Looking for a large SUV that doesn’t look like a square brick? The facelifted Kia Sorento brings a sharper, sportier look with new tech – but should it be on your shortlist?
Originally released in 2020, the fourth-generation Sorento was once the South Korean automaker’s flagship model alongside the Stinger liftback.
Times have changed, but four years later, it has received a mid-life facelift bringing a new design and connected technology.
We tested the flagship Kia Sorento GT-Line with the standard 3.5-litre six-cylinder petrol engine to find out why this large SUV should be worth considering.
NOTE: The press vehicle was provided by Kia Australia for a seven-day independent evaluation. We have no commercial arrangements with the company and it had no editorial control.
Pros.
+ Quiet and smooth V6 petrol engine
+ Practical interior
+ Easy to move rear seats
+ Refined tech
+ Sporty fresh design
Cons.
– High real-world fuel consumption
– No airbag coverage for third row, limited boot
– High servicing costs
– Key tech and safety features reserved for top-spec only
– Missing advanced HDA 2 tech
Vehicle tested:
| Model | 2025 Kia Sorento |
| Variant | GT-Line V6 petrol |
| Starting price | $65,590 before on-road costs |
| Exterior colour | Cityscape Green (+$695) |
| Interior colour | Black interior with quilted Nappa leather seats |
| Country made | South Korea |
Design and quality.
The refreshed Kia Sorento brings a sportier and edgier design in line with the brand’s latest ‘Opposites United’ design theme.
It is the most reminiscent of the Kia EV9 seven-seat electric SUV yet with the front featuring distinctive L-shaped LED daytime running lights, while the back has been subtly tweaked with connected two-line tail-lights with revised LED shapes and indicators.
The top-spec GT-Line as tested exclusively includes sequential front turn indicators, cube-shaped headlight modules, and EV-esque 20-inch alloy wheels.
New paint colour options as part of the facelift include Cityscape Green (as pictured) and Volcanic Sand Brown for $695 extra.
While there are still hints of a rugged American SUV look – namely from the Ford Mustang-style tail-lights – the new design better meets the ‘sports’ in the SUV acronym, as opposed to the trend of blocky SUVs.
Inside, the interior has also been given a facelift with a new single-piece curved unit joining the central touchscreen and driver instruments, a minimalistic touchscreen strip replacing the previous separate infotainment and climate control buttons, and extended ambient lighting strip across the dashboard.
Material quality is good with a mix of soft touch plastics, leatherette and interesting weave-like silver trims, while rear rows incorporate harder plastics.
The GT-Line comes with a luxury car feeling black suede headliner, sun visors and pillars, too.
However, the use of gloss black materials – especially at the centre console, doors and steering wheel – is impractical, and prone to gathering dust and fingerprints.
The plastic slot in front of the centre armrest is disappointingly untextured and uncovered, unlike the Kia Carnival, with permanent scratches showing on our tester.
Practicality.
2025 Kia Sorento GT-Line dimensions:
| Length x width x height | 4815 x 1900 x 1695mm |
| Wheelbase | 2815mm |
| Ground clearance | 176mm |
| Boot space (min / 3rd row / 2nd row folded) | 179 / 608 / 1996 litres |
| Rear seat split fold (3rd row/2nd row) | 50:50 / 60:40 |
| Child seat anchors | 4x ISOFIX + 5x top tethers |
The updated Sorento large SUV offers a family-friendly interior, but the third row is best suited for occasional use only.
With all seats in place, boot space is limited at 179 litres and placing taller items is constricted by the third row seatbacks, which must be set in a reclined position. Folding the rear seats is easy and light via pulling the tags, which expands the cargo area to 608 litres.
While two bag hooks are available, they’re very small, tight and awkwardly placed at the edge of the boot.
Unlike the hybrid Sorento, regular petrol and diesel models can store the boot cover underneath the floor when the third row of seats are in use.
The tailgate has a hands-free function, which opens by standing behind it for a few seconds with the proximity key – as long as the doors are locked. Interestingly, the button to open the boot is hidden underneath the boot door, instead of where the licence plate is.
It’s also capable of auto closing when walking away, but annoyingly chirps constantly whenever the boot is open to remind you of this function. You can temporarily disable it with a press of a button.
Getting in the Kia Sorento’s third row is accessed via an easy one-touch button at the second row, which is light to move and adjust – unlike the Kia Carnival people mover.
