The roomier and more stylish new Kia Sorento 4×4 has been celebrated with an iF Design Award.
As well as praising the quality of the car’s design, the award judges highlighted its finish, innovation, environmental impact, and safety.
Set to go on sale in March, Kia’s winning Sorento is larger and better-equipped than previous models and is well-placed to compete with rivals like the Hyundai Santa Fe and Nissan X-Trail.
Is the Kia Sorento a good company car?
The Sorento will be available with just one engine, the 197bhp, 2.2-litre diesel with Kia promising CO2 emissions of 149g/km when paired with a manual gearbox putting it in a 25 percent BIK band for the 2014/15 tax year year and 27 percent for next year.
Kia has worked hard to keep ambient noise at a minimum in the Sorento’s cabin, by installing extra sound-deadening materials. This means the engine note only becomes intrusive at high revs, and road and wind noise are also hushed.
We will see whether or not it reaches its official 50mpg when we test it later this year. Despite encouraging economy figures, the Sorento is expected to reach 62mph in under ten seconds.
Stylish, practical, and well equipped Sorento
The new Sorento has a longer wheelbase than its predecessor, meaning more space for passengers, and is available with five or seven seats. Sliding 60/40 split seats mean a larger luggage space of up to 1,732 litres.
Premium features like a 360-degree Around View Monitor, smart parking system, lane departure warning, rear cross traffic alert, traffic sign recognition, and adaptive cruise control, should make the Sorento safe and comfortable to drive.
When can I buy one?
The third generation Sorento goes on sale across Europe in March 2015. For our full review of the new model, click here.
