2010 Kia Sorento crossover leaked
March 10, 2009 by George Skentzos
Kia is now well and truly stealing the limelight from sibling company Hyundai, similarly reforming the brand with a raft of new models – the latest being the 2010 Kia Sorento.
These first images have been leaked onto the web ahead of the crossover’s official scheduled debut at the Seoul Auto Show in April.
The new model has adopted Kia’s latest design traits which first made their debut on models such as the new Cerato and Soul concepts.
While more precise details are yet to be uncovered, the 2010 Sorento is speculated to become the first vehicle to feature the all new Hyundai-Kia environmentally-friendly R-diesel engine.
The 2.2-litre diesel engine boasts best-in-class performance of 149kW with equally impressive fuel economy which should make it the most fuel-efficient crossover in the Korean market.
So far the interior has only been glimpsed through a leaked concept sketch which gives a rough indication of the final layout which should be far more modern and elegant.
The Korean press has already been treated to a sneak preview of the new Sorento, and in the metal it certainly is a different story, especially with it’s rear-end in clear view.
Source: KiaWorld and AutoTimes
Print it: 
Oh dear. Front looks like a copy of a certain car I won’t bother to mention.
The olny thing i dont like is the headlights look a little to much like the old Spectra, or even a little BA Falcon. Would have been better with the Cerato headlight shape i think.
Could well need a reversing camera if that D pillar is as thick as it looks and the rear window as narrow!
and lets hope the resale on the diesel is a fair bit better than the petrol models….
Hey Salesman I thought it was only in resent years hyundai had been stepping up and making some real good cars,I would say its the more resent designs that have caught my eye and twigged interest in them.
I found this back in 2005 , so they have been sneaking up on the Japs for a while ? Seems they have passed them in areas all ready!
quote “”Sorento is Only 4×4 to Score Maximum 5-Star Rating
If youre still questioning whether the South Koreans build vehicles as well as the Japanese, all you need to do is look up some recent third party survey information and your concerns will be put to rest.
Last month Consumer Reports (CR) announced that the Hyundai Sonata is the most reliable vehicle available in the U.S., eclipsing the Lexus LS 430 no less (see automotive news for Mar 15, 2005: Hyundai Sonata is Tops in Consumer Reports Reliability Survey), and before that the Sonata was awarded top Entry Midsize Car in the 2004 J. D. Power and Associates”"
So like the Japs that fondly remind their consumers of surveys so are the Koreans now .
Looks the goods!
SAAB called, they want their front end back.
^ as did Mitsubishi (re the Outlander)…..
What sort of dollars would a diesel model demand? I like the front grille and headlight design more than the new Nissan Murano…
I LIKE IT
SAAB? Those are Honda accord euro headlights, and the new Cerato has civic headlights.
Anybody noticing a Honda pattern here.
Big question is, does it sell out and lose Low Range. If so, it’s just another SUV with questionable styling. Looks a bit like the SAAB stylist has a new job and also the ex Ssanyong bloke has been assigned to the rear end.
149kw from a 2.2 diesel is pretty good, 400nm torque is also pretty good (or 436nm depending where you read it). All aluminium, timing chain, nice. The only reference I can’t find is the torque rev range, which is kind of weird. Perhaps the band is extremely narrow and high in the rev range versus the Euro flat torque curves from very low revs, so it’s suppressed because takes the gloss off the specs.
They are also developing a twin turbo version for the “I-mode, which is powered by an all-new 2.2-litre R diesel engine which first passes the intake air through a low-pressure turbocharger from where it is forced into a high-pressure turbocharger for maximum boost: 158kw (215ps) and 47kg.m of peak torque (461 Nm).”
They should get a few on the road with this.
Headed in the right direction…. but I still wont buy one. It’s not that I’m a snob or anything… I just don’t buy that far down the food chain.
:P
Lexus it is then.
I think it looks good, although I’m not too sure on that rear end… Maybe it will grow on me. Kia is doing well, for which I am happy. I think its good that cheap cars can still be good cars. Someday they’ll be seriously threatening Toyota, if they keep this up. Then again, badge snobs may stop that from happening…
Anyway, thumbs up from me.
Well I can say that I saw the picture before I saw the title of the article and I really did think for a second that it was the Saab compact SUV that they keep promising. Those headlights are almost exactly the same as the ones on the 9-3! I do also see some outlander in there but all in all, I don’t like it. The back looks too American.
yeah… just copy the SAAB front end… including the clamshell bonnet… you kia farts are unbelievable!!! this is plain hijacking of designs!!!
It does not surprise me that it’s copied. It’s Kia after all. At first look I thought the front looks a lot like the new RX350… At least they aim to look classy.
