In case you’ve forgotten, we’ve caught the very first prototype of the next generation Kia Sorento about a month ago while it was practicing climbing in the Swiss Alps. Unfortunately, the three-row crossover was heavily camouflaged from the ground up, so we had no chance to find out too many details about the redesigned SUV back then. Things are a little bit different now because the 2021 Kia Sorento has been spied testing once again. This time, however, the redesigned model was filmed while undergoing testing at the Nurburgring track.
As you can see, the 2021 Sorento uses thin camouflage this time, so it’s quite clear in which direction the Korean car manufacturer wants to go with its popular three-row SUV. Judging by the spy video, the successor is getting ready to receive an evolutionary redesign. Meaning, things will be different, yet mostly recognizable. There’s still a tiger-nose grille at the front, though, the new one seems to be restyled a little bit and paired with a narrow LED strip that belongs to the new headlights. Speaking of which, the headlights are not just restyled, but also repositioned for the occasion. Yes, the new and slimmer set sits lower than earlier and flow into the grille. There’s something we don’t like around back. Yes, the taillight looks quite cheap, don’t you think? Fortunately, these are just temporary solutions until the carmaker come up with production-ready lamps. The rear hatch, on the other hand, looks notably more attractive than earlier. That’s because the automaker decided to make it more raked than usual. Actually, the entire SUV seems to be taller, thus creating a squared-off appearance.
We still have no official images of the new cabin, though we think we know what’s cooking inside of the 2021 Kia Sorento. The three-row SUV will reportedly host a totally new and modern dashboard with a large touchscreen somewhere in the middle. While the current model comes as a seven-seat model only, the successor will most definitely return a five-set configuration as an option. No matter which one option you chose, you can be sure that there will be enough room for everyone and everything because the SUV provides plenty of room for all passengers, as well as quite respectable cargo capacity. In addition, the 2021 Sorento will come fitted with new active-safety feature and a number of new, premium touches.
Unofficially, the next-generation Kia Sorento will change its underpinnings too. As far as we’ve heard, the three-row SUV will share a platform with the new Santa Fe. Moreover, the SUV will host the same powertrain too. Meaning, you can expect a naturally aspirated 2.4-liter inline-four and a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four options, while the current V6 should make room for the company’s new 2.5-liter turbo which will allegedly produce over 250 hp. No matter which engine options the crossover gets, all of them will be fitted with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
According to Caranddriver, the redesigned SUV will be introduced before the end of this year. Still, it won’t hit showrooms before early next year, so it will most probably be sold as a 2021 model. The entry-level 2021 Sorento will cost less than $30K.
