2021 Kia Sorento vs. 2021 Toyota Highlander

The 2021 Toyota Highlander is an easy go-to SUV for many families. It’s known for being comfortable, quiet, and safe, and it fits up to eight passengers with less bulk than many competing three-row crossovers.

The 2021 Kia Sorento aims to challenge the Highlander on every front. Newly redesigned this year, it’s roomier than before while still being more petite than the Toyota. This year also brings improved driving dynamics, better fuel economy, and — in a clear response to the long-popular Toyota Highlander Hybrid — an all-new gas-electric Kia Sorento Hybrid model. And as you’d expect from Kia, it offers tons of features for the money. But which of these two mid-size SUVs is the best? Let’s go over how these vehicles stack up, and which one is our top pick overall.

Kias have largely moved on from their famously bargain-bin pricing, so the 2021 Sorento isn’t dirt-cheap. It starts at $29,390, jumping more than $2,000 from last year’s model. Still, it’s far less expensive than the Highlander, which starts at $34,180.

Toyota does provide a more powerful standard V6 engine, but even upgrading to the Sorento’s similarly powerful turbocharged four-cylinder costs just $34,990 — and that’s in the luxuriously equipped EX model, some $5,000 less than the equivalent Highlander XLE. Also, while the top Sorento SX Prestige may sound steep for a Kia at $40,590, options can push the Highlander Platinum to a Lexus-like $50,000. Both these SUVs have long lists of luxury, technology, safety, and convenience features. One family-friendly Highlander advantage is the Easy Speak in-car intercom system; Kia has an equivalent DriverTalk feature on its larger Telluride but leaves it off the Sorento. Still, the Sorento offers lots of content and a wide range of models, all for far less money than the equivalent Highlander.

Winner: Kia Sorento

Kia and Toyota have taken different approaches to designing their mid-size crossovers. Toyota goes aggressive, shunning the idea that a three-row crossover has to be a drab box. The Highlander’s squinting headlights, big grille, and bulging flanks refuse to be considered boring.

The Sorento is generally more crisp and conservative. It has straighter, simpler lines, with sharper creases, fewer curves, and — especially on the front end — a more elegant vibe. It has its own unusual points, including a wave-shape on its side window trim, and a unique vertical line breaking its taillights in two pieces. But overall, the Highlander is the more extroverted model while the Sorento is cleaner; we’ll let you pick your preferred aesthetic.

Winner: Tie

The most recent Highlander generation, introduced in 2020, brought a greatly improved interior with upgraded infotainment, richer materials, and more user-friendly controls. Particularly on the top-of-the-line Platinum model, there’s both a high-end and high-tech vibe. For infotainment, base models now get an 8-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay while a largest-in-class 12.3-inch screen is available on higher-end Highlanders.

Still, we’re going to give the edge to the Sorento in this category. The new model also lets you choose between two touchscreen sizes (8 inches and 10.25 inches), and while the Highlander’s maximum screen size is bigger, Kia’s system tends to be more responsive and easier to use than Toyota’s. Also, at least if you stick with the base screen size, you can use Android Auto and Apple CarPlay wirelessly. And the Sorento’s interior ambiance is no less appealing than the Highlander’s, with high-grade materials and perhaps even more consistent panel fit. We’ll let you decide for yourself whether you like the Sorento’s blockier, more rugged dashboard design, but we’ll still give it the win for the fact of its usability and build quality.

Winner: Kia Sorento

The Highlander has less passenger room than many of its closest competitors. Toyota has continued to prioritize tidy exterior dimensions over adult-friendly third-row seating. Still, the Highlander is longer and wider than the Sorento, and that pays off when it’s time for everyone to get inside.

Both SUVs are happiest with four people on board: two in the front seats and two in the second row. But the Toyota provides more second-row legroom and a slightly more usable third row. And by providing three-abreast third-row seating, it lets the Highlander fit up to eight passengers. In contrast, the Sorento tops out at seven passengers, and its second-row captain’s chairs — required on upper-trim Sorentos — cut capacity to six.

