2012 Kia Sorento

The 2012 Kia Sorento comes with four trim choices: base, LX, EX, and SX trim. The starting price for the Kia Sorento is $21,250, the LX trim starts at $23,150, the EX trim starts at $25,950, and the SX trim starts at $33,150. The base trim is offered with only one engine choice while the LX trim gets a choice of a four-pot GDI engine or a V6 engine. The V6 engine is standard on the SX trim while the GDI engine is standard on the EX trim. Standard features include alloy wheels, air conditioning, cruise control, tilt and telescoping steering wheel, etc.

We Recommend

The base engine of the Kia Sorento is lackluster and this SUV needs a more powerful engine so we suggest going for at least the second-top EX trim. Apart from the better engine, this trim adds a few much-needed features like a rear parking sensor, power-adjustable driver’s seats, dual-zone climate control, etc. 

There are as many as three engine options available for the 2012 Kia Sorento. The base engine is a 2.4-liter inline-4 engine that puts out 175 hp and 169 lb-ft of torque. The next in line is the 2.4-liter inline-4 GDI engine that takes the power and torque figures to 191 hp and 181 lb-ft respectively. While sitting at the top of the food chain is the meaty 3.5-liter V6 engine that is capable of 276 hp and 248 lb-ft of torque. Irrespective of the engine option you go with, a six-speed automatic transmission is what you get. Other than that FWD is standard while the AWD is available as a paid option.

The Kia Sorento is the cheapest SUV with a V6 engine in this comparison. Although it is the Ford Edge that puts out the highest 285 hp and Dodge Journey 260 lb-ft of torque from their respective V6 engines. The CR-V comes with an inline-4 engine and as expected is the slowest in both 0-60 mph and quarter-mile run. The Kia Sorento manages a slick 7.1 seconds to go from 0-60 mph and 15.5 seconds to cover the quarter-mile both of which are the fastest timing among all.

The Kia Sorento with the standard four-pot engine manages to return 21 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway, the inline-4 GDI engine manages to return a similar mpg in the city and one mpg more on the highway compared to the base engine. While the big V6 engine in the Sorento returns 20 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on the highway. That said, the Kia Sorento comes with an 18-gallon fuel tank which is average in the segment in terms of capacity.

None of the V6 powered rivals are as frugal as the Kia Sorento. The Honda CR-V with the four-pot engine manages the best 23 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway. Although it comes with the smallest 15.3-gallon fuel tank it manages to give a longer range compared to the rivals due to better gas mileage.

When it comes to the cabin, Kia has nailed it here with a premium-looking interior, soft-touch plastics at prominent places, and a well-put-together dash. At its price point, we rarely see a cabin so thoughtfully designed and having a premium vibe to it. The cabin of the Sorento is commodious and so are the front and rear seats. The front bucket seats offer good support and comfort while the rear seats come with a generous amount of leg and headroom. The rear seats can also be reclined to have a relaxing seating position over long journeys.

When it comes to cabin space none offer as spacious front row seats as the Kia Sorento while at the rear it is the Ford Edge that is more spacious. Talking about the cargo space the Kia Sorento offers 37 cubic feet of space while the Dodge Journey comes with a slightly higher 39.7 cubic feet of cargo space.

Key interior features include:

• Second-row armrest
• Air conditioning
• Tilt and telescoping steering wheel
• Available heated front seats
• Available dual-zone automatic climate control

How intuitive is Kia Sorento’s infotainment unit?

The 2012 Kia Sorento offers a CD player with Bluetooth connectivity and satellite radio. The higher trims get the much-hyped UVO infotainment system which is similar to Ford SYNC. The UVO interface offers voice commands for hands-free operation. Other available features include navigation, premium 10-speaker Infinity surround sound system, digital music storage, etc.

Key infotainment features include:

• Bluetooth
• CD player
• Satellite radio
• Auxiliary audio jack
• Available Infinity surround sound system
• Available navigation

The Kia Sorento received a complete redesign last year and there is hardly any change on the exterior for 2012. The Sorento carries the same tiger-nose grill at the front and a big lower intake grille and square cut-outs for the fog lights flanking from the sides. Overall the Sorento has a tall-boy stance and big windows on all sides to give it an airy feel. That said, the Sorento now looks like a well-rounded and matured midsize SUV. 

The Kia Sorento is no match to the longest Dodge Journey and widest Ford Edge on paper. The Kia Sorento is the tallest SUV among all while the Ford Edge has the highest ground clearance which is 0.4-inches more than the Sorento’s. Being the longest SUV the Dodge Journey inherently has the longest wheelbase of 113.8-inches which is 7.5-inches longer than Sorento’s.

Key exterior features include:

• 17-inch alloy wheels
• Available fog lamps
• Available rear parking sensors
• Available power-folding mirrors
•  Available panoramic sunroof

Safety-wise the Kia Sorento has been well rated by both agencies. The NHTSA gave the Sorento a perfect score of five stars in the overall, front, and side crash test. The IIHS too gave the Sorento the top score of ‘Good’ in all its crash tests and went a little further to award it the ‘Top Safety Pick’. The standard suite of safety features in the Sorento includes traction and stability control, airbags, anti-lock brakes, etc.

Key safety features include:

• Rearview camera
• Parking sensors
• Hill-start assist
• Front active head restraint
• Hill descent control

Kia Sorento is a well-sorted SUV that has its basics sorted. It has wide engine choices, offers good performance, fuel economy is great even from the V6, the interiors are upscale for the price point, and it gets high safety ratings from both the agencies. If that isn’t a definition for a well-rounded product then we don’t know what will be. If you are looking for the Kia Sorento then you can go for it eyes-closed.