Third row passenger space is tight; legroom is just enough for an ~180cm adult with the second row in its furthest-back position, but a high floor results in perched-up knees, and adults’ heads just brush the roof.
Importantly, the third row lacks airbag coverage – so the Sorento should be more of a part-time seven-seater SUV. If you don’t need the peace-of-mind of three rows, consider the Kia Sportage medium SUV which has a similarly spacious interior with five seats.
Amenities include air vents with fan controls on each side, cup holders and storage slots, and USB-C charging ports.
Meanwhile, the second row seats offer plenty of head-, leg- and foot space – but be aware of a small centre floor transmission hump that middle passengers need to contend with.
I particularly like that there’s a cup holder at each of the rear doors, though smaller bottles fit loosely with an odd square shape and grip mechanisms that are only on one side. All door pockets are limited, though.
A fold-down centre armrest with two cup holders, manually retractable window sunblinds, a large openable panoramic sunroof, centre console mounted air vents, and two-stage heated outer rear seats also feature.
The Kia Sorento GT-Line’s quilted Nappa leather seats are comfortable, with the front two seats benefiting from three-level heating or ventilation, electric adjustment, and two-stage memory for the driver’s seat.
The GT-Line’s plush black suede headliner doesn’t show handprints as obviously, too.
The oddly-shaped square cup holder theme continues at the centre console, with a small slot suitable for placing the car key, a covered tray in front to place your smartphone on the slanted Qi wireless charging pad, and well-sized centre armrest (with a storage tray) and glovebox.
All rows are illuminated by bright LED lights on the Sorento GT-Line model only – except for the front sun visor mirror and glovebox lamps which use dimmer yellow halogen lights.
Meanwhile, Passenger Talk is a handy function which voices the front microphones to the rear speakers. It can be toggled via the infotainment screen or set on the custom button on the steering wheel.
Technology.
2025 Kia Sorento GT-Line tech features:
| 12.3-inch touchscreen running ccNC | 12.3-inch driver instrument display |
| Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto | Qi wireless charging pad |
| Built-in maps with traffic-based routing | 6x USB-C charging ports + 2x 12-volt power sockets |
| OTA software update capability | 12-speaker Bose Premium audio |
| Kia Connect services and mobile app | Proximity key with auto-folding mirrors, front door handle lights, and push button start |
| Built-in voice control |
The facelifted Sorento brings Kia’s latest Connected Car Navigation Cockpit (ccNC) software with built-in cellular connectivity.
Displayed on a clear and high resolution 12.3-inch touchscreen, ccNC offers a more modern user interface and faster performance with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Disappointingly, only the top-spec GT-Line has a Qi wireless charging pad, so you’ll need to eventually plug in on most Sorento models anyway.
The central screen is also curved toward the driver, providing easier reachability with farther away elements than other models such as the Kia EV9 flagship.
Unfortunately, the climate and infotainment control touchscreen strip isn’t angled towards the driver like the Kia Sportage, which feels inconsistent with the curved display above.
It’s joined by a 12.3-inch driver instrument display, which isn’t as customisable but is simple and functional. The Sorento GT-Line exclusively gains a handy head-up display projected onto the windscreen.
The system is also capable of over-the-air (OTA) software updates, with a recent release improving the annoying speed limit assist warning feature.
Additionally, the new Sorento now includes Kia Connect mobile app connectivity. The app is well-designed and functional, but it can be slow to send commands such as starting the climate control and even capture a photo from the 360-degree camera system.
As part of the more minimalist interior refresh, the climate and infotainment controls have been condensed into a single touchscreen strip, which requires switching between the two functions with an additional button press when needed.
I found it annoying to constantly switch between the modes and the dials are tiny with little resistance.
Safety.
2025 Kia Sorento GT-Line safety features:
| Front AEB with vehicle/pedestrian/cyclist/junction detection | Speed limit assist |
| Rear AEB | Safe exit warning and assist |
| Blind-spot assist | Rear occupant alert |
| Rear cross-traffic assist | 360-degree camera system |
| HDA 1 adaptive cruise control and lane-centring assist | Blind-spot view cameras |
| Lane-keep assist | Front, side and rear parking sensors |
| Kia Connect emergency calling and remote location tracking | Full LED headlights with auto high beam and part LED tail-lights |
The new Kia Sorento includes a range of mostly reliable active safety assistance features.
Lane-centring assist – which can be enabled at any speed without adaptive cruise control – works impressively well and smoothly at actively keeping within lane markings.
