.

There's also a digital centre mirror that delivers a clearer and crisper image at night or in adverse weather. It's also a boon if you've got a tall rear passenger in the middle seat or if you've loaded the Sorento to the gunwales.

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2024 Kia Sorento GT-Line

The GT-Line also features a new ambient lighting system. This illuminates the shifter, with more generous spread across the dash, and can be linked to the drive modes.

A 12-speaker Bose stereo is also a standard fit on trims from Sport+ up. The old T-bar shifter is no more, with a rotary gear shift dial now marshalling the eight-speed auto and creating a slicker look in the cabin. It even features a haptic response to let you know when you've shifted into reverse. Push button start and remote start are standard across the range.

Other equipment upgrades? Expect second row sunshades from Sport+ up and privacy glass from Sport. USB-C charging features throughout, replacing the old USB-A sockets for quicker charging and you'll never have the old USB 50/50 lottery of plugging the cable in upside down.

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Safety gear is also upgraded

All models get AEB Junction Turn and the audible overspeed alert (3db quieter now) introduced in 2022, but it's now easier to revert to the silent, visual information mode.

Models from Sport up also get Highway Driving Assist(HDA). This is an adaptive cruise control system with stop and go functionality that also packages a much-improved Land Following Assist system.

Nervous in shopping centre car parks? Go for the GT-Line and you'll have the assistance of Parking Distance Warning which now features side alerts as well as the previous front and rear zones. Despite the changes to the front bumper and grille design, ANCAP Has pledged to carry across the MQ4 Sorento's existing 5-star safety rating.

2024 Kia Sorento boot space

The Kia Sorento has a 179-litre boot with all seven seats in place, rising to 608 litres with five seats up and 1996L with both the third and second rows folded.

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Click above to see the rear space in other configurations

How does it drive?

Kia's chassis guru Graeme Gambold has, somewhat unexpectedly, blown the overtime budget on improving the ride and handling of this latest Sorento.

When we tested it last year, we found it agile and unexpectedly lively at the rear. This model features the same springs and stabiliser bars as its predecessor, but there have been some big changes in how the car is damped. Lessons learned in the development of the EV6 have been utilised here, with the Sorento now getting expensive ZF Sachs SDC3 dampers.

These feature ZF Sachs' latest valve tech, and feature three separate valves and includes a special pocket valve designed especially for the Sorento. In other words, these shocks are even more capable than those fitted to the EV6 and further differentiates body control from ride comfort.

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The biggest improvement is in secondary ride: the high-frequency nervousness that can afflict large vehicles on poor surfaces.

On typically poor Victorian country roads, this generation Sorento feels noticeably better damped than its predecessor and there's an added benefit that there's less noise, vibration and harshness transmitted into the passenger cell. As a side note, with the prior MQ4 Sportage, the petrol and diesel versions were treated to local chassis tuning whereas the hybrid models weren't. That'll change with this update.

If you're an existing Sorento owner, you'll also notice that the steering will feel different. That's because this generation car has been treated to a revision of the electrically-assisted power steering. It still features a rack-mounted motor, but all of the software, including the firmware, the algorithm base and the steering maps are new. I'm a little less convinced about this particular update.

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Yes, the steering feels slicker and quieter, turning in a little more keenly just off-centre, but it seems a little more mute than before, with an oddly artificial feel.

Having said that, it's probably one of those things you'd notice in the first 24 hours with the Sorento and then never register again once you'd become accustomed to it. Kia has recently finalised the towing ratings for the new Sorento and reports that it comes to market with a 2.0-tonne braked towing figure.

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2024 Kia Sorento pricing

One of the key factors that got the original MQ4 Sorento across the line in our sub-$80K SUV test last year was its pricing.

This latest update typically tacks around $3500 model for model on top of its predecessor. Its pricing will undoubtedly dent the value proposition a little, but even if this updated Sorento were pitched into that comparison again, it'd still be markedly the most affordable vehicle.

It's even a little easier to get hold of one now.

Kia was plagued by some severe supply issues in 2023, and was punished with order cancellation rates of around 20 percent from private buyers as a result, but the wait time for the new Sorento is estimated at between three and four months.

Kia's local boss Damien Meredith doesn't believe the cost of living issue will knock sales. “There's a resilience in the Australian economy that we always underestimate,” he says.

“I'm confident in the economy, confident in the market and confident of what we're getting into. We're very happy with finishing fourth [by marque in local sales] but that's historic data. We're firmly focused on what we need to do in 2024.”

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Warranty and servicing

The Kia Sorento is covered by a seven-year / unlimited-kilometre warranty.

Service costs and schedules differ depending on the powertrain you choose, but all are covered by seven years of capped-price servicing. The turbo-diesel and petrol V6 Sorentos require servicing every 12 months/15,000km.

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VERDICT

In making a proven class winner even better, Kia should be congratulated. The changes wrought here are more than enough to carry the Sorento MQ4 safely and serenely into its eventual runout.

What's more, it's hard to see anything coming in the short term that'll dethrone it for families looking for a safe, competitively priced, reliable seven-seat road-biased SUV. Job done.

Specs