LOS ANGELES — Boxes are in these days, it seems.
OK, that’s probably a bit of an overstatement — there are plenty of crossovers on the market with swoopy styling — but the facelifted 2024 Kia Sorento is definitely following the rugged/boxy trend.
Kia’s wording for the front of the Sorento is “boxy, upright hood” and that’s quite accurate. Looking at the press images — I will be seeing the Sorento up close later today — I am getting serious “baby Telluride” vibes. Given the popularity of the larger Telluride, this is probably not a bad thing from Kia’s perspective.
Keeping with the “rugged” thing, there will be an X-Pro package that’s off-road-oriented.
Speaking of trims, the entire trim walk is as follows: LX, S, EX, SX, and SX-P, with X-Line and X-Pro packages available — the X-Line will be available on the EX and above while the X-Pro will be available on SX-P.
The front end isn’t the only part of the Sorento that’s influenced by Telluride — the vertical taillamps from the Telluride also make their way to the Sorento. By the way, Kia straight up admits the Telluride’s influence in its press materials.
And the EV9’s — the new Sorento’s grille and vertical LED headlights are influenced by the upcoming EV SUV.
Interior updates center around the available new curving display that houses two 12.3-inch screens (the standard display has a 4.3-incher and 12.3-incher) .
X-Lines get a center-locking differential, roof rack, 20-inch gloss black wheels, a gloss-black grille unique to this trim, and trim-specific interior badging.
X-Pros get 17-inch wheels, BF Goodrich all-terrain tires, and a towing capacity of 4,000 pounds. That number tops the Sorento range.
The X-Line and X-Pro have slightly different interior treatments and unique available exterior paint colors.
Other key available features include a faster navigation/infotainment system that now has over-the-air updates, a digital key, a slew of USB-C ports, forward collision-avoidance assist, lane-keeping assist, lane-following assist, intelligent cruise control that learns to match your driving style, highway-driving assist with automatic lane change, a digital camera rearview mirror, and 360-degree camera. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard.
The Sorento remains available with front-wheel or all-wheel drive and either a 2.5-liter four cylinder that makes 191 horsepower and 181 lb-ft of torque or a turbocharged 2.5-liter four that makes 281 horsepower and 311 lb-ft of torque. The former engine pairs with an eight-speed automatic transmission and is used for LX and S trims. The other engine pairs with a dual-clutch, eight-speed automatic.
The 2024 Kia Sorento goes on sale in the first quarter of 2024, with hybrid and plug-in hybrid models expected to follow later in 2024 as 2025 models.
[Images: Kia]
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