Likewise, smart cruise control keeps a good distance with the vehicle in front and, on mapped highways, Highway Driving Assist 1 (HDA 1) doesn’t require the driver to press resume in heavy stop-start traffic.
However, the updated Sorento strangely doesn’t feature the more advanced HDA 2 system – which is capable of automatic lane change assist – unlike the facelifted Kia Carnival.
Unusually, I found that on cold mornings, the front camera can sometimes be fogged up and pops up a series of warning messages on the driver’s instrument cluster, before fixing itself after a few seconds.
Unlike some other new Kia cars, the updated Sorento also doesn’t bring a driver monitoring camera – which would’ve been a good safety feature for often distracted parents. Kia’s system isn’t too intrusive and sensitive in our testing.
Nonetheless, the Kia Sorento GT-Line gets clear 360-degree surround-view and blind-spot view cameras, but it’s a shame that they’re reserved for the top-spec only. It also nets side parking sensors alongside the front and rear ones.
Thanks to a recent OTA software update, the annoying speed limit assist warning system can now be quickly disabled via holding the steering wheel mute button. It still needs to be deactivated every time you start the vehicle, though.
The speed limit detection is useful for drivers, but sometimes doesn’t recognise signs correctly or at all.
The GT-Line’s projection LED headlights offer good visibility at night. Front and rear LED fog lights also feature – for drivers to turn on during foggy conditions only – but the rear reverse lights are located down the bumper and adopt halogen bulbs.
Mirroring the pre-facelift model, the 2025 Kia Sorento has a five-star safety rating under the less strict 2020 criteria from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).
Range and fuel consumption.
2025 Kia Sorento GT-Line V6 petrol fuel and efficiency specs:
| Claimed driving range (combined) | 684km |
| Claimed fuel efficiency (combined) | 9.8L/100km |
| Fuel tank size | 67 litres |
| Minimum fuel quality requirement | 91 RON unleaded petrol |
| Claimed CO2 exhaust emissions (combined) | 222g/km |
| European emissions compliance | Euro 5 |
After a week of urban and highway driving, the V6 petrol Kia Sorento returned a high 11.9L/100km fuel consumption.
This results in 563km real-world driving range from its 67-litre fuel tank. The large SUV can accept cheaper 91 RON and 94 RON E10 unleaded petrol.
Disappointingly, the standard 3.5-litre six-cylinder petrol engine on the Sorento isn’t as fuel efficient.
A more frugal turbo-diesel engine is available for $3000 extra – but isn’t suited for drivers who only commute in the city and suburbs – and the most fuel-efficient petrol-electric hybrid powertrain is at least $4740 more (stay tuned for the review coming soon).
The fuel lid is accessible at the rear-left quarter of the Sorento, which unlocks with the doors and has an easy to twist cap.
Driving.
2025 Kia Sorento GT-Line V6 petrol powertrain specs:
| Engine | 3.5-litre six-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine |
| Power | 200kW @6300rpm |
| Torque | 332Nm @5000rpm |
| Transmission | Eight-speed torque converter automatic |
| Drive Type | FWD |
| Kerb weight | ~1955kg |
| Payload | ~645kg (excl. 200kg max towball download) |
| Towing (unbraked / braked) | 750 / 2000kg |
Despite being thirsty on fuel, the Kia Sorento’s 3.5-litre V6 petrol is surprisingly refined, quiet and powerful.
Carried over from the pre-facelift version, it produces up to 200kW of power and 332Nm of torque.
While both are achieved at a high rev point on paper, the six-cylinder petrol engine provides plenty of punch even when you’re light on the accelerator, with a smooth and responsive eight-speed automatic transmission.
I almost thought I was driving a hybrid since the large naturally-aspirated engine is surprisingly refined, noise insulation is luxury car level, and vibrations are suppressed almost entirely. The V6 idles at a low 500rpm when stopped.
When pressed harder, the driver is rewarded with a sporty V6 thrum.
Overall noise isolation from exterior sounds and road noise is excellent, despite the GT-Line’s large 20-inch wheels with 255/45 Continental PremiumContact 6 tyres.
However, the suspension is slightly on the sharper side when driving over bumps due to the 20-inch wheels.
The Kia Sorento SUV’s driving position is suitably high with good all-round visibility. Only the top GT-Line incorporates a digital camera-based rear-view mirror, which is clear and provides a wider view than traditional glass. It’s especially useful when the rear seats are in use.