I probably wouldn’t buy one but it seems a reasonably good thing. A step forward.
The big weakness IMHO is that rear quarter view.
The D pillar is not only huge and would give poor visibility but what makes it worse are the effective window sizes. Have a look at the blacked out sections and the area that you can’t see out from between the tailgate glass and the rear side window – massive !
Err – if you Kia critics think they stole the Saab clamshell design, what did Landrover do? They have clamshell bonnets too. I guess they theived the design as well? Wasn’t the original beetle technically a clamshell, so Saab stole it from VW??? What about the Proton Savvy and the new Fiesta – did they steal it too? There’s a new Toyota and a new Nissan at Paris with clamshells.
Let’s face it – the much bigger debate has to be who stole the non-clamshell design from whom – oh dear, that’s a hard one. Perhaps Lexus stole it from Lada? Or did Henry Ford steal it from Daimler-Benz, or wer the old side opening bonnets also technically “half-clamshell” on each side?
In reality, there are not too many styling concepts still to be invented – every new car will have some similarity with the thousands of models previously built.
Eh, I don’t understand why some people can just look so narrowly at something as small as headlight design and then try to make out the entire vehicle is copied… People think way too highly of Honda.
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The rear lights will most likely be different, as the ones in the images are for the Korean spec. model.
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None the less, looking good, and that engine with the 6-speed auto will be brilliant. I read a claimed fuel consumption of about 7L/100kms.
good artist copies…. great artist steals…. lol…
“Last month Consumer Reports (CR) announced that the Hyundai Sonata is the most reliable vehicle available in the U.S., eclipsing the Lexus LS 430 no less (see automotive news for Mar 15, 2005: Hyundai Sonata is Tops in Consumer Reports Reliability Survey), and before that the Sonata was awarded top Entry Midsize Car in the 2004 J. D. Power and Associates””
I am pretty sure that Hyundai, Kia soon overtakes Toyota. Well done Hyundai,Kia..
People have misconception that European cars are much more reliable than Korean car.
Actually, Daewoo cars are much better then GM Opel car in terms of quality in that Viva has induced a lot fewer warranty claims than Astra. I cannot understand why people buy Astra over Viva. Viva has almost same engine as Astra…Viva has more advanced suspension (multi link rear suspension vs ancient torsion beam suspension) so Viva’s ride quality is much better. Viva has much bigger interior and boot space. Most importantly Viva is much cheaper…
As I showed an example (Viva VS Astra) above, it is myth. Even their reliability is worse than Daewoo…
Nice looking car and the engine is likely to be a pearler. The current diesel in the Sorento is a beauty with Garrett turbo and no discernible turbo lag.
4×4 fans may be disappointed to find that the TUFF ‘body on frame’ with coils on the back with be replaced with IFS. I hope this doesn’t turn into an SUV. The Sorento is a very underrated fourby and deserves more respect than it receives.
Certainly better looking than that horrid rebadged Daewoo Captiva… never thought I would say this about a Korean made car – It looks very nice, hopefully fit and finish will be as good as it looks and the engine has the nuts.
I like the cut of yout gib Reckless1.
I couldn’t stay away.LOL.
The rise and rise of the Korean Auto industry is amazing.
most cars will have similarities, due to the strict design regulations for pedestrian safety etc
I think its a nice looking SUV… am not a big fan of the SUV genre except for the CX7 …
anyway the new merc c class also has a clamshell bonnet – no one seems to have an issue with that…as someone mentioned above – land rovers have the same, in fact suzuki vitara also has a clamshell bonnet .. .even the very first ones … how abt the mini? just to name a few …
to people who say that this car is copied from the Lexus is ridiculous to RX looks melted and droopy id say this is the original and Lexus copied off KIA.Also where do you get honda from sure the ceratos face is alot like honda but this is different
Saabstitute.
IMO the current Sorento looks alot better… It looks tougher, this one looks like a pussy!!
“id say this is the original and Lexus copied off KIA.”
Yeah, keep dreaming!
It does look like a SAAB copy. Regardless of where Kia copied it from, it’s copied. Plain and simple.
Wow spied uncovered.
Front looks like an Accord, back like a Landcruiser. Interesting, though the concept isn’t that satisfying.
YUCK, look at the rear!!!!
Everything else is generically nice.
Who gives a ???? if it looks like something else, the Old one is acclaimed for its off road and towing ability with good economy just hope they tune the suspension and keep all the good bits. As a grey Nomad I just want one for touring OZ with a 20 footer in tow.
omg WHAT IS wrong with these designers? Is it just me or is it a fact that almost every new car right now has an ugly rear-end???