2022 Kia Sorento

Pros: Value for the dollar; easy-to-use control system; roomy first and second rows; pleasant road manners

Cons: Tight legroom in third-row; limited cargo space behind third-row seat; not as sporty as some similarly-sized crossovers

CG Says: The Kia Sorento was redesigned from the ground up for 2021, and the 2022 Kia Sorento sees expanded feature availability and the addition of a plug-in-hybrid version. The Sorento is a midsize crossover SUV with three rows of seating; it slots below the flagship Telluride in Kia’s SUV lineup in size and price. The base powertrain is a 191-horsepower naturally aspirated 2.5-liter 4-cylinder paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission. EX, SX, and SX Prestige models get a 281-hp turbocharged 2.5-liter 4-cylinder with an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Conventional gas-engine Sorentos are available in front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The topline AWD SX Prestige X-Line has off-road-focused features such as a one-inch-higher ride height, locking center differential, and hill-descent control.

The Hybrid combines a turbocharged 1.6-liter 4-cylinder gas engine with an electric motor for a total of 227 hp and is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. The Hybrid is offered with front-wheel drive, and an all-wheel-drive hybrid was added for 2022. The new-for-‘22 plug-in-hybrid model comes solely with all-wheel drive; it has 261 hp and an estimated pure-electric driving range of up to 32 miles.

Standard safety features on all Sorentos include autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist, lane-departure warning, rear and occupant alert. Newly available safety features include Blind Spot Collision Avoidance Assist (which warns and then uses evasive steering assist to avoid collisions when changing lanes), Parallel Exit (which warns of incoming parallel traffic when you’re leaving a parking spot), Rear Occupant Alert (which warns of potentially forgotten passengers or items in the back seat), Safe Exit Assist (which can detect an object approaching from the rear and keep the child safety locks activated until the object passes). Though it’s a bit smaller than most three-row midsize crossovers—which means its third-row seats aren’t as spacious and there’s not as much cargo room behind the third-row—the Sorento is a bit more maneuverable than its larger class rivals. The Sorento’s excellent redesign last year put it back at the forefront of the midsize SUV class, and the new plug-in-hybrid makes the lineup even more compelling.