While the Sorentos’ steering is tuned on a slightly firmer side, it’s still relatively easy to manoeuvre thanks to an 11.6-metre turning circle, all-round cameras and auto dip-down mirror when reversing (albeit on the GT-Line only), and acceptable all-round visibility.
Warranty and servicing.
2025 Kia Sorento GT-Line V6 petrol capped-price servicing prices:
| 1 year/15,000km | 2 years/30,000km | 3 years/45,000km | 4 years/60,000km | 5 years/75,000km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $369 | $581 | $445 | $764 | $416 |
The 2025 Kia Sorento is covered by a seven-year, unlimited kilometre vehicle warranty.
Servicing is required every one year/15,000km (whichever occurs first) with prices fixed for the first seven checkups.
After the first five years/75,000km, it costs $2575 to service the Sorento with the standard V6 petrol engine – which averages to $515 per visit.
Disappointingly, as per Kia style, servicing the Sorento is fairly pricey. It’s even more expensive for the diesel and hybrid drivetrains.
Roadside assistance is included for up to eight years, while Kia Connect services are free for the first seven years from activation.
A full-size spare tyre is included on all Sorentos, but isn’t as accessible since it is located underneath the vehicle at the outside.
Price and rivals.
2025 Kia Sorento model range pricing (accurate as at the time of publication):
| S | Sport | Sport+ | GT-Line |
|---|---|---|---|
| From $50,680 before on-road costs | From $53,300 before on-road costs | From $58,230 before on-road costs | From $65,590 before on-road costs |
The 2025 Kia Sorento model range is priced from $50,680 before on-road costs in Australia.
The 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine with front-wheel drive (FWD) is standard, but a 2.2-litre turbocharged diesel engine with all-wheel-drive (AWD) can be had for $3000 extra, while a fuel-efficient hybrid FWD is $4740 more and the hybrid AWD is $7740 more.
All paint colours cost $695, except for Clear White.
The 2025 Kia Sorento directly competes with a range of large SUVs:
- Hyundai Santa Fe
- Chery Tiggo 8 Pro
- Nissan Pathfinder
- Toyota Kluger
- Peugeot 5008
- Skoda Kodiaq
- Mazda CX-80 (coming soon)
Other alternatives to the Kia Sorento include:
- Kia Carnival (full review)
- Hyundai Staria
- Mitsubishi Outlander seven-seat
- Nissan X-Trail seven-seat
- Honda CR-V seven-seat
- Mahindra XUV700
- Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace (to be discontinued)
- Volkswagen Multivan
Would I pick the 2025 Kia Sorento GT-Line V6 petrol?
The Kia Sorento is a family-friendly, sporty-looking large SUV with a powerful and refined standard powertrain.
The V6 petrol engine is quiet and smooth, the interior is spacious with easy to adjust rear seats, and the tech is now on another level compared to the pre-facelifted model.
But the third row is designed for part-time use only due to no airbag coverage and a restricted boot. The Sorento’s standard petrol powerplant also has high fuel consumption, servicing costs are high, and there’s no driver monitoring camera nor the more advanced HDA 2 system.
I’d pick the Sport variant, which offers better value at less than ~$60K drive-away with the addition of third-row air vents and tinted rear windows over the base S. The standard V6 petrol engine is also more than enough and the savings by not going for the diesel or hybrid will be spent on fuel costs.
However, the fact that so many features are reserved for the top-spec GT-Line only – including a 360-degree camera system, blind-spot view cameras, and Qi wireless charging pad – means it’s hard to ignore.
If you’re looking for a sportier and less big and blocky SUV, the new Kia Sorento is worth considering.
Photographs by Henry Man
READ MORE: 2024 Kia Sorento Hybrid review: Time to go hybrid?
READ MORE: 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid review: Perfected SUV?
READ MORE: 2024 Kia Picanto review: Essentials elevated.
Pros:
- Quiet and smooth V6 petrol engine
- Practical interior
- Easy to move rear seats
- Refined tech
- Sporty fresh design
Cons:
- High real-world fuel consumption
- No airbag coverage for third row, limited boot
- High servicing costs
- No driver monitoring camera
- Missing advanced HDA 2 tech
About the Author.
Henry Man is an independent content producer passionate about the intersection of technology and transportation.
The former automotive journalist is focused on producing critically-detailed vehicle reviews, and unique short-form content. Learn more.
The Connected by Henry Man 