ORIGINALLY launched as a utilitarian all-terrain vehicle in 2002, Kia’s Sorento has morphed over the past 23 years into something much more likely to part your wallet from your back pocket.

It’s been a long time favourite with the caravan towing fraternity, and it certainly looks the part, with plenty of load space, comfortable seats and good all round visibility. The latest update brings a refreshed interior and exterior design – it’s taken a few tips from the flagship EV9 with vertical headlights, redesigned alloys and a new bonnet. There are also more spec levels and a choice of diesel, hybrid and plug in hybrid powertrains.

Kia are rightly marked as a brand that have successfully moved from the budget end of the car park to offering a more upmarket choice of transport. The Sorento’s metamorphosis is a prime example of that, as here we have a car with a great mix of premium features and sheer practicality.

Need to use a four letter word here to describe the boot area. HUGE. 
It’s over 600 litres with five seats in use, or nearly 2,000 litres with only the front two upright. And the beauty of this is that this is space that’s easily accessible and easy to see into, meaning it’s relatively quick and easy to retrieve stuff you’ve slung in to its deepest recesses.

The sheer size of the Sorento means it takes a fair chunk of parking space, but that equates to three adults being comfortable across all three seats in the middle row. They can move backwards and forwards and recline. Those at the back in seats six and seven will be reasonably comfortable too.In this PHEV model, a turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine coupled to a small battery and electric motor makes 248bhp and 270lb/ft of torque. It’s reasonably swift, though it can sound a bit noisy when you push it. Road and wind noise are fairly well subdued though.

It’ll cover the 0-62mph sprint in 8.8 seconds and go on to a top speed of 113mph, acceptable for something weighing in at 2705kgs and not a speed you’re going to achieve with a caravan on the back anyway.

All variants come with a 12.3inch touchscreen with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, Bluetooth and voice control. And being a Kia, the list of standard safety equipment is lengthy.

Out on the road, the Sorento does what you’d expect, keeping itself fairly upright and not wobbling its passengers around to any great degree.

Even though it’s historically proved to be a reliable machine, there’s a  seven year/100,000 mile warranty to tuck in your back pocket, as well as 12 month roadside assistance. Just in case….

KIA Sorento PHEV T-GDi

Price: £47,405
Engine: 1.6 litre, four cylinder, T-GDi with 13.8kWh battery
Power: 248bhp
Torque: 270 lb/ft
Transmission: automatic
Top speed: 113mph
0-62mph: 8.8 seconds
Economy: 176mpg
Emissions: 37g/km

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