• Logically organised interior
• Quality vastly improved over predecessor
• Bang-up-to-date infotainment system

How is the quality and layout?

The Sorento’s fit and finish impresses, as does its design and technology. It’s modern with tasteful use of brightly coloured and textured trim on the dashboard. The controls are well organised, too, and there are enough soft-touch plastics to distance it from the more utilitarian models in Kia’s range. Build quality is good, although it doesn’t feel as luxurious as, say, a Range Rover Velar. Perhaps that’s a good thing, though – it makes it easier to muck out after a muddy walk.

The cabin features a mixture of touch-sensitive buttons, toggle switches and rotary controls for the volume and scrolling the touchscreen’s menus. Kia’s steering wheel buttons are great, too. The firm didn’t fall into the same trap as Volkswagen and fit fiddly haptic buttons – they’re simple physical controls that are easy to get to grips with.

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We don’t mind the climate control cluster, either. The touch-sensitive buttons here can be a little awkward to use as they don’t provide any haptic feedback to let you know that you’ve poked them. There is at least an audio output, which helps.

Infotainment and tech

Kia used to offer an 8.0-inch infotainment screen on the most basic version of the Sorento but, when the car switched over to its one-model ‘Edition’ trim structure, Kia junked it. Now, your only option is a 10.25-inch system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay fitted as standard. The screen’s graphics are sharp, but it’s difficult to use on the move due to the sheer number of sub menus and the fact there’s nowhere comfortable to rest your hand while you browse.

There’s a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster ahead of the driver. Its graphics are sharp and there’s plenty of contrast which makes it easy to read. Our only complaint is that it doesn’t offer a great deal of customisation or a full map setting for the sat-nav. You need to dig through the sub menus with fervour to find the driver assistance technology, too.

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At least the screen provides a lot of information. You can view data on your car’s energy flow (if it has a hybrid powertrain), plus an analysis of your driving style and attention level. There’s also a tyre-pressure monitoring system and traffic sign recognition.

Comfort

• Large, accommodating seats
• Lots of space and adjustability up front
• Second row is spacious; third row less so

The Kia Sorento is a comfortable car. The front seats are wide and offer more than enough adjustment for both our shortest and tallest testers to get comfortable. Every version of the car also now comes with electric seat adjusters and heating elements.

The second seating row is equally comfortable, featuring extras such as sun blinds, reclining backrests and heating elements for the outer two seats. These are in addition to the front passenger seat adjuster, which can remotely free up leg room like on a luxury car.