Kia releases official Sorento renderings

KIA has released official renderings of its all-new Sorento seven-seat large SUV ahead of its reveal in Korea on February 17, giving punters an idea of what the new-generation model will look like.

The images show an updated exterior look with a far more angular design than the soft, rounded look of the current model, with squared-off headlights that feature a cluster of three sequential LED lights.

A daytime running light (DRL) strip runs along the bottom of the headlights and into the bottom of the grille, which features Kia’s signature ‘tiger nose’ shape.

A boxier lower bumper gives the Sorento a more muscular look, while character lines running along the side of the car give it a more streamlined appearance.

At the rear, a pair of vertically oriented tail-light strips form the rear lighting cluster, while the more squared-off theme continues with an angular tailgate and roof-mounted spoiler.

A chrome-accented bumper that hints at the tiger nose shape completes the Sorento’s rear look.

The biggest change looks to take place inside, with the renders showing a far more digital dashboard than the current-generation, including a large tablet-style screen housing the digital instrument cluster and multimedia system.

A digital instrument cluster would mark a first for Kia, and the renderings suggest a large screen size to go with the shorter and wider multimedia screen that could house a new iteration of Kia’s infotainment system.

Kia’s air-conditioning cluster has been redesigned with a sleek layout and piano-black trim, and is flanked by brushed-aluminium air vents.

The traditional gear shifter has given way to a rotary dial, while all-wheel-drive versions will also score a terrain-select mode for light off-roading.

As GoAuto has previously reported, the Sorento is expected to land Down Under in the middle of the year, starting only with the all-paw, turbo-diesel powertrain configuration.

The 147kW/441Nm 2.2-litre turbo-diesel mill will be joined by the front-drive, 206kW/335Nm 3.5-litre petrol V6 grade in the second half of the year.

Kia Motors Australia (KMAu) has said it will also push for new hybrid powertrains once demand in European markets calms down, with the prospect of a plug-in hybrid variant possible from around 2021.

The petrol and diesel model line-up is expected to be the same as seen on the current Sorento range, which kicks off from $43,490 plus on-roads for the Si 2WD petrol and tops out at $59,490 for the GT-Line diesel AWD.

In 2019, Kia sold 3777 examples of the Sorento, a 13.9 per cent dip over the previous 12 months.

The new-generation Sorento will be revealed in full on February 17.