The Holidays are behind us, and the New Year is within sight. I’ve spent the past month engaged in the Christmas rigmarole: gift buying, party appearing, and Rockette watching. What I haven’t been doing much of is driving, either for review purposes or for enjoyment, as the frigid weather puts a damper on these things. Knowing this was inevitable, I attended an event at Pocono Raceway where journalists and manufacturers get together for a last hurrah with various vehicles before the roads ice up and everything is relegated to a garage for hibernation. The trip is as much work as it is play, and AK über- photographer Jon and I needed a vehicle to get us there in comfort, as well as be our work horse for filming. It looked like a good opportunity to see if the Kia Sorento was up to the task.
No longer built on the previous SUV framework, the 2011 Sorento is a crossover vehicle built in a factory in West Point, GA, Kia’s first in the U.S. The styling is updated, as are all cars on the Kia line, with a bow tie-like grill and wraparound headlamps. The unibody looks fairly solid and chunky, but with rounded edges, giving the Sorento a contemporary style. The car we tested came standard with a 2.4L 4 cylinder engine that offered 174 hp and front wheel drive. Other packages offer a 6 cylinder engine and AWD.
Our trip consisted of a drive up to Pennsylvania where we would spend a day road testing new cars and a second day in which our good behavior on public streets was to be rewarded by taking the same cars on Pocono’s track. Jon and I loaded up the Sorento with bags, computers, and camera equipment the night before the event. The weather had already begun to gradually cool, reminding us of the ominous weather report we had for the next couple of days.
The interior of the Kia Sorento is spacious enough to hold seven occupants and a sufficient load of cargo, so the two of us had more than enough elbow room to get us through the trip. The rear cargo space offers around 9 cubic feet of space, which roughly translates to about 4 rather large suitcases. Between our bags, tripods, and trip necessities, there was still enough space to hear things sliding around occasionally. There are even cargo compartments hidden under panels with additional space for smaller things to be tucked away. The interior at night is illuminated with red ambient light from the switches and buttons throughout the cabin, conveying a similar tone that one would find in an Audi. Seat surfaces are leatherette, with the hard surfaces along the dash comprised of equal parts rubber and hard plastics. The gauges are arranged in three sections, and fuel-efficient driving is noted by the word “eco” displayed on the cluster.
It took us a good 5 to 10 minutes to enter our destination in the nav, which says more about us than it does the Sorento, and we finally set off. The navigation system is the same found in cars in the current Nissan lineup, including the Cube, featuring basic radio and satellite functions, CD player and USB connectivity for media devices. The Sorento features voice command for things like making calls on a Bluetooth-paired phone, again, identical to those found in Nissans and thus a little frustrating to use. Apart from that, the navigation gives clear directions on the screen, along with the robotic but comprehendible voice that reminded us that each exit we happened to pass wasn’t the one we wanted. Helpful, yes, but tedious when you plan to be on the same stretch of highway for a few hours. This was particularly useful when the powers that be decided to perform construction at the end of the G.W. Bridge smack in the middle of evening rush hour. The navigation re-routed automatically when we were forced to detour, without any corrections from us, nor did it give us any bother for deviating from the intended path.
We entered the part of the trip where it’s just a few hours of driving though straightforward country highway, with little bends and fewer streetlights. The Sorento performs well here, not for reasons like straight line speed, but for the fact that the Kia doesn’t feel superbly planted when encountering a turn. At a bend or right angles, the front wheels suddenly feel narrow and don’t inspire the most confidence. Here, though, the ride is comfortable. Feedback is just enough to be useful, but not rattling, so coasting through the night is enjoyed by conversation and music rather than listening to the drone of tarmac. This is also a suitable environment for the 175 hp engine as the Sorento cruises at a well-enough pace, although the effort needed to overtake traffic can be a shortcoming. This steadiness is also rewarded at the tank—we only needed to fill up once after the event on the return trip. Kia’s official word on that is 21 mpg city, 29 mpg highway.
Arriving at our destination and resting for the night, the Kia shuttled us to the event the next morning where we spent the day getting wheel time with all types of automobiles, from RWD to AWD, sporty and luxurious. Through all of our efforts, the Sorento was convenient to have on hand for needs like transporting camera equipment all at once and not having to pick and choose, making setups easy. The day was a success, and the two of us felt confident in the work we did and the fun that we had, but we knew it would all pale in comparison for what we had planned the next day on Pocono’s famous raceway. We chattered incessantly about what cars we drove on the roads would shine on the track, free from speed restrictions. We fantasized about all the great images we would record, excited about the bounty of coverage we would take home with us, and even still mystified by wondering what exciting things awaited us.
In the morning, it rained.
The forecast that was predicted days before came to fruition. The storm seemingly held back on the first day, and all in attendance hoped that our fortune would hold out for just a few more hours, but it wasn’t to be. Last year, there was a similar occurrence, but the day, hampered, still continued, and we wished that the same concession would be made again this time around, but even that was too much to ask for. The storm showed no sign of letting up and, if anything, grew worse as time passed. Most of the track was flooded and deemed too dangerous for any driving while a river formed in the pit area separating attendees from the cars huddled together in garages. Our track day was cancelled and Jon and I dejectedly climbed into the Kia and trudged home.
The Kia, whose handling we were not enthused about in the dry, was now what we had to put our full confidence in to get us home through a storm so severe, we were completely blind at lengthy stretches. Our eyes strained to see any hazard or break lights in front of us while windshield wipers at max were no match for what we were facing. There’s a line in the second Beverly Hills Cop film where Eddie Murphy asks another character, “Are you driving with your eyes open? Or are you, like, using ‘the force’?” That sums up how we navigated through the maelstrom. The Sorento, mercifully, handled with aplomb and we experienced no jukes from loss of grip.It even braked well during the onset of panic when brake lights finally did appear before us.
Home again, and with our trip behind us, I was able to look beyond the disappointment of our truncated event. I surmised the Kia did everything we wanted it to do, including bringing us home in one piece. Sometimes you can’t ask for more than that.
The Kia Sorento Starts at an MSRP of $20,995. Our EX FWD, with extras like the navigation and a premium package that included leather trim and heated seats, totaled at $29,340.
Words By – Alex Kalogiannis
Photos By – Jon Rouzier
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