Kia Sorento CRDi KX-3 review

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Kia Sorento 2.2 CRDi KX-3 4WD Road Test

Test date 01 March 2010 Price as tested £30,995

For Smart looks, class-leading performance, space-efficient cabin, economical

Against Overly ambitious price, cheap interior materials, ride could be better

The biggest problem facing this new Kia Sorento could well lie in its name. Because if it rings any bells for anyone at all, it will probably be one of warning. The old Sorento was the kind of beast only its mother would love: a slow, ugly, uncomfortable, hulking off-roader you bought because it represented probably the cheapest way of towing 3.5 tonnes there was.

By the starkest of contrasts, this new Sorento is a thoroughly modern seven-seat SUV styled in a chi-chi California design studio to appeal to those who care as much about how they look as where they go. Kia is quite explicit about the price paid for this approach – it openly admits the new Sorento is nothing like as capable off road as the previous one and that towing capacity has been cut by an entire tonne in manual form– but claims that it has been able to design a car that will appeal to a much broader audience.

On the surface at least, it would appear that Kia has succeeded in this aim. Whether the car underneath those slick surfaces genuinely breaks new ground for the brand is what we are here to find out.

The Sorento is available with petrol or diesel power with prices rising through four equipment grades from £20,495 to a steep-sounding £29,795. But the entry-level car is only available with five seats, front drive and petrol power – a combination not even Kia reckons is going to find many buyers.

You need to spend another two grand to buy the same car with a diesel motor and three rows of seats. Another thousand pounds buys four-wheel drive. Our test car is the flagship KX-3 model, available only with an automatic transmission and priced just £205 short of £30,000.