2010 Kia Sorento XM first-drive
The 2010 Sorento has been officially unveiled to the public at Seoul auto show last month and that means the model is ready to go on sale. First, in Korean market and later it’s sales will gradually spread overseas.
New Sorento is replacing the good-old first generation Sorento model that has been on sale since 2002. It’s sales numbers prove that it has been a huge success for Kia. Since it’s introduction Kia sold nearly 900.000 units worldwide, making it one of the best selling Kia vehicles ever.
Now, the second generation Sorento has been born and besides a whole new exterior and interior design, there is a wide range of state-of-the-art technologies applied to the vehicle; many for the first time in a Kia vehicle. The most important among all is the all-new EURO5, R-diesel engine developed jointly by Kia Motors and Hyundai Motor Company.
The new diesel engine features all the technical know-how that Korean automaker has aquired over the past few years when it has heavily invested into research and development.
Available in two different displacements, the R-engine has been developed with the aim of being the world’s best four-cylinder diesel engine. According to Kia engineers at Kia-Buzz.com, the R-diesel engine is one of the best in it’s class and outperforms competitors in terms of power and fuel efficiency!
The 2.0L engine, which will soon be available in the next generation Sportage packs 184 horsepower and 392Nm of torque, while it’s bigger brother, the 2.2L engine delivers even more impressive 200 horsepower and a maximum torque of 436Nm. These figures put both engines ahead of those offered by competitors such as Toyota, VW or even BMW and Mercedez-Benz.
In addition to high power, both engines also deliver an outstanding fuel economy. The 2.2L diesel engine equipped Sorento can achieve 14.4 kilometers with only 1L of fuel, which makes it the most fuel efficient crossover/SUV vehicle in the Korean market.
Converted to the US MPG, it means the 2010 Sorento can achieve up to 33 MPG!! That’s better than Kia Soul! Unfortunately, it’s very unlikely we will ever see the engine in the US market, but gas prices are expected to raise back to their record highs already by 2012 and that could force Kia (and other automakers) to change their plans and offer more vehicles with “fuel sipping” diesel engines in the States.
Korean on-line magazine, the Global Auto News has just recently been able to get behind the wheel of next generation Kia Sorento. They have published an extensive test-drive report and taken a huge amount of interesting exterior and interior images. I advise you to visit their website in order to see all of the great shots and check out their first-drive report (translated by Google translate). [Source: Global Auto News]
May 11th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
do you know how much is weighs? i doubt more than 2 tons?
because with 150kW and 436Nm and a 5 or 6 spd auto it’s gonna move pretty damn quick
May 11th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
ho very very nice , I want one but my pokets are empty!
May 11th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
I would love to see a diesel in a Kia (or Hyundai) in the USA. Small and big engines (Rio, Spectra to the Sedona or Sorento). But if they are able to bring the hybrids and fuel cells to market in the USA, I don’t know that there will be a large enough market for them to consider jumping through all the hurdles (read: high cost) of the testing to get them into the USA market. Maybe an electric and diesel will make it to the States (and Canada) one day soon…
May 12th, 2009 at 4:36 am
i cannot WAIT till this comes out. i’m getting one as soon as they hit the showroom. just like this one ehite on black – classy, edgy, and super fresh. this new sorento looks like it’s gonna shred the new mazda cx-9, and could even steal the crown from the the new toyota highlander.. can’t wait to see how well it does here in the US!!!
May 12th, 2009 at 4:38 am
Phew!! That translation from Korean to English was a hard read, but it was good to see it’s getting a lot closer now for it’s international release.
This is a slightly better translation on this site…..
http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.global-autonews.com%2Fcontent%2Fcontent_view.php3%3Fmenu_id%3D97%26id%3D32869&sl=ko&tl=en&history_state0=
The overall weight of the vehicle according to the Global Auto News article is 1800Kgs.
May 12th, 2009 at 4:47 am
Hmmm, it went to the same site Himi gave us. Anyway way click on a link at the very bottom of the Global Auto News article “R 2.2 Diesel Kia Sorento siseunggi” and the photos are of a red Sorento, not white, but a slightly better translation into English.
May 12th, 2009 at 6:05 am
That interior design is better than Borrego…..very nice, very modern
May 12th, 2009 at 11:26 am
I am looking forward to the new Sorento. As I live in Europe, I am absolutely going for the 2.2 Diesel. America really should rethink, as the fuel economy is way better. Moreover there are no more vibrations, the engines have much more torque and overall driving is simply more smooth.
As my english is not perfect, can anyone sum up the previews from the GLobal Auto News articles? I really struggle with understanding the poor translations. By the way, there is a report for the red and the white Sorento. For the red Sorento article simply click on the link at the very bottom.
So can someone support me to make something like a summary of the previews?
I am particullary interested in the engine/transmission and suspension sections.
Are there any bad aspects of the cars known yet?