Winner: Toyota Highlander

The Highlander’s roomier interior also means a greater cargo capacity. Toyota gives you 16.0 cubic feet of cargo space behind its third-row seat, 48.4 cubic feet with the middle row folded down, and 84.3 cubic feet behind the front seats. It can tow up to 5,000 pounds, too.

The Sorento can’t keep up. It’s a little roomier than its predecessor, but it still holds less cargo than the Highlander: 12.6 cubic feet behind its third-row seat, 45.0 cubic feet behind the second row, and 75.5 cubic feet in total. That’s not bad, but it means you’d need to fold down the third row more often in the Sorento, in addition to fitting less in total. What’s more, while last year’s Sorento could tow up to 5,000 pounds, the new 2021 model maxes out at 3,500 pounds.

Winner: Toyota Highlander

Last year’s Kia Sorento wasn’t outstanding to drive. While comfortable and quiet, it felt loose and disconnected from the road. The redesigned model feels more solid and agile. While still all-out sporty, it drives with more composure without needing to compromise comfort. Two all-new engines are a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder with 191 horsepower and a turbocharged version of that engine that makes 281 hp; the new hybrid model also features a peppy, quiet 227-hp powertrain.

The Highlander comes out swinging on paper with a mighty 295-hp 3.5-liter V6 engine as standard equipment. (The Highlander Hybrid has a 243-hp powertrain that includes a four-cylinder engine.) Still, this engine revs eagerly even in routine conditions, which means you don’t get an extra-hushed driving experience. And while the Highlander rides and handles well most of the time, it feels less substantial than the Sorento when it hits a bump, and its steering feels less natural than the Kia’s.

Winner: Kia Sorento

Despite its big V6 engine, the Highlander holds its own for fuel economy. The EPA pegs it at up to 21 mpg in the city, 29 mpg on the highway, and 24 mpg combined with front-wheel drive and 20 mpg in the city, 27 mpg on the highway, and 23 mpg combined with all-wheel drive. The Highlander Hybrid gets roughly 35 mpg in both the city and on the highway in all three variations tested by the EPA.

Still, the smaller and less powerful Sorento comes out ahead — if by less than you might expect. The base non-turbo engine provides 24 mpg in the city, 29 mpg on the highway, and 26 mpg combined with front-wheel drive and 23 mpg city, 25 mpg highway, and 24 mpg combined with front-wheel drive. The more powerful turbo is similar: 22 mpg city/29 mpg highway/25 mpg combined with front-wheel drive and 1 mpg less with all-wheel drive. The Sorento Hybrid, sold only with front-wheel drive, earns ratings of 39 mpg city/35 mpg highway/37 mpg combined.

Winner: Kia Sorento

The redesigned 2021 Kia Sorento hasn’t yet been crash-tested, but there’s only so much room Kia will have to improve over the Highlander. The Toyota managed five out of five stars for its overall National Highway Traffic Safety Administration performance, and it earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s highest designation of Top Safety Pick+.

Both vehicles come laden with high-end safety and driver-assist technology, including automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keep assist, and automatic high beams. The Sorento also features a leading vehicle departure alert that chimes if the car in front of you drives away while you’re not looking, along with a driver attention warning. And its options include cyclist and cross-traffic monitors for the automatic emergency braking. Toyota counters by providing adaptive cruise control as standard equipment even on the base model (it’s limited to higher-end Sorentos). Although the Sorento has a few more features, we’ll give the Highlander the overall safety win because it has already proven its crashworthiness.

Winner: Toyota Highlander

The 2021 Toyota Highlander has more room than the 2021 Kia Sorento. That could make the difference for some families right there. But before paying thousands extra for a Highlander, see if you can fit into the better-driving, more-efficient, higher-tech Sorento.

Plus, when interior space and towing capacity do become a priority, Kia does offer the larger Telluride that’s still less expensive than the Highlander. This critically acclaimed model trails the Highlander’s fuel economy, and it’s a little bit bulkier, but it’s otherwise the Kia crossover to buy when the Sorento’s smaller size feels like a liability rather than an asset.

Winner: Kia Sorento