FAMILY CAR REVIEW: 2021 Kia Sorento Sport vs GT Line
The remote control family SUV that parks itself!
By Tace Clifford
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BabyDrive Verdict
The brand new Kia Sorento seven-seat SUV is one we families have been waiting patiently for! So I was pretty excited when we got to test the top-spec GT Line and the lower-spec Sport model. Three weeks in the cars with my family gave me a pretty good understanding of the new Sorento's family-friendliness and the differences your money will get you between the two models. So let's find out how the new Kia Sorento stacks up as a BabyDrive…
Well, I'm going to start with the biggest elephant in the room… The new Kia Sorento still has no third-row airbags! Why and how that is, I have no idea and we were waiting for this to be rectified in this new model but it hasn't. With that off our chest, if it doesn't put you off then read on and find out everything else we loved in the new Kia Sorento…
This is the top-spec GT Line:
And this is the second-cheapest Sport model:
Apart from the obvious colour difference, (I love the colour the Sport model came in), they both look great and I love the new muzzle-like grill.
The new dash is clean and fresh, with a fish scale effect panel which is also in the door panels too, these light up at night in the GT Line.
The interior has been greatly updated throughout. The GT Line model comes with leather quilted seats, whereas the Sport model has woven upholstered seats.
In the rear doors of the GT Line, there are heated seat buttons which of course can be accessed by little fiddly fingers.
Okay that was another negative initial observation, now time for the good stuff!
There are now ISOFix points in four of the five rear seats in the 2021 Kia Sorento and top tether anchorages on the back of all five rear seats.
I was able to install five child seats in the back. Two forward-facing child seats in the third-row…
…and a mixture of three forward-facing and rear-facing child seats in the second-row seats. I found I could just sit between two child seats in the second-row.
There is a new press button mechanism on the shoulder of the second-row seats to give access through to the third-row, however, this doesn't work with child seats installed in the second-row. What I found is if the child seat is using ISOFix rather than the seatbelt you can move the second-row seat forward far enough that a child could just climb through to the third-row and I can just about reach through to fasten their harness. The 40 part of the 60:40 split seat is on the driver's side though, which when street parked means you are doing all this with traffic going by you!
Another downside we found was that the button beside the headrest that releases the second-row seat is within easy reach of little ones in the back, but curious fingers did their thing during our test of the Sorento, which had the second-row seat sliding about while we were driving until we were able to stop and put it back into place. These buttons need a child lock facility!
There is the addition of a grab handle in the new Sorento which makes climbing through to the third-row slightly easier.
Legroom is good throughout the new Kia Sorento and we found if using all three rows of seats it's best to put the rear-facing child seat on the passenger side of the car to give greater legroom in the front. Read more detailed information about the child seats in the expandable ‘seats' section below.
Boot space in the new 2021 Kia Sorento is similar to the Hyundai Santa Fe, despite the Kia being a bigger car overall. Using all seven seats it will hold five shopping bags, which is comparable to the Hyundai Santa Fe that will also hold five. If you need more room, the Nissan Pathfinder and Toyota Kluger will both hold eight bags and the Mazda CX-9 will hold seven shopping bags.
When using only five seats, the 2021 Kia Sorento will hold seventeen shopping bags, which again is comparable to the Hyundai Santa Fe that will also hold seventeen. The Nissan Pathfinder will hold twenty, the Toyota Kluger will both hold nineteen and the Mazda CX-9 will hold eighteen shopping bags.
Or a large size dog will fit nicely in the boot of the new 2021 Kia Sorento when you're only using five seats. For more detailed boot storage information see the expandable section ‘storage' below.
Cabin storage is mostly practical throughout all models of the new Kia Sorento. In the third-row there are cup holders and phone storage on both sides.
In the second-row there is the usual array of storage; with double layer map pockets and a central seat back that folds down with cup holders in but my favourite storage is the new cup holders in the doors, we found them great for kids to easily access their water bottles while you are driving along. For more detailed information about the storage see the expandable ‘storage' section below.
