2022 Kia Sorento Review: Three-Row SUV Strikes A Balance

You'd be forgiven for wondering where, exactly the 2022 Sorento fits into Kia's range of family-friendly vehicles. After all, Kia isn't short of large options for transporting bigger families: the Sorento is the smaller sibling to the Telluride, both boasting three rows but differing in general scale. Then there's the 2022 Carnival, a minivan masquerading as an SUV, but with all the practicality that sliding doors bring.

Kia's line-up may be fairly crowded, but the Sorento actually finds itself occupying what — in modern automotive terms, anyway — counts as relative open space. Midsize SUVs with three rows aren't as numerous as their larger siblings in the segment above, particularly if you want usable seats in the rearmost row.

With pricing kicking off at $29,590 (plus $1,295 destination) for the Sorento LX, meanwhile, it also sticks fairly closely to Kia's game plan of affordability. Even this flagship Sorento X-Line SX Prestige AWD lands at just over $45k all-in.

To think, we used to describe Kia's cars as unmemorable. These days, its models — along with those from Hyundai — are among the most avant-garde on the road, with bold proportions, sharp angles, and a generous splash of personality to go with their attainable pricing. For the 2022 Sorento specifically, that starts out at the front with Kia's new, stylized badge, and then encompasses a distinctive grille treatment, oversized lighting, and handsome proportions.

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The 20-inch matte finish alloy wheels on this X-Line SX Prestige help, certainly, as do the X-Line-specific lower fascias front and rear, and the matching matte trim accents. At 189 inches long and 75 inches wide, though, it's markedly shorter and narrower than the Telluride (at 197 inches and 78 inches, respectively) which pays dividends in tighter parking lots.

Lower-spec cars, admittedly, start out with mere 17-inch wheels and thicker rubber, though LED headlights are standard across the range. It's nice to see some brighter paint options, too, like the bold Sapphire Blue and Passion Red, even if you need to step up to the Sorento S trim to get the former.

Kia offers four different engine options across the 2022 Sorento range, along with a choice of front-wheel-drive (FWD) and all-wheel-drive (AWD). The base trim comes with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder gas engine, with 191 horsepower, 181 lb-ft of torque, and an 8-speed automatic transmission. FWD is standard, with AWD an option; the latter includes a center locking differential and 1-inch more ride height.

Then there's the turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder, with 281 horsepower, 311 lb-ft of torque, and an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission. It, too, comes in FWD and AWD forms. The non-turbo gas Sorento is rated for 2,000 pounds of towing capacity, while the turbo version kicks that up to 3,500 pounds, regardless of whether just the front or all the wheels are powered.

However, Kia will also sell you an electrified — though not fully electric — Sorento, too. There's a Sorento Hybrid with a 1.6-liter turbo engine and optional AWD, plus the more potent Sorento Plug-In Hybrid with AWD as standard and 34 miles of electric-only range.

Behind the wheel of the 2.5L Turbo, the Sorento feels perky. Like other recent Kia models, the transmission is tuned to leap ahead from a standing start; it leaves the SUV feeling smaller and more agile than it actually is. 0-60 mph actually takes a quoted 7.4 seconds, and you notice that more as you move toward highway speeds.

While dual-clutch transmissions are often associated with sportier cars, you probably won't confuse the Sorento with anything of that ilk. It's not quite as smooth in its shifts as a regular auto box, too.

The other downside is economy. Kia quotes 22 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway, for a combined EPA rating of 24 mpg. That's a far cry from the mid to high 30s that the hybrids are pegged at, but even with more humble official ratings, I found the turbo Sorento to be a fairly thirsty SUV. My own, mixed driving came in at just shy of 18 mpg.

That's primarily with the Sorento left in the Smart drive mode, which promises to balance performance with economy. Kia also offers Comfort, Eco, and Sport modes, while the X-Line trims with all-wheel-drive throw in a Snow mode too. Despite the slight increase in ride height — 8.2 inches versus 6.9 inches — it's best to think of the AWD as a boon for traction rather than something which turns the Sorento into a mud-plugger.

Inside, as you might expect, spaciousness butts up against the laws of physics: the Sorento is shorter than a Telluride, and as such cabin roominess takes a hit. The LX, S, and X-Line S AWD trims get a 7-seat configuration, with a 2:3:2 layout. EX trim and above switch to a 6-seat version, with a pair of second-row captain's chairs.

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The first and second rows are plenty spacious and adult-scale. Unsurprisingly, it's the third row where things get snug: kids should be fine back there, but it's going to be less fun for adults. With all the seats up there are 12.6 cubic feet of cargo space; that expands to 45 cu-ft with the third row flat, and 75.5 cu-ft with both rear rows down. Kia makes that process admirably easy, too, with simple buttons to fold and tumble the seats.

As the top-spec trim, the X-Line SX Prestige AWD comes laden with tech and comfort features — some of which, not all that long ago, you'd have been venturing into the luxury segment to find. The SX gets a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a wireless phone charger, USB ports across all three rows, remote start, dual-zone automatic climate control, heated front seats, a power liftgate, and a panoramic sunroof.

This flagship trim adds a 360-degree camera to that, along with blind spot warnings and view monitor, Bose Premium Audio system, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, heating for the second row and ventilation for the front seats, a heated steering wheel, and perforated leather. There are also front and rear parking sensors and collision avoidance.

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Kia impressively makes it's core safety tech pretty much standard across the line, however. The Sorento gets forward collision avoidance with cyclist detection and junction turning detection; rear blind spot collision avoidance assistance; rear cross-traffic collision avoidance; and Safe Exit assist to stop you from inadvertently opening the door into other motorists. There's also lane keeping and lane following assistance and smart cruise control with automatic speed adjustment for curves.

Best of all is Kia's Highway Driving Assist. It's a hands-on Level 2 system — designed to help with steering and the distance to the vehicle ahead — so don't mistake it for anything close to autonomous driving. All the same, it's one of the better hands-on systems out there.

What I like about it is how surreptitiously confident it feels. No bouncing between the road markings; no sudden adjustments. It can also be switched on regardless of whether you have adaptive cruise control active, unlike a lot of competing systems. That way, you can benefit from the subtle assistance even on non-highway routes.

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In all, there's a whole lot to like about the 2022 Sorento's spec sheet, though that's not to say there aren't some head-scratchers. The fact you only get one-touch auto up/down on windows other than the driver's when you get to SX Prestige trim and above is odd; so is the omission of three-zone climate control (though I do love the Sorento's independently-adjustable lower center vents for the front seats). As in other Kia (and Hyundai) models, the smaller, 8-inch infotainment system in the base LX trim supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, whereas the larger, 10.25-inch version on the S trim and above demands a USB cable.

Mild weirdnesses aside, there's a lot to like about the 2022 Sorento. Kia's healthy warranty helps, too: 5 years / 60,000 miles of limited warranty, and 10 years / 100,000 miles of limited powertrain warranty. The SUV gets 5 years / 60,000 miles of roadside assistance, too, but there's no complementary servicing.

Were it my money, I'd probably settle somewhere in the middle of the line-up. The EX trim starts at $36,785 (including destination), still has a decent spec list, and gets you the turbocharged engine. Adding AWD will cost you $3,700, though that does also throw in a panoramic sunroof, 20-inch wheels rather than the EX FWD's 18-inch alloys, and the X-Line styling package and bumped-up ride height.

Even if you stray to the top end, however, the 2022 Sorento feels competitive still. Strikingly designed, pleasant to drive, and flexible without being unduly vast, it goes to show that Kia's recent reinvention amounts to a lot more than just a new badge.