• Updated infotainment set-up easy to use
• Quality is up there with the best in class
• Nicely judged trim and materials

How is the quality and layout?

The Sorento gets a lightly updated interior that’s sleeker and is topped off by a new infotainment set-up that looks very similar to those fitted to the EV6 and EV9. As before, fit and finish impresses, as does its design and technology. It’s modern with tasteful use of brightly coloured and textured trim on the dashboard.

The controls are well organised, and there are enough soft-touch plastics to distance it from the more utilitarian models in Kia’s range. The cabin features a mixture of touch-sensitive buttons, toggle switches and rotary controls for the volume and scrolling the touchscreen’s menus. Kia’s steering wheel buttons are great, too. The firm didn’t fall into the same trap as Volkswagen and fit fiddly haptic buttons.

The horizonal bank of touch-sensitive buttons beneath the main screen can initially be a little confusing as you can switch between sat-nav and climate control functionality. But once you figure that out, it’s logical enough, and an elegant way of avoiding having too many buttons.

51

Infotainment and tech

Kia offers a 12.3-inch infotainment system with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay fitted as standard. The screen’s graphics are sharp, but it can be initially daunting to use on the move due to the sheer number of sub menus to swipe in and out of. But the good news is that it integrates seamlessly with your smartphone, and also has an excellent built-in voice control system.

On all but the ‘2’ model, you get a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster ahead of the driver (the cheapest model has a 4.0-inch display). Its graphics are sharp and there’s plenty of contrast which makes it easy to read. Our only complaint is that it doesn’t offer a great deal of customisation or a full map setting for the sat-nav. You need to dig through the sub menus with fervour to turn off the driver assistance features, too.

At least the screen provides a lot of information. You can view data on your car’s energy flow (if it has a hybrid powertrain), plus an analysis of your driving style and attention level. There’s also a tyre-pressure monitoring system and traffic sign recognition.

51

Comfort

• Large, accommodating seats
• Lots of space and adjustability up front
• Second row is spacious; third row less so

The Kia Sorento is a comfortable car. The front seats are wide and offer more than enough adjustment for both our shortest and tallest testers to get comfortable. Every version of the car also now comes with electric seat adjusters and heating elements.

The second seating row is equally comfortable, featuring extras such as sun blinds, reclining backrests and heating elements for the outer two seats. These are in addition to the front passenger seat adjuster, which can remotely free up leg room like on a luxury car.

The third row is is comfortable enough, but suited to a pair of smaller adults, teenagers or your kids. Before we criticise the Sorento too much for this, it’s not really any worse than the Skoda Kodiaq or Peuegot 5008 in this respect.