In the front, there are good-sized cup holders in the central console and a wireless phone charging well. The central console box is a good size, as is the glove box.
Disappointingly, all the door bins in the new Kia Sorento are too small to fit a large refillable water bottle so we found we stored ours in the handle wells in the front while driving instead as they are better sized!
There are air-conditioning vents in all three rows of seats in the new 2021 Kia Sorento which is really important for families to keep all rear passengers cool enough in this climate. In the third row there are vents on both sides and also air-con controls.
In the second-row there are vents in the back of the central console box.
In the front, you have master controls and can turn the rear aircon on and off which is great if little rear passengers are fiddling with it!
One thing I did find in the new Sorento is in the third-row there are also buttons for folding forward the second-row seats. My daughter fiddled with those when she was seated in the 3rd-row and we were driving along and I ended up with a second-row seat sliding backwards and forwards while driving along which eventually I had to stop and lock back into place but if my child will fiddle with it then anyone's will!
The media system in the new Kia Sorento is where you see a lot of changes and it is full of new family-friendly features! It's also where we see a few of the differences between the two models. Both models have a new large media screen mounted on the dash. The interface is modern and has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
All models of the new Kia Sorento have ‘Sounds of Nature' which is a selection of prerecorded white noise at your fingertips! It includes the sounds of calm ocean waves, rainy days, in the forest, open-air cafe etc. These are genuinely fantastic for getting your little kids to sleep while you are driving, my newborn loves the calm ocean waves and got her to sleep even time (it's so effective that I even took a recording of it on my phone to use in other cars)!
Within the media system of all models of the new Sorento is the ability to customise which road safety warnings you hear, which I found really useful as the announcements can be disturbing for little passengers, so I could set it to just get the alerts I felt most necessary.
In the GT Line, there are a few extra features, like quiet mode. This is useful once the kids are asleep or they are busy on their tablets watching in the back as it moves the sound from the back speakers to the very front with a lower maximum volume so as not to disturb little rear passengers.
Secondly, there is now a third-row intercom system called Driver Talk. This allows you to amplify your voice through to the third-row passengers so you don't need to shout! We found it was also good for in-car karaoke!!
And great for telling your little ones to stop picking their nose in the back!!!
The new Kia Sorento GT-Line has a few extra features, firstly the remote start function on the key fob which allows you to start the engine and the aircon to cool it down before you get in, which is really handy when it's hot.
Another magical new feature enables you to drive the car out of a parking space using the key fob alone! It's for those times in car parks when there simply is not enough room to get yourself or the kids in or out of the car without dinging the car next to you! It is great to watch the system working using the external cameras and monitors. You can watch it here, in my Top 10 video. You can also drive the car back into a space remotely too!
Thirdly the GT-Line model also differs to the Sport by having built-in rear window blinds in the second-row, which we found great for shielding little rear passengers from the sun.
There's also a child lock button on the driver's door control panel, which locks both the windows and rear doors and stops those fiddly little fingers playing with them!
However, on the GT Line this doesn't lock the heated rear seat control, which is on the rear door panel and can be easily reached and fiddled with by little rear passengers.
The GT-Line also has USB charging points for all rear rows of seats and a mechanism on the side of the front passenger seat to adjust it, which is great when doing school pick-ups or driving elderly relatives so you can control it from the driver's seat.
The GT-Line also comes with a sunroof and a rearview camera that you can leave on while you are driving. We found this really useful as the visibility when you are loaded up with five child seats in the back is compromised, so this gives you peace of mind AND the kids love watching it!!
Overall the new 2021 Kia Sorento seven-seat SUV is a HUGE upgrade on the previous model and is packed FULL of family-friendly features. This is especially the case with the GT Line model which is abundant with them and at $$11,600 more than the Sport model you do get a lot more for your money. That said we think there is room for a model between the Sport+ and GT Line that has some of the family-friendly extras without all of the high-end luxuries.
