The 2021 Kia Sorento is all-new from road to roof with a decidedly more-chiseled, square-jawed exterior design, a more inviting interior, a completely new gas-engine lineup, upgraded infotainment, and an expanded roster of safety and driver-assistive technology. It’s also available with a gas-electric hybrid powertrain which you can read about in a separate review. This three-row midsize SUV can seat six or seven passengers and is available with front- or all-wheel drive. The Sorento had been Kia’s best-selling SUV prior to the introduction of the smash-hit Telluride for 2020. It’s about 8 inches shorter overall than the also midsize Telluride.
The Sorento lineup grows to six trim levels this year: LX 2.5, S 2.5, EX 2.5T, SX 2.5T, SX Prestige 2.5T, and SX Prestige X-Line 2.5T. We tested the new off-road-oriented X-Line, which brings standard 20-inch alloy wheels, all-wheel drive, a snow mode, chunkier-looking roof rails, more aggressive-looking front and rear fascias, and an inch more ground clearance than other Sorentos. Including the $1,170 destination charge, prices start at $30,560 for the base front-drive LX trim and top out at $43,760 for the AWD-only X-Line. All-wheel drive is an $1,800 upcharge on most Sorento trims.