Review: 2023 Kia Sorento 2.5G 2WD 7 Seater – Basically Premium, But Is It Worth It?

Is the base-spec 2023 Kia Sorento 2.5G 2WD 7 Seater any good? We certainly think it holds plenty of merit!

It’s A Base variant, How ‘Premium’ Can It Be?

Very, as we discovered recently after piloting the 2023 Kia Sorento 2.5G 2WD 7 Seater pictured over a four-day testing stint. It’s obvious in the way this D-segment SUV is styled, with key traits like the two-tone 18-inch wheels, tasty gloss back-finished accents and grille, plus a dash of tasteful aluminium bits too.

Certainly, these traits bode well with the Sorento’s looks, which is both very Germanic and American, the latter arguably most apparent with its derriere. The news is similar once we climbed aboard into its spacious cabin where said premium looks is thankfully matched with respectably premium ‘feel’.

At a glance, its easy to see how this Korean-built D-segment SUV entry looks both Germanic and American, the latter being most apparent with the styling of its rear-end.

Notable 'premium' design touches include the dual-tone 18-inch wheels, gloss black-finished grille and accents, several aluminium trims, as well as the large and legible model script badge in the tailgate.

There’s no plush leather covering the seats though, but there are some wrapped around the steering wheel, gear lever, parts of the dash, and door armrests – essentially, the key touchpoints. Absent plush cow hide aside, we’re certain prospects will agree that the fabric seat covers aren’t too shabby.

At the very least, both front seats feature power-adjustability, and there’s even keyless entry and ignition to boot. Above all, the dual-zone climate control, especially with its four pairs of dual vents in the dash, second-row vents, and dedicated third-row vents and fan controls, are a treat for all.

Both the forward and rear lights are all-LED, the latter even boasting a distinct LED DRLs layout flanking the equally prominent front grille design.

Yes, though positioned as the entry offering into Kia’s fourth generation Sorento line, it covers enough ‘basics’ here to feel very posh indeed, and that’s despite missing out on plush leather upholstery or the coveted second-row ‘captain seats’ primed in the two higher-end guises slotted above it.

Like its exterior, the innards of this base-spec Sorento looks and feels equally 'premium', and it's backed-up by plenty of tech and features.

What About Tech?

Naturally, most brands tend to water down base variants as such quite a bit, but that’s not the case in this guise of the Sorento. Aside from the climate control and keyless entry and ignition mentioned earlier, the list of standard kit primed in the basic-spec offering is respectably high.

Firstly, all three rows of seats get dedicated USB ports and 12-volt sockets, totalling six and three respectably, and its further complemented with a wireless charging pad in the dash too. Other key conveniences even include a powered tailgate, and one-touch buttons to fold the second-row seats.

Altogether, there are six USB ports and three 12-volt sockets present throughout the cabin.

Dual-zone automatic climate control suite boasts second-row vents plus dedicated third-row vents and control, it even boasts novel dual-outlet vents in the dash.

Next comes the decently-sized 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen which, besides wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, is primed with a wide-angle reverse camera view function and paired with a six-speaker audio setup that boasts equally decent audio quality.

As for drivers, the presence of analogue speedo and rev-counter clocks may seem a tad dated, but at least there’s an interactive and rich multi-info LCD display panel primed in between both. The addition of an electronic parking brake (EPB) with auto brake-hold function, is also very nifty for the daily.

This base-spec variant doesn't get a fully-digital dash display, but does get a decent setup featuring analogue clocks and a richly interactive multi-info display panel.

The 10.25-inch centre infotainment touchscreen is decent as it offers both wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, as well as wide-angle reverse camera view function.

If we were to nitpick, perhaps an SUV of this size does warrant a 360-degree parking camera on top of just sensors, but this isn’t a deal-breaker to say the least. What might be though is the drive dynamics that this variant of the Sorento possess which, for lack of better description, is a mixed bag of sorts…

The drive dynamics for this base-spec fourth-gen Sorento is a bit of a mixed bag, but its decently good overall.

Tell Us About The Drive Then…

 Allow us to start with our biggest gripe here, and it stems from the powertrain. On paper, the 2.5-litre 4-cyl petrol mill’s outputs of 177 HP and 232 NM driving the front wheels doesn’t sound too shabby. However, we can’t disagree that the latter torque figure is on the low side of things in this space – it’s not punchy.

There’s no hiding this Kia SUV’s hefty 1,719 KG kerb weight, meaning you’ll need to work the powertrain a little more in terms of throttle application to get it going. Naturally, this also means experiencing a noisier engine and increased fuel consumption, thus making this a slightly compromised package altogether.

This 2.5-litre 4-cyl petrol mill does feel a tad bit laboured when tasked with propelling this Sorento's hefty claimed 1,719 KG kerb weight.

The powertrain package does feature a slick 6-speed automatic. There's also four-selectable drive modes to choose from, as are a hill-descent control (HDC) and electronic parking brake (EPB).