And of course, EVERYONE questions the lack of third-row airbags which is preventing it from being the ultimate family seven-seat SUV! So close, Kia, so close!
On that note, the new 2021 Kia Sorento scored a five-star ANCAP safety rating despite the lack of third-row airbags because for some reason ANCAP still does not test the third-row seats in their crash testing.
BabyDrive Indepth
BabyDrive Indepth - Storage
So… How big is the boot of the 2021 Kia Sorento? How good is storage in the 2021 Kia Sorento?
When using only five seats, I could fit 17 shopping bags in the boot of the 2021 Kia Sorento, which is comparable to the Hyundai Santa Fe that will also hold seventeen. Whereas the Nissan Pathfinder will hold twenty, the Toyota Kluger will both hold nineteen and the Mazda CX-9 will hold eighteen shopping bags.
The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.
Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.
I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.
The twin side-by-side stroller fits in the boot with nine shopping bags beside it.
The tandem stroller fits in the boot, with eleven shopping bags beside it.
The single stroller fits in the boot with ten shopping bags beside it.
The compact stroller fits in the boot with fourteen shopping bags around it.
Or a large dog fits in the boot of the new 2021 Kia Sorento easily and the boot floor is nice and flat for them.
When you are using all seven seats the boot will hold five shopping bags, which is comparable to the Hyundai Santa Fe that will also hold five. Whereas the Nissan Pathfinder and Toyota Kluger will both hold eight and the Mazda CX-9 will hold seven shopping bags.
A twin side-by-side stroller and tandem stroller would not fit in the boot with the third-row seats in use, but the single stroller fits with one shopping bags beside it.
The compact stroller fits in the boot with three shopping bags beside it.
The boot floor is nice and flat which is good for emergency nappy changes and a very small dog will fit!
Storage in the cabin of the Kia Sorento is good throughout. In the front, there are cup holders in the central console that are well sized to hold a reusable and disposable coffee cup and large refillable water bottle fits too.
There is a wireless phone charging tray in front of them with USB sockets too. There is a small square storage dip behind the cup holders too.
The central console box is a great size, it is lined at the bottom so things don't rattle around while you are driving and there is a glasses tray in the top of it.
There is no glasses case in the ceiling but there are lit vanity mirrors in both front visors.
The glove box is large and will hold my wallet and iPad, with this big manual.
The door bins in the front aren't big enough for a large refillable water bottle and we found we stored our water bottles in the handle wells during the time that we had the two Sorentos.
In the back, there is some good storage. In the second row, there are cup holders in a fold-down armrest in the central seat backrest. They are well sized to hold a reusable and disposable coffee cup and a large refillable water bottle fits in them.
In the doors, there are some great cup/bottle holders that are within easy reach for forward-facing kids while you are driving along.
The door bins in the back are small and will hold a 600ml bottle.
There are double layer map pockets on the back of both front seats. which will hold but not conceal an iPad. On the back of the central console box, there are 12V and USB sockets.
In the third-row, there are good-sized cup holders and storage trays on both sides.
BabyDrive Indepth - Noise
How noisy is the new 2021 Kia Sorento? How good is the media system in the 2021 Kia Sorento?
The 2021 Kia Sorento is quite a verbose car. It makes a lot of announcements about school zones and road traffic announcements etc. However, what I did discover is you can select which ones you get notified about and turn the others off which is really handy as it can be disturbing for little passengers and frying for your nerves! Also, you might not want to be told about school zones every day because you are driving the same roads daily, so you can turn them off and then turn them back on when you driving somewhere unfamiliar.
The media system in the new Kia Sorento is modern and more complex than the previous system to make your way around.
All Sorento models have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The first is ‘sounds of nature' this is pre-recorded white noise at the end of your fingertips! There is calm ocean waves and rainy day to name a few, which were so helpful to us with a newborn. To have it ready to go in the stereo for every journey made it simple and convenient.
