The 2021 Kia Sorento in pictures

Kia officially released images of the all-new 2021 Kia Sorento back in February. This was ahead of its supposed launch at the Geneva Motor Show last March.

The Sorento is now on its 4th-generation and comes with a completely new exterior and interior, and a new hybrid powertrain option. It is also larger than its predecessor.

Up front it features a new iteration of Kia’s signature tiger-nose grille. The LED daytime running lights are what the company calls ‘tiger eyeline.’ The LED headlamps themselves look sharper than those of the outgoing model.

At the back, you can definitely see inspiration from Kia’s flagship-Telluride SUV. The LED bars in the taillights are vertically positioned just like in the Telluride.

Inside, the Sorento gets a very upscale interior with soft-touch materials all around. Ambient lighting is also shown in the photos. You’ll also notice that the Sorento no longer has a traditional gear lever. In its place is a rotary-knob gear selector.

Also depending on the variants, the Sorento can be equipped with a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a new 12.3-inch high-resolution digital instrument cluster. An 8.0-inch display audio system is also available as standard. All infotainment systems will be equipped with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionalities.

Under the hood, for the first time ever, the Sorento will get options for a hybrid-powertrain and a plug-in version. The Sorento Hybrid will be powered by a new ‘Smartstream’ electrified powertrain, pairing a 1.6-litre T-GDi (turbocharged gasoline direct injection) with a 1.49 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery pack and 44.2 kW electric motor. Performance numbers are at 226 horsepower and 350 Newton-meters of torque. These are sent through a six-speed automatic transmission.

Another engine option will be a new 2.2-litre ‘Smartstream’ four-cylinder diesel engine, producing 200 horsepower and 440 Newton-meters of torque. This powertrain is paired with an 8-speed wet dual-clutch transmission.

As for pricing and when it will be launched in the Philippines, we have yet to hear of any announcement from Kia Philippines. Kia did announce that it will be available in Europe by the 3rd-quarter of 2020. This means we can expect it to reach our shores by early or mid-2021.