Not sure if Dick Clark will be on hand to watch the ball drop in Times Square this year, but Kia is paying big bucks to make sure its all-new 2011 Sorento has a front-row seat. A big screen at the corner of Broadway and 7th will display the new unibody crossover prior to its mid-January arrival in dealerships.
Priced under $20K, Kia says the more carlike Sorento will cost approximately $1,500 less than its outgoing body-on-frame predecessor.
A new 273-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 will be offered only with a six-speed automatic transmission.
Built at Kia's brand-new manufacturing plant in West Point, Georgia, the first 2011 Sorento rolled off the line just 16 days ago as the first Kia model to be built in the U.S.
A historic day for the Korean automaker, one it'll likely celebrate straight through the new year. -- Kelly Toepke, News Editor
hondacura4 says:
04:18 PM, 12/ 2/09
Funny how the previous Sorento heavily resembled the original Lexus RX and the new Sorento heavily resembles the Acura MDX.
kandeemann2001 says:
05:42 PM, 12/ 2/09
@ hondacura2: Judging from your username, it figures you'd say that.
firstclass says:
07:33 PM, 12/ 2/09
@-hondacura
The Acura MDX looks like all the other midsized SUVs as well. It’s all about the subtleties. take the D-pillar out of it. This is a handsome little SUV. Think of it as the MDX’s conventional little brother. Personally I think it looks much better than the MDX and a thousand times better than the Escape, outlander, CR-V, and Rav4
alman08 says:
08:26 PM, 12/ 2/09
just saw the Sorento at the S.F. International Auto Show today, and this one is a very nice vehicle. and rest assure, folks, this Sorento looks nothing like the MDX.
rsholland says:
04:57 AM, 12/ 3/09
Looks good except for the small rear-quarter window/large D-pillar, which impedes rear visibility.
brn says:
07:00 AM, 12/ 3/09
Looks like a Ford to me.
stephen987 says:
07:05 AM, 12/ 3/09
I saw one just like this on display in the Atlanta airport on Tuesday. In person it's pretty striking, and not as bulky as the old Sorento.
misterfusion says:
10:04 AM, 12/ 3/09
Riswick gave this car a nice write-up in the Edmunds Daily blog. I think its biggest advantage is price: I'm interested in the Equinox, but its base price is out of my range. If the Sorento is actually well-equipped at around $20k, then it could be quite the competitor.
Biggest drawback? That massive D-pillar. Seriously, what do automakers have against visibility nowadays?!
stephen987 says:
03:09 PM, 12/ 3/09
It's the bunker mentality. Ever tried to see out of a Hummer H3?
cr_driver says:
05:23 PM, 12/ 4/09
D pillar sucks big big time.