Kia lobs Sorento pricing from $45,850 + ORC

KIA Motors Australia (KMAu) has announced the bookend pricing of its new Sorento large SUV, with the range set to kick off from $45,850 plus on-roads for the petrol-powered S and top out at $63,070 for the diesel GT-Line.

Four trim levels will be available – S, Sport, Sport+ and GT-Line – all of which will be available in both petrol and diesel (CRDi) forms with the diesels carrying a $3000 premium.

This pegs the oil-burning S at $48,850 and petrol-powered GT-Line at $60,070 with the pricing for the mid-range variants yet to be announced.

Despite the petrols being more affordable in terms of outright purchase price, it will actually be the diesels that arrive in showrooms first – in late August – with the petrols due to follow “within months”.

Power in both case comes courtesy of updated versions of the current model’s engines, those being a 200kW/332Nm 3.5-litre petrol V6 and a 148kW/440Nm 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder mill.

Eagle-eyed figure-counters will notice both the V6’s power and torque figures are down slightly compared to the current model (6kW/4Nm), something GoAuto understands as a by-product of new efficiency measures, although no official fuel or emissions figures have been released yet.

Both powerplants utilise an eight-speed automatic to send their power to the ground, only in the V6 it is sent exclusively to the front wheels while the diesels score all-wheel drive.

Variant-specific standard equipment lists are yet to be detailed although we know from previous reports that the new Sorento will boast a drastically reworked interior with bundles of new tech including a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Bluetooth compatibility.

Other details are few and far between at this stage however KMAu has drip-fed the media a few tit-bits on gear exclusive to the flagship GT-Line, such as a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, blind spot view monitor, shift-by-wire dial instead of a gear lever (similar to that found in the Genesis GV80) and remote smart parking assist.

Under the skin, the new Sorento rides on Kia’s new N3 platform, measuring in 10mm longer, 10mm wider and 5mm taller than before with a 35mm longer wheelbase.

Thanks to its increased dimensions, occupants in the first and second rows score extra legroom, while third-row passengers get extra headroom and are granted easier ingress and egress thanks to an extra 45mm being added to the second-rows sliding setup.

Cargo volume with the third-row seats in place is up by a claimed 32 per cent while 821L are on offer when they are folded flat.

Just like the technology front, standard safety gear is another area where the new model builds on its predecessor, a car described by KMAu chief operating officer Damien Meredith as a “game-changer”.

“The outgoing Sorento was a game-changer in the Australian market with previously untapped safety and convenience levels in the segment and the all-new model continues to take that story forward,” he said.

Standard safety kit will include safety seven airbags, autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian, cyclist and vehicle detection, multi-collision braking system (brand first), blind-spot monitoring and collision avoidance, intelligent speed-limit assist, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, lane-keep assist, driver attention warning, rear cross-traffic alert, reverse parking collision avoidance assist and surround-view monitor.

When the new Sorento does touch down, it will face stiff competition from the Toyota Kluger, Mazda CX-9 and its looming cousin the Hyundai Santa Fe.

So far this year, the Sorento has not been able to match its immediate rivals on the sales charts with 1435 sales through the first half of the year, accounting for 3.3 per cent of the sub-$70,000 large SUV segment.

Meanwhile, Toyota chalked up 4794 Kluger sales (11.1%), Mazda sold 2996 CX-9s (6.9%) and Hyundai shifted 2469 Santa Fes (5.7%).

2020 Kia Sorento pricing*

*Excludes on-road costs