The facelifted Kia Sorento SUV has been snapped on a Malaysian highway. This brownish-grey (or is it greyish-brown?) unit was spotted by reader Alan Ong, who initially thought it was a Sportage, but was alerted by the slight disguise it was wearing.
The masking tape covers the car’s badges and half of the tail lamps, but not much else, leaving us in no doubt that it is the facelifted Kia Sorento. We first saw the XM facelift last June, sporting a new look that’s more in line with Kia’s latest Schreyer-penned designs. The big SUV looks sleeker than before, especially at the rear, where the big square lights have been replaced by longer, slimmer items.
It’s not just a cosmetic job, though, as this Sorento sits on a different platform than the pre-facelift car. The upgraded underpinnings are shared with the third-generation Hyundai Santa Fe.
There’s also a re-engineered bodyshell, enhanced powertrains for best-in-class fuel economy with lower emissions, improved ride, handling and refinement, plus additional convenience and safety features. The cabin has also been redesigned. Click here for the full story on what’s new.
Early stage local testing or impending launch? We’ll have to wait and see.
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nice looking SUV..
We Toyota salesman are shitting bricks. Now, badmouthing Korean cars in car portals and websites seem not to work, we don’t know what to do. Now everyone knows the modus operandi of the Toyota salesman, we emphasise on RV and try to bad mouth other car brand’s RV. I guess I admit defeat.
korea car model change frequent, my sonata look like old model after a year…sign
who care…
that’s your fictional sonata nad fictional looking older model
Wow ! Facelift with different in real light, what a state of the art design, now i am waiting for comment from korean car fan boy who bash japanese car for having minor facelift. ;-)
Do you even read the article before you comment? :)
“sits on a different platform”, “re-engineered bodyshell”, “cabin has also been redesigned”.
Which of these are “minor facelift” in your opinion?
THE FACE LIFTED FRONT LOOK PALE. REAR IS OK!
yeah, ex audi designer but the rear is a Q7 wannabe
meh…VW Touareg better than this.
This is a stupid comparison sorry to say.
Yeah, agree with @XDM
Front pale
Rear is really good looking
Great looking SUV, but I still prefer the looks if the pre-FL one. Sorry, kimchi fan, this one looks softer, the pre-FL looks more muscular. IMO though
this car is piece of shit!…the only thing I know about kia sorento is problematic car..you can ask sorento out there and they will tell you how problematic the car is…gear box failure, battery, air cond, electronic and all short, let alone the resale value drop like what and you can never trade it off because the value so low..
I guess you’re Sam Loo’s friend.
the way kia presented this model we feel cheated when we drive it..you can ask all mechanic guy out there how problematic the car is…verdict:..never buy this car..
From the way you talk, it’s obvious you have NEVER owned this car before, and yet you wanna keep talking people not to buy it. Dei, one persons bad experience doesn’t mean the car is a bad car. So based on your analogy, does that mean if one Jap car is no good, people shouldn’t buy it? Stupidity at its peak, is what you are. No wonder the Malaysian car market can never progress with such people like you.
ya..I dont want to be associated with kia sorento, picanto and whatnot, let alone to own and drive it..my friend’s sorento got battery changed at RM600/- and aircond off suddenly after few months owned it brand new, the other friends also complaining gear box problem, radiator leakage after only 1year…and the list goes on..not reliable at all…japanese sometime got problem but mostly due to wear and tear and to fix it is easy and much cheaper than korean counterpart because of the parts are easily available…last time I owned JDM toyota markII 1jzx100 and toyota celsior ucf20 and all I can say is fantastic engine and engineering…no single problem after 11 years owned them..and i believe all japanese toyota, honda, mazda , nissan etc esp JDM are superb car, reliable and worth every single penny…ya, what I hv to admit here: say no to kia sorento, you will be dissapointed..dont believe?..you bet..
Golf GTI got problems. BMW F30 3 series have problems. Toyota’s accelerator got problem. Honda city caught fire in India.
Your point being? Mechanic guys? Bawah pokok one? They are good at fixing old protons and peroduas only. Don’t ever bring your car to them unless you wanna invite more problems. Bring them to a Kia specialist for goodness sake.
Google “vios problem” and you will get 900000 results. So does it mean vios is a problematic car? Perception is the key here. I agree korean cars have a perception problem. Some bawah pokok mechanic says korean engines are prone to cracking. Something he picks from the air? I have known ppl with korean cars with >200k km with only oil, fluid, belt, brake pad, tyre change. No cracking engine block.
