Kia Sorento leads the way

THE Sportage is Kia’s bestseller, but the Korean manufacturer’s flagship motor is the Sorento.

This is the third version of the Sorento, which was first introduced to Ireland 11 years ago.

Back in 2002 the Sorento proved to be an important milestone for Kia as they challenged many established brands and it certainly helped begin the process of changing the Irish public’s perception about Kia.

Kia says the Sorento is named after the Italian city of the same name, but somewhere along the way one

‘r’ got dropped. There’s nothing else missing, however. There is plenty of space in this massive seven-seater. Truth be told I didn’t have any reason to use the small third row of seats, so the back end was used for carrying various items.

The days of big families are almost gone, but if you were in charge of an underage soccer team and yourself and your assistant both owned a Sorento, you could then look after your own team’s transport requirements.

No doubt there would be a mad rush for the two small seats at the back, but you could always increase the weekly subs to help pay for the SUVs?

This new version is powered by an economical 2.2 litre diesel, which gives you 194-brake horsepower and plenty of towing power. The main external changes are at the front which now has attractive LED lights and that familiar

‘tiger nose’ grille. It’s a powerful motor and all versions include items like electronic stability control and hill-start assist as standard.

The new model is very slightly lower than the old one, but you will hardly notice 10mm and consequently the views are still spectacular from the high driving position.

It’s really impressive on the road and handles well, but driving such a powerful motor, you will need to mind your speed on smaller winding roads or you will be experience

‘off road’ conditions. I drove a six-speed manual, but automatic is available.

In the cabin black was the dominant colour. The controls on the dash were well laid out and easy to use and if the radio controls are user friendly then I am happy and I was very happy with the Sorento which had two decent sized buttons for the radio. There are plenty of cubbyholes for holding drinks, pens etc.

I was very impressed and so were many friends and family who had a look. The first question everybody who saw the car wanted to know was, how much does it cost? They were pleasantly surprised to learn that it you can get one for just

?¬37,990 to be exact.

The entry-level model has all-wheel drive as standard. CO2 emissions have been reduced from 177g/km to 155g/km, which puts the Sorento in Band C for road tax and that is now e390. The Sorento Mark III should help Kia gain an even stronger foothold in the Irish market. And don’t forget Kia is home of the seven-year warranty.

If the Sorento is too large for your requirements, coming soon is the Kia Carens, a neat five-seater MPV and the pro_cee’d, a smaller version of the popular cee’d.