Nevertheless, that’s as far as our gripe with the powertrain goes, because things like the slick action of the 6-speed automatic box it’s paired with, the decent responsiveness of it all, and the presence of four selectable drive modes (Eco, Normal, Sport, and Smart) all help mitigate said compromises well.

Then there’s also the way this somewhat large SUV rides and handles, which is more akin to a German make. Not only planted, the springs and dampers at all four corners felt well-balanced too, feeling neither uncomfortably stiff and harsh or waywardly too soft and un-precise.

Lack of punch aside, the drive is very comfortable and sufficiently dynamic, feeling neither too soft or wayward.

Also, should you find yourself having to navigate through unpaved paths in this flavour of the Sorento, the respectably generous ground clearance it rides on, plus the presence a hill-descent control (HDC) module, ought to ease things here too.

Apart from the typically muted feel of the electric power-steering suite, there’s really little to loathe with this Sorento’s German-like ride and handling, more so when that gets coupled with the spacious cabin’s also Continental-esque noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) suppression levels, which are very high.

In terms of safety, BAuto didn't skimp on this front, even for this base-spec offering.

What About Safety?

Certainly, this is where this flavour of the Sorento truly stands out over other basic-spec segment rivals. Despite being the entry-level offering in its range, assemblers and distributors Bermaz Auto Alliance Sdn Bhd (BAuto) didn’t skimp on this front by brimming it with equal amounts of kit as the higher guises do.

Firstly, there’s the usual affair encompassing ABS brakes, traction and stability control suites, along with six airbags plus ISOFIX childseat anchors in the second- and third-row seats. Secondly comes a full barrage of semi-autonomous active driver assist (ADAS) features that could almost make this SUV drive itself.

There's a full-swing of semi-autonomous ADAS features present, which adds further to this base-spec variant's cause over other similar entry-level segment rivals.

Included here are things like adaptive cruise control with stop-go function, forward collision warning (FCW) and autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane-departure warning (LDW) and -keeping assist (LKAS), blind-spot monitor (BSM) and collision avoidance, as well as rear cross-traffic alert (RCTA).

One could argue that this version of the Sorento makes up for its powertrain’s lack of punch, as well as its other minor compromises, through this rather uncompromised approach towards safety. The same can be said about the abundance of space, and the ensuing practicality it enables…

With both the second- and third-row seats down, the Sorento offers up a massive 6,011-litre cargo space!

It’s Very Spacious Indeed!

Even with the third-row seats up, the 187-litre cargo capacity available ought to suffice for just about anything the daily commute could throw at it. Drop those seats down and the 616-litre space granted easily swallow an entire family’s typical count of roadtrip luggage, or even the monthly supermarket haul.

Still not enough? Then the drop the second-row seats via the one-touch buttons mentioned and it grants a massive 6,011-litre space. Surely, this is more than sufficient to haul furniture or perhaps appliances from your annual trips to Ikea or Harvey Norman. Though not the largest in space, this is indeed enough.

Space in the third-row is perhaps best left to fun-sized folks like children, teenagers, or the 'petite'. Full-sized adults will find legroom lacking due to the raised floor in this section.

No posh 'Captain Seats' here, but the second-row seats in this base-spec variant both reclines and slides forwards and back.

Of course, no package is perfect. If we were to nitpick, we’ll be brief and point out that perhaps the third-row seats are best left to fun-sized folks – i.e. kids, teenagers, or the ‘petite’ – instead of full-sized adults. This largely stems from the raised floor in this section, which robs legroom to make it a comfy space.

Otherwise, life in the front seats are fantastic, but they are seconded – literally – by the second-row seats that can both recline and slide forwards and back on top of being folded as detailed. For those who find ‘captain seats’ to be a tad bit much, this will indeed suffice.

At RM211,498.40 sans insurance, we agree it's far from a bargain. But given the package primed, and how it's presented, perhaps there's enough here to warrant a serious look into this base-spec Sorento.

What’s The Cost Of All This?

Ah yes, price. We’ll be blunt and admit that the fourth-gen Kia Sorento, even in its most basic form as tested, is far from a bargain at RM211,498.40 sans insurance. Yes, that’s a very stiff figure indeed when contrasted against its core Chinese, Japanese, European, and sole Malaysian segment rivals here.

Nevertheless, besides the merits in equipment and cabin space detailed, not forgetting the surprising yet impressive build quality this locally assembled (CKD) offering possess, what we reckon might help justify said figure is the 5-year or 100,000 KM warranty and free service package that distributors BAuto included.

Given BAuto’s track record with its other left-field brands under its fold, we’re certain that last fact will be a big enough factor to convince many into this Sorento’s favour. Wouldn’t you agree?

SPECIFICATION

KIA SORENTO 2.5G 2WD 7 SEATER