Less than three years into its life-span the Kia Sorento, has been comprehensively revised. The new Sorento is available to order from Kia dealerships in the UK from the beginning of October 2012 with customers able to pick up their models from December 2012.
Far more than just the usual mid-term upgrade, this is a front-to-rear and top-to-bottom re-engineering of the car which improves safety, comfort, luxury and driving dynamics while lowering fuel consumption, emissions and running costs. In a simplified range, all models now have permanent all-wheel drive system and are powered by a revised version of Kia's 2.2-litre CRDi turbodiesel engine.
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The suspension revisions also contribute to New Kia Sorento's greater refinement. In addition, a three-layer dash pad, a tunnel insulator and a redesigned wind deflector ahead of the panorama roof fitted to 'KX-3' help to reduce vibrations, boom and road noise entering the cabin - what engineers refer to as noise, vibration and harshness (NVH).
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All versions of New Sorento are now powered by a revised version of Kia's 2.2-litre CRDi turbodiesel engine, driving all four wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox or the company's' six-speed automatic. A new exhaust-gas recirculation system has helped New Sorento achieve class-leading fuel economy and CO2 emissions of 47.9 mpg and 155 g/km (manual) - improvements of 5.7 mpg and 22 g/km over the outgoing model, which in turn rewards buyers with a saving of £155 in the first year's road tax (VED). The figures for New Sorento with the six-speed automatic transmission - still one of only a few to be completely designed, engineered and built in-house in the global auto industry - are 42.2 mpg and 175 g/km with the 17-inch wheels fitted to the majority of models, or 41.5 mpg and 178 g/km for KX-3 with 18-inch wheels. These represent reductions of up to 4 mpg and 19 g/km. Automatic versions of New Sorento have Kia's Active ECO feature which adjusts the operation of the engine and transmission to promote maximum fuel economy.
The 2.2-litre CRDi engine develops 194 bhp at 3,800 rpm and 422 Nm of torque from just 1,800 rpm, endowing New Kia Sorento with outstanding driveability on- and off-road. New Sorento accelerates from 0-60 mph in 9.4 seconds (manual) or 9.5 seconds (auto), and all versions have a top speed of 118 mph.
New Kia Sorento, like every other Kia, benefits from a seven-year or 100,000-mile warranty.
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