Later this year, Kia will reveal the updated Sorento crossover. Our spy photographers spotted the redesigned model several months ago, and new images show little has changed since then. The photos show the crossover continuing to wear thick cladding and camouflage across the fascias, but they also provide an uninformative peek at the cabin for the first time.
Mid-cycle refreshes often update a car’s exterior and little else. However, it appears that the Sorento won’t follow that trend. The lone interior photo shows Kia covering the cabin with a cloth, hiding the dashboard and center console.
The updated Sorento should arrive with a thoroughly revamped interior. The crossover should receive the wraparound dual-display setup launched in the 2022 Sportage and 2023 Telluride, which can be seen poking the cloth. Kia should couple the new layout with an updated center console and instrument panel that reduces the physical switchgear for capacitive buttons.
On the outside, we expect Kia to revamp the bumpers, restyle the grille, and install new vertical-oriented taillights similar to those on the Telluride. The taillights are the same, but the automaker will likely tweak their internal graphics, and they could be connected with a light bar, a trend seen from other brands.
The Sorento’s powertrain lineup is likely one of the few things to carry over to the redesigned model unchanged. In the US, the crossover is available with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder making 191 horsepower (142 kilowatts) and 182 pound-feet (246 Newton-meters) of torque. The automaker also offers a turbocharged 2.5-liter making 281 hp (210 kW) and 311 lb-ft (421 Nm) of torque.
Kia also offers the Sorento with two hybrid powertrains. The standard one features a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder making a combined 227 hp (169 kW) and 258 lb-ft (350 Nm) of torque. The plug-in hybrid also uses a 1.6-liter engine, but it makes 261 hp (195 kW) and the same 258 lb-ft of torque. These powertrains should be available in the redesigned model. Kia could tweak them to make them more efficient, but we don’t expect big changes.
Kia hasn’t announced a debut date for the redesigned Sorento, but it’s expected to break cover in the second half of 2023. If that’s the case, it could go on sale about 12 months from now for the 2024 model year.
