2007 Kia Sorento EX 4x4

It sure had the power to surprise me

First, a little bit of Kia History. Kia was founded as a bicycle part manufacturing company in Seoul, South Korea in 1944, and began making trucks in 1962. After making trucks with awesome names like "Brisa," "Titan" and "Bongo" for a while, and manufacturing the Fiat 132 and Peugeot 604, Kia entered the US markets in 1994 with the value-priced Sephia sedan, followed by the Sportage compact SUV in 1996. In 1998, Hyundai bought a controlling interest in Kia. By 2003, Kia had sold over one million vehicles in the United States. Last year, Kia's US sales topped 275,000 vehicles. So that's Kia's history.

Sorento debuted as a 2003 model, and receives a freshening for the 2007 model year. Sorento's not a cutting-edge design -- it's actually a few years behind the times, with sharp angles and lots of plastic cladding bucking the trend toward more organic shapes. That said, I kind of like Sorento's look. It's very unassuming and practical. With the exception of the plastic, there's nothing to offend. In fact, the overall shape is somewhat sophisticated, if a bit of an homage to other designs. There's a hint of early Ford Escape in the front end; a splash of late-90s Toyota 4Runner in the wheel arches; a touch of Honda Passport in the tailgate. Note that the design references are all throwbacks. I don't think this is a case of retrofuturism at work -- it's just a generation or two behind the times. The good news is that the fit and finish is excellent.

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The unassuming, practical theme continues inside Sorento. My test vehicle was equipped with a $3,000 Luxury Package of options, which included a sunroof, leather package, heated front seats, dual zone climate controls, a six-CD changer in-dash and other amenities. Like corporate relative Hyundai, Kia chooses to load up its vehicles with a ton of standard features, so my Sorento came with power windows, door locks and outside mirrors, air conditioning, a power driver's seat, leather wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, a compass and other features that might have been part of option packages on a domestic vehicle. Overall, I would classify Sorento as "very well-equipped."

The layout of instruments and controls was very nice, with everything right where you'd expect it to be, easy to read and operate. There's a pleasant level of sophistication and elegance to the Sorento's dashboard that I didn't really expect. I'm forced to rail against the fake wood dashboard trim, but at least it's minimal (so too, will be my railing). A telescoping steering wheel would have been better -- there's just tilt -- but I didn't have any problem getting comfortable.

Passenger accommodations are good in the front seat, and pretty good in the back. The bench seat is adequate for two adults, a bit cramped for three across. Kia didn't even try to cram a third row in back, so there's a good sized luggage compartment (31.7 cubic feet). The second row folds flat for bigger cargo, and there's a nifty slotted secret compartment below the load floor.

Sorento is a traditional SUV with body-on-frame construction (as opposed to the unibody construction of a crossover vehicle). You can feel that over bumps and through curves. There's a bit of truckishness to the ride, with a double-wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension, but dual stabilizer bars keep body roll to a minimum. The power rack-and-pinion steering setup has good feel, and the 36.4' turning circle and short overhangs make parking a breeze. I didn't test Sorento off-road, but with 8.2" of ground clearance, it should be good for light work in the dirt.

Fuel economy is about what you'd expect from a vehicle this size and weight, 17 city/22 highway. Not great, not terrible -- should be better.

There are some very good vehicles on the road to consider in the mid-size SUV class. The venerable Toyota 4Runner will still give most other SUVs a run for their money. The Nissan Pathfinder's no slouch, either. You might be surprised by how capable the crossover vehicles are these days, and how much space you can find in a compact model. Ford's Escape, Mercury's Mariner, Mazda's Tribute and Toyota's Highlander are car-based SUVs with a lot of traditional SUV features and abilities. Saturn's Vue, Toyota's RAV4, Jeep's Liberty and Honda's CR-V are compact crossovers with plenty of passenger and cargo space, as well as impressive fuel economy. Don't overlook Suzuki's Grand Vitara in your search as well.

Kia's new slogan is "The Power to Surprise." In the past, I've been surprised that Kia was able to sell any vehicles at all. Now that I've spent some time with Sorento, I'm surprised that I don't see more of them on the road. I would certainly consider Sorento if I was in the market for a mid-size SUV.