13/08/10

• Price£26,055
  
• We like...Seven seats; long warranty
• We don't...Not great to drive

The Sorento does everything that a Land Rover Discovery can, costs half as much and has a warranty that lasts more than twice as long. If you need a beefy tow-car that’ll also carry seven occupants when required, it’s bang-on.
Kia’s past as a builder of tough, basic off-roaders – think of the past Sorento or, before that, the Sportage – gets this newcomer off to a good start.

It’s a clean-sheet design, dreamed up in California and moving to an all-in-one chassis where the old Sorento’s body sat atop a separate steel frame. This made it very strong and terrific at towing but also crude and jolty to ride in. The new set-up isn’t as tough but gives the engineers more scope to work on the suspension. It also allows the designers to use the space inside more efficiently.

So that’s how you get seven seats (in all but the cheapest model) where the previous Sorento had five. The extra two come in as third row that drop neatly into the boot floor until needed.

Even though the car is shorter and lower than before, space in the front and mid rows is generous while those sat in the back are reasonably provided for, too. The cabin is plain, solidly made and the inside is nicely kitted out. Our mid-level ‘2’ model had leather seats, alloy wheels, heated front seats, privacy glass and reversing sensors. Some of the plastics used in the cabin look and feel cheap, though.

The cheapest Sorento comes with a 2.4 petrol engine, five seats and two-wheel-drive (which limits what it’ll do once off-road). Otherwise you get a 2.2 diesel motor, seven seats and, once you move beyond the cheapest ‘1’ models, all-wheel-drive comes as part of the deal. As does a transmission ‘lock’ button (that splits the power 50:50 – for when the going gets slippy) and a hill descent control. These, and a generous distance between body and road, means that it’ll do well across a muddy track.

The diesel motor is new and at 2.2-litres is smaller than the old Sorento’s 2.5. But at 194bhp it’s more powerful and has bags more shove, there even from low engine speeds. It’ll win no prizes, though, for lack of noise leaking into the cabin. It’s never noisy but you’re aware of a gruff note as the engine works. And while its 42mpg overall sounds good for a big, heavy vehicle, we couldn’t get within 10mpg of that.

For its size, it’s an easy drive thanks to light steering and well weighted pedals and gearshift although you’ll need those parking sensors to cope with sizeable blind spots when reversing. But the ride is unsettled over pitted surfaces and only really calms at speed, while the steering says too little about what the tyres are up to.

Should you buy one? A (relatively) low price and that super-long warranty make it powerfully tempting. And it’s a useful alternative to the seven-seat MPV you might otherwise consider. Set against that is the fact that it isn’t great to drive and it also loses value quickly from new. It’s a dilemma.

• Engines2.2 diesel
• Power198bhp
• 0-60 mph9.2secs
• Economy42.2mpg
• CO2g/km177mpg
• Insurance groups26
• EuroNCAP
• Airbags6
• Seats7

Motors.co.uk value verdict: