SA Express May 2013 magazine - Southafrica.to

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From Good to Great
A HOST OF CHANGES FOR THE KIA SORENTO
TEXT: BERNARD HELLBERG
IMAGES © KIA SOUTH AFRICA
Kia’s recent upgrade of its popular Sorento has turned the concept of ‘it
isn’t broke, don’t fix it’ on its head. Bernard Hellberg discovers that the
refreshed large SUV now has improvements to the look, the interior and
the drive experience even if it is not a completely new car.
Launched in 2009, the second generation
Kia Sorento brought affordable premium-level
sophistication to the sector. To keep the
momentum of one of the brand’s most successful
models, the Sorento has received a host of
upgrades including a fresh new look front and rear,
a re-engineered bodyshell, enhanced powertrain
with better fuel economy and lower emissions, and
improved ride, handling and refinement.
On the outside the Kia design team – headed
by Peter Schreyer, Kia’s Chief Design Officer and
Tom Kearns, Kia’s Chief Designer in the USA –
restyled the vehicle’s front and rear, creating larger
areas of body-colour surface, while the Sorento’s
overall profile remains largely unchanged.
In the main, new front and rear bumpers
with vertical fog lights, a new front grille and
headlamps with LED positioning lights and a
new hatch with reshaped LED combination
lamps improve the look of the car. Added to that,
Kia has stuck great-looking new 18" alloy wheels
on the two-wheel-drive car, while the all-wheeldrive
(AWD) model comes standard with new
10-spoke 19" rims.
Inside the Sorento’s cabin, numerous
enhancements create a refreshed ambience.
All models are fitted standard with a powered
six-way driver’s seat, while heated and ventilated
driver and front passenger seats are standard on
the AWD model. Inside the AWD’s cabin, there
are more soft-touch surfaces plus a new LCD
instrument cluster and a new centre stack with
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