Video: 2024 Kia Sorento Review: There Isn't Only 1 Highlander

But the big question is, is the Kia Sorento still a solid alternative to the Toyota Highlander? Let's find out. Most of the updated looks are relegated to the front end where you get this flatter hood and more upright vertical elements in the headlights that evoke the Telluride, but the rest of the Sorentos lines are still very much a Sorento, and this is the SX Prestige X line, which gets a lot of black accents, sort of almost off roadie things. It's not the full X-Pro, but you get these black wheels, more black accent as you come along the side. The rest of the lines are still very much the Sorento. That hasn't changed. And overall, in this jungle green, I think it's a very handsome package. Standard power in the Sorento for the LX and S models is a 2.5 liter four cylinder that makes 191 horsepower and 181 pounds feet of torque. That gets paired to a traditional eight speed automatic and is available with either front wheel or all wheel drive. What you really want though in the Sorento is what's under the hood here, the turbocharged version of that 2.5 liter four cylinder, you get 281 horsepower, 311 pounds feet of torque. It's a lot quicker, feels a lot better. You also get an eight-speed dual clutch automatic, and again, that is available with front or all wheel drive. X line and X-Pro models get all wheel drive as standard. The driving experience is mostly good. It's very comfortable. This is a larger SUV, a little bit bigger than your CRVs and RAV4s. Lots of body control. For the most part, I did find that over very broken pavement, the chassis can get a little upset and it just sort of undulates. Can be a little uncomfortable, but for the most part, very comfortable driving. The turbo 2.5 doesn't completely turn it into a hot rod. You do get a lot more power. It's a lot more responsive as well. Fuel economy, not the best, but actually, not that bad for what we're comparing this to. The sort of benchmark here is the Toyota Highlander. Fuel economy with a 2.5 turbo is 23 miles per gallon combined, which is one mile per gallon worse than the traditional Highlander with a gas engine, which has 24 miles per gallon combined ratings, and one mile per gallon better than the Grand Highlander with a gas engine at 22 miles per gallon combined, so right smack in the middle. If you want more fuel economy, you can go for models with the non-turbo four cylinder. That gets you 26 miles per gallon combined. If you do want more fuel economy and the Sorento packaging, both hybrid and plugin hybrid versions are available, and for 2025, those get the same model updates that the 2024 gas-powered Sorento got. Probably, my biggest pet peeve with the Sorento are the brakes. They're just very, very grabby at low speeds, and it can make it hard to modulate. It took some time to get used to. If you step on them a little bit too quickly, kind of come up short and then you have to let off and then step on them again to come to a complete stop. So not ideal. I would excuse it more if this were a performance car, but this is a family SUV. I just want very easy to modulate brakes, and you don't always get that here. It works better at higher speeds. You get more linear force, but at very low speeds, like right now when we're driving around a city, it can be a bit of a pain. I like the steering feel in the Sorento. It's not too heavy. It's not too light either. It's right in the middle of where a family SUV like this should be. I did find that at higher speeds, especially once the chassis got a little unbalanced, it could feel a little twitchy, like I was constantly sawing at it to correct, but right now, I'm not doing that. So if that's something you don't want at all in your vehicle, test drive it on roads you drive often and see if that's going to be an issue. Otherwise, you should be just fine. The Sorento also has one of my favorite features in any car, which is the blind spot camera. Works on both sides when you turn on the turn signal. Gives you a great view out the side. Really helps you feel safer and more confident when you're driving. Not a substitute for checking your mirrors, but it is a really nice-to-have feature. Inside the Sorento, up front is very comfortable. We have sage leather in this model. It's one of the few options available at this trim level. I think it looks great. It does read a little gray and less sage to me, but overall, looks good. The new touchscreen display, 12.3 inches now with wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto connectivity. That's a welcome thing as well. We've been waiting for Kia to do that for a while. Glad it's here in the Sorento. The control layout is pretty good overall. I wish these weren't as touch sensitive as they are. Like most new Kias, the Sorento has the touch sensitive panel of climate and audio controls that switches between the two. Currently, we're in primarily audio and map controls. But if you want climate, you just go ahead and switch that. Now we're in the full climate screen. These knobs, instead of controlling volume and so on control temperature, you can control fan speed whether or not the dual zone climate control is synced. It's not my favorite. I would prefer dedicated physical controls for both. I know I sound like a broken record and I'm being particular, but that's just the way I feel. It's much more convenient when everything's dedicated to one function. You do get this really, really good USB setup. It's one of my favorites in any car where you can connect and either do data and charging, just charge-only. There's another charger-only port, and this has wireless device charging as well. Down here, you have a push button for the center locking differential for the all wheel drive system. You're probably not gonna need that in a Sorento too often, but it is a nice-to-have feature. The outside of this controls the drive modes. You have five - normal, snow, smart, sport and eco. More controls behind that. The only real control issue I have, it's kind of a quirk, are these controls for the heated and ventilated front seats. It's just sort of an odd position, but it works fine. You get lots of nice little storage cubbies up front, and then a decently-sized center console bin as well. Materials quality is very nice sort of above waist level. Below that, things start to get plasticy, but at this price point, this is a very nicely appointed interior. Now, let's check out the second row. The second row of the Sorento is very comfortable. This version has captain's chairs. Some Sorentos are also available with a three seat bench. I have plenty of leg room, plenty of shoulder room. Headroom is a little bit tight because of this expansive panoramic moonroof, but I still have plenty at six foot one. Materials quality kind of dips a little bit more in the second row. That's to be expected, but it's still rather nice. You get some nice features like these integrated sunshades in the windows. USB ports are actually located on the sides of the backs of the front seats, but you still have access to them in the second row. You get climate vents. No climate controls, unfortunately, but at least you do have your own vents. The captain's chairs also tilt and slide so you can adjust them for your comfort depending on if there's a third row passenger, or you can tilt and slide them to access the third row, which we'll check out in just a moment. As I mentioned, the second row captain's chairs tilt and slide to give you access to the third row. Just one little button there, push 'em forward. Space is not great to get in, especially for someone of my size. And then as we sit back here, one thing will stand out right away, and that's that my knees are pretty much at my chest. You do have storage bins, cup holders, USB ports. This is a great place for children and adults you don't like, but if we put this seat back as well, leg room starts to become a problem. If this seat were slid all the way back, there's still a little bit of space here right now. Also, the third row does impact rear visibility with the headrests up, but this is a nice-to-have feature, especially if you have captain's chairs in the second row and you wanna transport more than three other people, you're gonna need this third row. With captain's chairs in the Sorento, you do have the option of climbing in through the back door and then coming around through the middle of the two seats to get to the third row. But with this raised floor here, you really have to hunch down. Again, not great for adults, but probably a little bit easier for children. The third row also impacts the cargo area, which we'll check out now. Cargo room is impacted by the third row when it's upright, but you can easily fold that down. And then if you need even more storage space, you have controls in the cargo area to powerful down the second row as well. Pricing for the 2024 Sorento starts at $33,000, rising to almost $49,000 for a fully loaded model. And for 2025, those prices stay roughly the same. This SX Prestige X line model, as tested, comes in at $48,265 with just $520 in options. That's the sage leather interior and the carpeted floor mats. Meanwhile, a Toyota Highlander can top $52,000 for a range topping platinum model. The 2024 Kia Sorento does everything nearly as well, if not better, than the Toyota Highlander, and usually, for less money. Should absolutely be on the shopping list of anyone looking for a three row SUV, especially those who don't always need that third row. For my full review of the 2024 Kia Sorento, you can find it on cars.com/news. (light music)