Passenger Reviews: 2016 KIA Sorento 2.2 CRDi (EU) Automatic

KIA Sorento is a premium crossover or a SUV (depending on what your definitions for these cars are), which offers the high quality of Germans for typical Korean money (High tech for low price). Sorento has been around for a long time -  12 years, in fact. The first generation was a great success for the brand and helped the brand to enter the then-unknown segment - the SUV market. It was first sold in Korea and USA, but after about a year  of the car's release, Sorento was being sold in Europe as well, gaining popularity. Second generation brought massive changes to the car designwise and tech-wise as well. The engine was revised and no longer had body-on-frame construction but an unibody construction, which meant that driving dynamics and cornering abilities were improved, same with the ride quality. One thing missing about the car was luxury and premium feel. The cabins of first 2 generations lacked a certain, but unexplainable feeling of lack of exclusiveness. Maybe it was the badge. Or the design of the interior. Or both.

However, this third generation is on sale now and according to my personal experince withe the car? My oh my. What a HUGE improvement.

2016 model looks much more elegant and more dynamic
than its predecessors.

The second generation was much
 more upscale than its predecessor.

The first Generation of KIA Sorento(2003-2009)

My "tester" had a 2,2 liter CRDi Diesel engine, producing 200 horsepower and 441 Nm of torque and a single-clutch 6-speed Automatic gearbox, which I will return to later.

First Impressions/Looks - "Is THAT a KIA?"

OH YEEEEEAAAAAAH

The new headlight feature Daytime Running Lights.
The new Tiger nose grill gives the car a typical, but new KIA look.

The LED lights make the car look premium.

Upon arrival of the new Sorento driven by my friend's father, I felt an unexplainable pride pumping in my heart - I never knew Korean cars would be so classy. And pretty. And Majestic.  The almost looks like German.  And that is a high praise.
When the car arrived, I was overwhelmed by the massiveness of the car.

Compared to the second generation, the car looks much more premium and luxurious and its brand new tiger-nose grill make it look aggressive, but classy at the same time (classy?).

Car looks huge, almost as big as a Mercedes GL-Class. The new headlights equipped with daily running LED lights complete the awesome look of the car.

Moving onto the side of the car, long, calm lines add more class and lack of plastics on the sides (unlike the previous generations) give the car a sleek, modern look. 

Rear of the car in my opinion is also nicely executed with rear LED lights. It is a classy looking car. I would say, that this car might be prettier than most Japanese cars such as Mazda, Toyota and Nissan. One small flaw I felt when looking at the car was that the rear part of the car looks  a bit dull compared to the front, but that is my personal opinion. But I have to admit that I am a huge fan of those lights.

Interior

The combination of polished aluminium and piano black
 give the interior a modern and premium look.

When entering the cabin of this car, you notice the massive improvement in interior quality and design. It looks very upscale and the Piano black finish on our car made the inside of the car feel just as elegant as the exterior. 

The steering wheel is nice and sturdy, compact enough to be able to maneuver in towns, but not too small to be too fidgety(?). Even the shape of the wheel is great. Buttons on the steering wheel aren't too distracting and every button and leather panel feels amazingly premium.

One of the best interiors to ever roll out of South Korea.

The dashboard and instrument panel is also new - It is a TFT Display, which shows the Speedometer in the middle and rev-meter on the left and gauges on the right. The graphics of the central display is very clean. It is easy to read and isn't hectic - shows what is really needed for the driver. It even shows the speed limit from the signs on the road! When stopped, a screen pops up and shows that Stop-Start system was engaged and for how long you are without the engine running, which is pretty neat.

The central navigation display is very good indeed. The graphics are clear and easy to read, map is clear and it is very easy to use. We put the satellite navigation in a test, when we were lost in Pezinok, Slovakia while searching for a restaurant (which turned out to be in Senec - 15 km away).  The satellite navigation was very easy to use and helped us to get out of a maze we were stuck in for an hour.

