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From the side the 2013 Kia Sorento EX 4WD looks similar to a more expensive SUV like the BMW X5, which is not a bad thing at all. Inside, it also has lots of similarities from dual-zone air-conditioning to leather to that quiet yet very agile ride.
I have no problem with a $34,390 SUV looking and handling like a more luxurious and sportier competitor that costs 15 to 20 thousand dollars more. I suppose KIA doesn’t have a problem with it, either.
This is a really roomy, well-designed and well-proportioned vehicle for all sorts of families. It’s not too big, it has seating for seven people, and it just has that big-time SUV feel without being too much of a monster on the highway.
Speaking of highway, I got 28 miles per gallon when driving on long desert roads, which is better than the 26 the EPA says I should have achieved. I had the A/C on and the radio full blast. Although radio volume doesn’t detract from mileage in a technical sense, it certainly can when Tom Petty encourages me to roll on down the road to lyrics like I heard the other day:
Mary got a brand new car
Mary got a brand new set of wheels
Now everyone here is so charged
Man, you don’t know how good it feels
And we wanna go where she goes
We wanna listen to her radio
It was one of those cosmic moments when the radio and the day combine to bring about the feeling that anything and everything is possible, and I have the Sorento’s outstanding Infinity sound system to thank.
Although Mary actually did get a brand new car (for a week’s test drive), she had to share it with her husband. One single feature would place this SUV at the top of my shopping list and that is its ability to remember my seat and mirror positions. Let’s just say that Cliff is six-foot-four and I am not.
It is so nice to be able to get in, press a button and have the seat and mirrors glide into just the right spots for me to zoom away. And the visibility in the Sorento is great all the way around. Even though the EX model comes standard with the rear-view camera, I appreciate a clear view in all directions as I back out of parking spaces and check the lanes next to me when driving.
When I had a bunch of stuff to haul I was pleased at how easily the seats folded flat to accommodate. Spending a week with the Sorento was like having one of those multi-tools right when I needed it. Except this is a multi-tool with a great sound system and excellent timing. And I am sure Tom Petty would agree.
Clifford and Mary Fewel offer unique driving impressions with their He Says/She Says columns in Copper Area News publications, and join forces each quarter with a dialogue about cars, trucks and life in Pinal Ways magazine.
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