Perhaps if you install a turbo boosted to 2 bar, a jap engine might not crack as easily as a korean engine. But how many common mortal install a turbo kit and those who install, how many boost them to 2 bars? I think if u boost that high, your engine is the least of your concern as your gearbox will be the first to go.
Questions ppl don’s ask but instead rely on hearsay and rumours.
Korean cars have poorer Metal quality compared to the typical Japanese as the information I am getting from those in the Metallography business.
You may know ppl with Korean cars doing 200k with no prob, but I have know ppl with Korean cars, thou its rather old like Hyundai Matrix, with problems which include battery failure, Excessive noise on the dash and exhaust pipe falling. The latest Elantra also have problem with steering misalignment. And the price to fix it is around 30% higher.
Perception is key, there are more Vioses problem on the road than Forte problems simply because Vios outnumber any KIA/Hyundai by quite a factor. All in all, I’ll follow an advice I got during a CNY chat, If I want a car for 3 and only 3 years, I’ll go for Korean. If I want a car for more than that, get a Japanese, like a Honda City that is not on fire like we did.
Poorer metal quality in what sense? Hardness? Corrosion resistance? Brinell Number? Fatigue resistance? Ppl who work in the metallography business? Ok. What they work as? How many years of experience they have. What kind of experience they have prior to coming to that conclusion? I’m trying to instill a sense of critical thinking in the minds of the readers in this forum and not be swayed easily by what the mechanic says, the ppl in the metallography business, or the favorite “they say” because those ppl might not have your best interest / know enough to actually pass a judgement.
As a car user, all i want is for my car not to rust after 10-15 years, and in this sense, i have never heard anybody complaining about their korean car rusting prematurely. The best steel with the best microstructure or lattice arrangements is not required.
What u get is just an advise from ppl who most likely pick things from the air. Why 3 years and not 5 years? Who gave u that advice? What is his credibility? Its easy to come up with statement like x is better than y, cause some z said so. But to back it up with convincing argument takes lots of critical thinking skills.
And cars with battery failure? After how many years? All batteries in all cars are destined to fail after 2 years if the battery is in the same compartment as the engine, or 5 years if its in another compartment.
My favorite issue with jap car is the throttle delay problem with toyota vios. Step on it, wait 1 sec then only the problem will come. As a control system engineer, that is obviously a fault in the system but toyota says its a “feature” of Drive by wire system. You don;t see similar “feature” with other cars with drive by wire system, only in vios. Why so?
The point is every car has their problems. Jap cars having rock solid reliability is a thing of the past. Korean cars might or might not be less reliable than a similar jap, but the difference is not as far off as some of you guys might believe.
“step on it, wait 1 sec then only power comes”
And AVH, i used to enjoy debating/discussing with you as you would look at an issue from all points of view, at times you were able to make me think hard about your argument. But nowadays you seem to have lost that edge, resorting to hearsay and rumours instead. Are you the real AVH or an imposter?
BTW, as a person who drives a city frequently, my curiosity and fear got me when you say a City cough fire. So I did a many research as the internet gave. From the only picture I found, it appears to be a previous generation City, the ugly one. The one with the Businessman, and it turned out to be a CNG kit car.
The other one involving the Afghan national, crashed into a divider, overturned and caught fire. The car was overloaded with six and the driver is believe to be under the influence of Alcohol.So it’s more of an accident.
So I’am some what relieve that it’s not a model fault like some Ferrari or Lamborghini catching fire. Of course in my city fair defense I can always use a Korean example, but that is likely to start an unnecessary fiery debate.
There was a recall/service campaign recently involving the old honda city’s power window switch that could catch fire, spewing smoke inside the car.
If yours is a new city, then you should be safe for now.
There are real and there are importers using the same name. I actually enjoy a haelthy debatea and reasoning, but since most of the time I have to reply on a puny screen of a phone, I can’t say as much as I want.
This is a name that I replied to you in the past. Metal quality as in fatigue resistance. The same problem that led to the downfall of the de havilland comet. Their engine just cannot take the stress as the Japanese engine, the Japanese still have a reputation for high tolerance engine, more obvious on high performance such as the RB26DETT. You may argue that the Pikes Peak PM580 with a Hyundai Lambda V6 has 650bhp, but that car has some mechanical problems during it’s run. the person I talked to is actually an off-shore engineer for about 2 decades.
