Detailed Photos of the 2019 Kia Sorento Crossover

The standard 2.4-liter inline-four and available 3.3-liter V-6 engines remain the same, but the four-cylinder’s six-speed automatic has been updated and the V-6 gains two additional gears with a new eight-speed automatic.

The 2019 Sorento SXL AWD we tested also achieved the same 7.2-second zero-to-60-mph run as a similarly equipped 2016 Sorento with the six-speed.

The EPA says that combined, city, and highway figures all rise by 1 or 2 mpg, depending on whether you choose front- or all-wheel drive—AWD is an $1800 upcharge that is available on all but the base L—and the 2019 model overachieved in our 75-mph real-world highway fuel-economy test, hitting 26 mpg.

The space inside the Kia is nicely trimmed, with an attractive dashboard, plenty of soft-touch materials, and, in the SXL, soft nappa leather upholstery.

There’s even more standard equipment for 2019, including a third-row seat, which used to be absent from front-wheel-drive, four-cylinder models, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are now included on all Sorentos.

We’re big fans of the control layout, which combines a simple-to-operate touchscreen with volume and tuning knobs and clearly marked HVAC controls.

You’d think it would be easy to put together such a friendly and intuitive assortment of controls, but many other automakers fail to do so, and Kia deserves credit for not trying to reinvent the wheel here.

It’s especially impressive given the amount of tech offered in the Sorento, which includes nearly every active-safety feature available today, a few of which—such as lane-keeping assist—are new additions for 2019.

The Sorento offers a pleasant enough experience behind the wheel. Its demeanor is quiet, refined, and comfortable, and it compromises some degree of agility and responsiveness to achieve this ideal.

The ride is soft, the steering is light, and it generally wafts around unperturbed by rough pavement or choppy freeway expansion joints.

A crisp and communicative chassis may seem like a frivolity in a people-hauling SUV, but it can go a long way toward instilling confidence in the driver, as evidenced by the 10Best-winning Mazda CX-9, which is one of the few three-row vehicles that remains a joy to drive.

With a wider ratio spread than the six-speed it replaces, the new eight-speed automatic transmission aims to improve both the 290-hp V-6 engine’s responsiveness and its fuel economy.

We didn’t notice as much of an improvement to responses as we would’ve liked, as the eight-speed is sometimes sluggish to downshift, a shortcoming that exaggerates the V-6’s peaky nature (its maximum torque of 252 lb-ft doesn’t arrive until 5200 rpm).

None of these small updates serve to transform the Sorento, but a transformation wasn’t really needed.

It’s to be expected that the Sorento’s interior, then, is not the most accommodating. A bit of a squeeze is required for adults to get into the third row, and second-row riders must slide the seats forward to give the wayback passengers adequate legroom.

Despite its upscale ambitions, the Sorento still offers a value play with its lower trim levels, which start at $26,980 for the base L model.

The trim-level pyramid ascends through the LX, EX, and SX models until you reach the $45,680 SXL (sometimes written as SX Limited), which is the version we tested for this review.

Interestingly, the top trim of the Sorento's sister vehicle, the Hyundai Santa Fe that has been completely redesigned for 2019, is priced nearly $8000 less than the Kia.