Driving Impressions
With either V6 under the hood, the 2009 Kia Sorento has plenty of power for both city traffic and swift highway cruising. The suspension provides a pleasant ride and adequate handling on smooth pavement, but when the road gets rough, the ride gets bouncy, with a good deal of the bumps transmitted directly into the cabin. The Sorento's brakes might also be a cause for concern; in previous testing, we noticed significant brake fade after just two panic stops from 60 mph. Drivers who plan on any traversing of mountainous roads should keep this in mind.
The Sorento's steering feel, however, is satisfying and there's a minimum of body roll when cornering. Thanks to the Sorento's low-range transfer case and truck-based origins, off-road excursions can be tackled with relative ease, but the Sorento's capabilities still fall short of those possessed by more competent vehicles like the Xterra and FJ Cruiser.
See also:
Introduction
How to use this manual
Fuel requirements
Vehicle handling instructions
Vehicle break-in process
Indicator symbols on the instrument cluster ...
Standard Kia Motors Safety
Kia Forte offers a class-leading level of standard safety equipment, with
features such as active front headrests, advanced two-stage airbags, front
seat-mounted and side curtain airbags, four-whe ...
Smart key
Smart key
With a smart key, you can lock or unlock
a door (and trunk) and even start the
engine without inserting the key.
The functions of buttons on a smart key
are similar to the remote keyl ...