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Kia Sorento SUV (2003-2009) running costs and reliability

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Running costs rating: 3 out of 53.0

Written by David Ross Updated: 28 September 2023

Miles per pound (mpp)

Reliable fuel consumption data for comparison purposes is not available for this model.

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Fuel economy

A more stringent standard for fuel economy (WLTP) was introduced from September 2017, and this model was not required to undergo that test. Its fuel economy measured under the previous test system was 23 - 36 mpg. However these figures are less likely to be achievable in real world driving and so should never be compared to another car's mpg which was measured under the newer, more realistic WLTP system.

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Running costs for this large SUV aren’t as huge as you may imagine – especially if you stick with the diesel. At around 35mpg, it’s far more economical than the petrol V6. Depreciation isn’t too much of an issue in terms of actual cash lost (as opposed to a percentage of the car’s original list price). Kia dealers offer value-for-money servicing and insurance groups are reasonable at between 12 and 14.

The Sorento performs fairly badly on the eco front, with an average of 232g/km CO2 across the range. The manual diesel is the better choice – it emits 209g/km of CO2 and is capable of 36mpg.

The vast majority of owners have reported no problems whatsoever. There have been some niggles – rectified under warranty – and a handful of breakdowns, but nothing to cause major concern. The build quality certainly feels impressive and a different league to Kia models built before 2003.