In Detail:
- I am not sure if the articles say that the engine/transmission – even with 200hp – seems a bit week.
- The cars suspension is very soft, therefore the car feels a bit like a ocean liner. (Maybe it will change for Europe)
Can someone confirm this?
May 12th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
It isn’t that the USA doesn’t want a diesel, it is that Kia won’t give us one!
May 12th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
i hope the new Santa fe 2010 will look much better than sorrento. though i love both
May 12th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Greg, I can see that demand myself. Kia and others will rethink if a diesel will make sense in the economic aspect. Unfortunate, the truth is that Diesel still struggles for reputation in the US. People, like you who are informed, understand the advantages. But the majority is still sceptical. Only VW and I believe Audi offer Diesel cars in North America right now. And they sell VERY bad, at least until today. But I have hope, times are changing.
I would love to see american cars with economic diesel engines. It would make the cars a lot more attractive.
We have to wait and see on what KIA can do with the new Sorento in America.
May 12th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
One more thing: The new Sorento is expected to start around 25.000+ € for the basic model in Germany. That’s like 5.000€ below the first Sorento. I am only interested in the top version and in my country I’d expect it to be well above 45.000€. Not everything is bad in the America…
May 13th, 2009 at 5:20 am
Hey Dom, why don’t you use “Google Translate” to translate into a language you feel more comfortable with. Goggle will tranlate into many languages from Korean, not just English. I just counted 41 languages, including English.
translate.google.com/
You never know it might even do a better job going into your native tongue…..couldn’t be any worse, could it??
May 13th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
From an exterior standpoint the only things I don’t like on this vehicle are the fog light enclosures (too prominent) and the reflectors built into the rear bumper. The bumper lights might be a Euro safety spec thing though, not sure. Everything else I like. A lot. The interior looks great and that sunroof looks awesome. I am looking to move to a SUV either later this year or next, but want to stay around $25K Canadian. I have a feeling this vehicle will be significantly more than that. I’ve got my radar tuned to the release of the 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe. Nice job on this one though Kia. Thumbs up.
May 14th, 2009 at 7:07 am
Yes Bill, I agree with you sa far as the fog/driving lights go, a huge bug catcher, I reckon.
I think I’m with you also as far as the Santa Fe is concerned, which is a very nice looking vehicle now, let alone an upgrade in 2010.
They are very well regarded here in Australia for towing and a little off roading, which augers well for the Sorento which will have the same or similar running gear as the Santa Fe.
I like this little article from a guy on a 4WD site I follow here in Oz about his Santa Fe, check it out….
http://forum.australia4wd.com/index.php?showtopic=16234
May 20th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
I just found a site with new photos of the 2010 Sorento from the Seoul Auto Show. There are 10 pictures of the interior and exterior of a white-on-tan Limited Sorento. I originally planned on getting a white Sorento with black leather, but they’ve made the tan leather interior with a black dashboard – so i’m going to get this one instead. I can’t wait until they arrive in the States!!!
http://www.korauto.co.kr/stock_detail.html?prdcode=0904130003&dep_code=12&dep2_code=11&dep3_code=13&special=&showset=&searchopt=&searchkey=
May 31st, 2009 at 4:41 am
This car will be my next car because it is a nice car
June 24th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
In syria we are waiting this new Serato , and I hope , it’s including the all functions …. nothing missed as optional comparring with the others
July 3rd, 2009 at 5:57 am
this kia sorento has a 4×4 low?????
July 3rd, 2009 at 5:58 am
how many air bags ha?????
July 3rd, 2009 at 8:56 am
It does not have a 4×4 low, and has six airbags.
July 3rd, 2009 at 11:54 pm
when the final market in canada and how much the base price and high end price???
July 30th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
The U.S. spec Sorento will be a 2011
November 28th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Not wanting a Kia i did a test drive out of morbid curiosity , i did like the look of the car and interior looks nice but every car dealer i knew always said Kia was rubbish. So i drove this car with very low expectations as we had driven just about every make and model out there and this was the last on our list. I don’t really like diesels but this engine is a real joy to drive, very quiet for a diesel and really packs a punch. The vehicle is a little big for what we are looking for, but the power and comfort and quality of finish and fantastic fuel economy this car is truly amazing. This was one vehicle i did not want to hand back. We were very lucky that the dealership was so busy that they told us to take it out on our own and go for a long drive and we did. A lot of thought had been put into everything that opens and closes which felt like quality , something missing these days on so many cars. The one we drove was the 2.2 diesel, I am a convert to diesel after driving this one. I had driven the lancer turbo Rallyart, Mazda MPS turbo, but this one though not as quick still put a big smile on my dial for its effortless instant huge push forward and car like drive. I think i will go in next week and trade in my current pride and joy and buy one. Though a bit more than we wanted to get into debt for, i think this car will last a long time and is worth every cent spent.