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Let the adventures begin with the new 2021 Kia Sorento

By Staff | May 1, 2021
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2021 Sorento X-Line

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2021 Sorento X-Line

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2021 Sorento X-Line

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2021 Sorento X-Line

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2021 Sorento X-Line

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2021 Sorento X-Line

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2021 Sorento X-Line

Kia has touted a new tag line ‘Let the Adventures Begin’ with the introduction of the all-new Sorento this year.

Kia is also saying that the SUV is standing ready to write your next chapter, and after a week in the driver’s seat, we found that this version of the Sorento is definitely ready to do just that.

The new X-Line AWD version comes complete with an extra 1 inch of clearance along with a new hill descent control. Couple that with a 2.5-liter turbo-charged engine that produces a very powerful 281 horsepower with 321 ft.-lbs. of torque, and you have the perfect recipe for a very strong SUV.

After our first hour with the new Sorento we would have thought that the designers had included a 6-cylinder engine in the package because it had so much power. We were very surprised to learn that it was only a 4-cylinder power plant under the hood.

Even more important after a week with over 400 miles of driving, we were getting a very nice 24.5 mpg of fuel. With all this power and extra height, we would have not had a problem taking the new Sorento pretty much anywhere, and with the extra row of seats in the rear it would comfortably seat up to six, making a great choice for a family adventure.

However, we were really impressed with the technology that is included with the new Sorento. It seems to us over the past few years that Kia has really been aggressively putting more and more engineering and design, specifically into the technology in all of their vehicles.

This was one of the huge reasons we really fell in love with the all new model Telluride, there was so much new tech inside. Now with the Sorento, much of that tech has found its way over as they are both produced in the same plant in West Point, Georgia.

This year they have introduced a very unique option indeed. Can you ever remember going to a large event like a football game or even to long-term airport parking, where you came back and attempted to find your car after an extended period of time? Sometimes even the best of us forget where our car was located. We have a very vivid memory of searching for our car at Disneyland for almost an hour because we had forgotten the location.

Kia has the perfect answer for this scenario with what they call on demand find my car with surround view monitor and last mile navigation. These are both available within the UVO app that connects to most Kia vehicles, and what pray tell do they do?

This is the best part. They both help you to find a lost car and do it with some technology that in our opinion is a fantastic idea. The find my car part will actually take photos of what is currently located around the Sorento and send them back to your smartphone via the UVO app. What a great concept to get photos of what is close in helping to find the SUV.

Next up is the last mile navigation. Seems like that would be something included while driving the Kia, but no, this particular part of the app will actually guide or navigate the owner back to their car from up to 1.2 miles away. This is definitely the first time we have seen navigation technology taken to this level, but, hey, what a great idea!

Losing your car with the new Sorento would become next to impossible. When we took it to the next level, say, if someone stole the vehicle, all it would take is a quick check of the app to see what was around it, and if you could get within a mile the SUV would provide walking directions to help find it.

Did they stop there with the UVO app? Not even, it will also learn your habits, like going to work every day and predict the best route to take based on live traffic conditions. If you program the navigation it will do the same trying to get to the destination in the quickest way possible based on current data.

There were two other features tied to the radar cruise control and navigation that we have only seen on much higher-priced vehicles and would never have expected it from the Sorento. Those would be automatic speed reduction or increase when using the cruise control as speed limit signs are recognized along the way.

The other would be the smart-based navigation that is tied to the cruise control and will slow the SUV automatically as it approaches curves that could not be navigated at the higher rate of speed. We have experienced this on very high-end Mercedes and it was a great feature especially when we were navigating canyon roads. Having someone even if it is artificial intelligence looking ahead and making adjustments takes a vehicle to another level in the safety world.

Of course the Sorento was extremely comfortable to ride in as an everyday driver, with both a fully digital 12.3-inch driver display and a 10.25-inch touch screen infotainment system. The seats were leather clad in a beautiful brown color and were both heated and cooled up front.

The X-Line was also equipped with all the great safety features that we would have expected from Kia along with the extras that we have mentioned previously.

With the extra seats in the back, the Sorento proved to be a perfect addition to any family and would definitely let their adventures begin!

Base Price: $42,590

Price as Driven: $44,285

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