Batteries failure such as after buying the car. The person who gave me that advice also drives around in a 5-year old Hyundai, along with a newer Japanese make. Problems are starting to show such as engine sounds and brake problems, including that exhaust issue I mention earlier. Of course similar Japanese cars has that issue but fixing it cost more than the Japanese equivalent, and is a real headache when some minor problems such as roof noise continue to persists. It’s the spare parts cost, especially with older Korean models, that can be real high. And being Japanese, e all know it’s simpler and sparten than a Korean, less faults in the future.
Throttle respond is really a pain in Japanese cars unless is a manual, but Koreans are’t that much different. To be honest, I’ve lost the edge. To be honest, I’ve actually beginning to loose my edge, being away from comp means I cannot elaborate my typing as much, resorting to here say, and I can’t prolong my web usage on my phone to reinforce my statement. I’ve begin to comment less ever since Sam Loo and AVH has been under constant identity theft. And sometimes loosing patience, sad to say ADHD is incurable. But I’ll always try to reply my comments, I still believe in reasoning and admit my mistake.
LOL 1 sec late no problem, just step the pedal early. I think what you meant is the ‘pushing’ feeling. Well, learn the characeristics of the car you drive like you know a horse
Awesome SUV with its ACTIVE AND PASSIVE SAFETY FEATURES,but i strongly believe that it would sell very well if have DIESEL 2.2L version as we have in Malaysia (HYUNDAI SANTA FE 2.2 DIESEL)BECAUSE it uses same platform and same engine.
so pls KIA introduce here KIA SORENTO DIESEL it would be awesome,petrol version is under power while use RON 95 petrol.
bring on the 2.2 diesel version, the curret 2.4 petrol is too weak and very thirsty!
Fortuner for life ……
This is a huge improvement, they really solve some issues from the previous version, like the stiff suspension, better looking rear lights, more comfy interior.
saw this b4 cny at putrajaya.. really good looking car..
Nexus2238….bashers only want to bash…they dont read first…
sometimes, i feel kia sorento was underrated in our market. actually it is a good looking SUV with good spec also. maybe people have more choice in this segment like santa fe, chevy captiva and even old looking toyota fortuner.
Many people are still very ignorant about cars. In this category, most only knew about the Fortuner. I’m driving a Sorento but many thought it’s a Sportage! WTF!
Ditto that Black Dog. Well, considering the Fortuner was one of the first into this market, it’s understandable. However, as competition moves, I find it ludicrously overpriced for what it is. For 180k for what’s a Hilux SUV, and using lots of old stuff, the smart money for such truck based SUVs would be the Pajero Sport. Way cheaper, excellent power delivery and economy, and not to forget, a much, much lower sticker price. Of course, if we want a more luxurious car-like SUV, the money immediately goes to either the Sorento or the Captiva, as both cars do the job very well, and most importantly, comes with 6 airbags. A definite must-buy for families looking for safety and comfort over resale value. Oh, and better handling too. Just not off road for these two though.
I agree..many review mention the new captiva better handling and more comfy than fortuner…but fortuner car got ‘aura’ ie got ‘real presence’ on road, noticible…especially black coloured n tinted one… can be either vip, mafia geng or high rank gov official inside fortuner. N i see more fortuner than captiva on m’sian road despite those reviews..maybe brand name & resale value m’sian go after? But if given choice between santa fe 2013 n this latest sorento, i wud go for santa fe. Im waiting for 2013 santa fe to arrive here..so that i can decide on buying either fortuner or the newly design 2013 santa fe
david d..who wants to buy kia sorento?..I think something goes seriously wrong here especially the perception of kia cars looking good bla bla…but the fact is, whoever buys kia cars end up with frustation and will never get good trade off, even if they do the price will be just like scrap iron…to kia fanboy outhere:.this is really a car from a junkyard..
My comment above apply for petrol/gasoline suv only…thus mitsubishi pajero sport not mention as i believe all pajero sport are diesel driven….except the real pajero which is petrol and pricey..way way unaffordable for me..300k++
The exterior changes is very minimal. Most obvious is the tail lights, which looks nice. The minimal changes is good actually for current owner of Sorento, where 2nd hand value should not have dropped too much, or with little urge to upgrade.
Well done Kia for the continuous improvement.
Fortuner is the most reliable SUV ever !!!!
gaduh jangan x gaduh… hahaha.. yang nk lawan debate mesti explanation lagi panjang.. a bagi 5 patah perkataan, b jawab 10 patah perkataan, a balas balik 20 patah perkataan, b balas balik 100 patah perkataan.. hahahaha seronok tengok..(please dislike).. =p