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According to Kia's marketing for the 2011 Kia Sorento, life-size versions of child's toys can only dream about driving the freshly redesigned SUV. But we humans have no such limits, we're actually able to drive the thing. Sorry, sockmonkeys.
The longings of stuffed animals aside, it's easy to see why the new Sorento is drawing some attention. The previous Sorento had a tendency to blend into traffic. The new one, not so much. Maybe it's result of Kia's ad blitz, maybe it's the updated exterior skin, but this new Sorento sticks out just a little more while on the road.
The Basics
Freshened styling isn't all that's new. The 2011 Sorento moves from a truck-based platform to a crossover platform that it shares with the Hyundai Santa Fe, and it gets new engines and new features to go along with the new exterior duds.
Trim levels are as follows: Base, LX, EX, and SX. EX versions are the "upscale" models and SX versions are the "sporty" models. Seating capacity expands from five to seven--a third row of seats is available on LX and EX four-cylinder models, and standard on the SX and V-6 EX.
Engine choices consist of a 175-horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder that's standard on Base, LX, and EX models. A 276-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 is optional on EX and standard on SX. A 6-speed manual transmission is standard on Base models, while all others get a 6-speed automatic, which is not available on Base models.
Front-wheel drive is standard on all models, but all-wheel drive is available on LX, EX, and SX models.
Normally at this point, I'd list standard and optional features, but my EX V-6 AWD tester was a pre-production unit, which means it had no window sticker. I did tally a short list of notable features, such as a navigation system, satellite radio, heated seats, a wireless cell phone link, and DVD entertainment (models with the DVD system can't be had with a sunroof). A V-6 EX like this would normally base for $28,895 plus a destination fee of $795.