Climate control buttons are cleverly laid out and aren't distracting to use. Plus, the lights aren't too bright, which is great for night driving.
Materials used gave out a very high quality feel, and every button I touched or a dial I turned gave me a satisfying feel of exclusivity. Leather seats in the car were absolutely amazing. I am 172 cm tall and I had so much headroom even with my snapback on, and the legroom is big enough even for a clown with his big shoes. During my journey, my buttocks were being cooled by the ventilation system of the seats, which was very pleasant to use. If you get cold easily, the seat heating will do its job flawlessly.

Rear seats were very comfortable as well, with amazing amount of headroom as well as legroom. Seats are nice and wide and thanks to that, you can seat 3 adults in high comfort, although 2 people would be the preferred choice of travel.
Speaking of space, the boot / luggage space / trunk is gigantic - it can swallow up to 605 liters of luggage. CRAZY.

Happy rear passengers. (My sister and my friend).
Notice the MASSIVE headroom.

Driving Dynamics

Off we go!

As we were leaving my house and step on the throttle, I felt a big push into the seats when flooring. The 2,2 liter diesel pulls very smoothly and torque is delivered effortlessly. 

Acceleration isn't the best, but for a family SUV, it is swift, but not fast nor quick.  0 to 100 takes 9,6 seconds, and can reach the top speed of 200 km/h.  The engine produces 200 refined Korean horsepower and 440 Nm of torque. The low-down torque of the turbo diesel is more than enough for everyday driving in towns or highway drives.  

The single-clutch 6-speeder shifts fairly quickly and is extremely smooth. As we were accelerating, the car didn't even flinch when gear was shifted. The transmission of this car got rid of the big issue of past automatics; the indecisive gearbox. In the past, Korean auto gearboxes were very slow and indecisive, when kicked down and in corners. However, this new 'box handles the driving of this over-2-tonnes car like it is nothing. When driving fast it keeps the revs up, but when driving calm, slowly in the cities or highways, keeps the revs nice and low, helping the fuel economy.

When we entered the highway of Bratislava famous for its terrible surface and bumps, the Sorento absorbed the bumps and shakes without problems. The cabin was also very quiet, almost no noise was coming into the cabin except some tire roar and the sound of air passing over the car.  The creamy ride quality is also a huge plus. In towns, car was calm and didn't hop about. On the winding country roads the car was willing to turn into corners, however I felt like the car didn't enjoy being thrown around into corners too much. The car is made for refined rides and not circuit time attacks. Sure, the car can take a lot of beating, but still. Calm drives are the best for this car.

Technology-wise, the car is full of it. It features Lane Departure Warning System, Adaptive Cruise Control, Road Sign reading system, Parking assist and it can PARK ITSELF (from what I heard).  You can also choose from 3 driving modes - Sport, Comfort/Normal and Eco. In my opinion, the modes do not influence the car as much as I would hope to and expected to.  What they do is that they change the steering feel and throttle response.

Price & Fuel Economy

When driving on a highway, country roads, town centers, and we were changing the pace all the time. On the highways, we averaged between 6 to 7,6 liters per 100 kilometers, and bear in mind, that we gave the car some punches on the highway as well. In the city, we were driving within the speed limits and averaged around 7,9 to 8,5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers, which isn't bad at all, if we take into account that this car weight around 2 tonnes.

The car's price starts around 38,000 Euros, which is around 3 - 4,000 Euros more than the outgoing model.  However, every penny is worth it. There are so many improvements, why you should buy this car. The comfort is amazing, space is huge and compared to its rivals, it is cheaper. You also pay for extremely good value for what you get. the technology and comfort with that price is great in my opinion. Sure, KIA is also joining the trend of making their cars more expensive, but in my opinion, that just proves that extra bit of more money is so worth the purchase. Plus, you get a 7 year warranty - you don't see that so often, do you?

In the end, this car is a huge leap forward for this brand. It has joined a new market and made the Germans uncomfortable with its value and technology with good looks. This car also proves how much has the brand expanded and advanced in every way - design, materials, technology.  It is one of my top picks for a family car and I would recommend this car to every family out there to at least test drive this car. Luxury and Comfort, for a good old Korean price? Yes Please!