2015 Car Review: Kia Sorento By Larry Nutson
2015 Kia Sorento
A Georgia peach of an SUV
By Larry Nutson
Senior Editor, Chicago Bureau Chief
The Auto Channel
SUVs are the ticket to have, or so it seems, and compact SUVs are even hotter. This year each month about 8000 new vehicle buyers chose Kia’s Sorento. Through October around 84,000 new Sorentos have been sold.
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For 2015, the Sorento is available in four trims, LX, EX, SX and SX Limited. Buyers are offered a choice of an all-aluminum 290 HP 3.3-liter GDI V6, or a more fuel efficient 191 HP 2.4-liter GDI four-cylinder engine. Power is routed to either the front wheels or as an option to all four using an enhanced Torque On Demand all-wheel drive system that directs power to the tire with the most traction and now includes Torque Vectoring Cornering Control (TVCC) for added stability under certain driving conditions.
Regardless of engine or driveline choice, the 2015 Sorento comes standard with a six-speed automatic transmission. Also standard is Electric Motor Driven Power Steering for improved efficiency that also features an available Flex Steer system that offers drivers a choice of three steering modes: Comfort, Normal and Sport.
EPA fuel economy test ratings for the front-drive V6 Sorento are 21 mpg combined, or 4.8 gallons per 100 miles. The EPA city test rating is 18 mpg and the highway test rating is 25 mpg. The 4-cylinder is EPA test rated at 23 mpg combined, and 20 mpg city and 27 mpg highway. A-W-D models suffer by one or two mpg in their EPA test ratings.
Although I didn’t drive the 4-cylinder, given the not very large difference in fuel consumption compared to the V6, I would definitely be a V6 buyer if I carried lots of people and stuff very frequently or lived in hill country.
The 2015 Sorento is priced starting at $24,300 for the 4-cylinder, front drive LX model. The top of the line SX-L with the V6 and AWD rings up at $41,700.
I spent a week behind the wheel of a V6 powered SX-L with front wheel drive and seating for seven. The base MSRP on this vehicle was $39,900, and then there’s the $895 freight and handling charge. By the way, the Sorento can be had as a 5-seater or a 7-seater.
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I can see the Sorento fitting well into a four-person household that once and a while needs to car-pool neighborhood young ones to sports practice or class field trip.
Kia does a nice job of including what you might consider to be luxury features. The Sorento has one of my favorite big-city features, that is, power-fold outside mirrors as an option. Another nice-to-have big-city feature is a rear view camera and rear park sensors that will save from rear fascia dings. Also offered are heated and ventilated front seats, heated second row outboard seats, heated and leather wrapped steering wheel, and dual zone climate control and rear air conditioning.
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If you would like to compare the Kia Sorento to other compact or midsize SUVs, you can do that right here on www.theautochannel.com. If you would like more information and detailed specifications and to view all the standard features as well as options on the entire 2015 Kia Sorento model line they can be found a mouse click away at www.kia.com.
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The Sorento is built in the United States at Kia’s assembly plant in Georgia, the Peach State.
Kia recently announced that they will debut the all-new 2016 Sorento CUV at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show. They say its been redesigned inside and out. Also, the 2016 Sorento will be larger than the previous generation and still offer up to three rows of seating. It will be available in L, LX, EX, SX and SXL trim levels. Stay tuned here for The Auto Channel's LA Auto Show Press Pass Coverage, where you can read our teams impressions and watch the complete 2016 Kia Sorento Press Presentation, but first here is a preview of the third gen Sorento from KIA.
© Larry Nutson