In the GT-Line there a lot of extras, like the rearview camera that you can turn on easily with a button in the central console, while you are driving. We found this was great to have on as the kids loved to watch it but also for visibility for the driver too. When you are loaded up with five child seats this really helps you see out of the back.
I found the voice memos useful as I could record things as I drove along to remind myself of later. Kel from Kath & Kim would LOVE this when he gets inspired with new sausage recipes!
There is a rear seat reminder when you get out of the car, that beeps at you to remind you to look in the back. Which I understand is there for safety so people don't forget to take their kids out of the car but I find it annoying especially if my child is asleep and then gets woken up by the beeping!
Driver talk is a new function in the GT-Line model, this amplifies your voice through to the third-row passengers. This is quite useful so you don't have to shout to be heard and we found it fun for in-car Karaoke!
The GT-Line also has a Quiet mode function which allows you to move the sound to the front speakers and turn off the rear speakers. We found this useful once the kids were settled in the back or asleep so music didn't disturb them and I could still listen to it in the front.
You can also manually move the focus of the speaker sound too.
Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!
That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.
If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?
It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?
A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.
Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!
I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.
You can adjust the blue light filter for the media screen too which is good for driving home after dark and not having that wired feeling you get from looking at screens before bed.
One of the ost interesting features of the new Kia Sorento is the remote parking. Just using the key fob you can drive the car in and out of a parking space, it feels a bit like a remote control car on a large scale! I was nervous the first time I did it but actually, it was easy to do and made parking in really tight spaces much easier because I could get everyone out of the car and then rive it in using the key fob and the same when we came back to the car, drive it out and then load everyone in.
The reversing camera in the GT Line is excellent too! It's a 360-degree camera with bird's eye view as well. There are many different views you can select on the left of the screen and you can easily mute the parking sensors with a button in the central console.
The Sorento Sport model has a traditional gear lever and the GT-Line has a rotary dial like some Jaguars and Range Rovers, which is compact and easy to use.
The indicators are not too loud in the Kia Sorento and the doors and windows can be locked from the driver's door control panel. In the GT-Line there is a child lock button that locks them both at the same time. I found the doors were not too loud to open and close.
You can also turn off lane keep assist on the right side on the steering wheel.
BabyDrive Indepth - Car Seats
How many child seats fit in the 2021 Kia Sorento?
There are five top tether anchorages in the back of the new Kia Sorento, they are in the backrests of all the second and third-row seats. They are all within clearly marked plastic guides and are easy to connect to, through the boot.
There are ISOFix points in both the third-row seats, not within plastic guides but nice and easy to connect to.
As well as in the two outer second-row seats.
I did manage to fit three child seats into the second-row of the 2021 Kia Sorento; a full-sized forward-facing seat, a rear-facing infant capsule and a booster seat fitted nicely. Two full-size child seats fit well in the third-row seats. Forward-facing work best in the third-row.
Accessing the third-row is tricky with five child seats installed. There is a button on the shoulder of the second-row outer seats. When pressed it brings the outer second-row seat forward to access the third-row. This only fully works when there is no child seat in the second-row seat.
When you have a child seat in the second-row seat the seatback can not move forward and you just get this small walkthrough if you manually slide the seat all the way forwards. It is enough for a small kid to get through and I could just about reach through on each side to do up harnesses. Unfortunately, the 40 side of the 60:40 split is behind the driver so when parked on the street you could be doing all of this with traffic whizzing past you!
If you only have two child seats installed in the second row you can just about bring the second-row seat on the driver's side forward enough to access the third-row, although as you can see the folding backrest can get stuck on the child seat next to it.
It is a much more comfortable fit with two child seats in the second-row. I could just about sit in the central second-row seat between two child seats and I'm 162cm.
Legroom is quite good throughout the Kia Sorento. With forward-facing child seats in the third and second-row we could fit a 182cm driver and with a rear-facing child seat in the second-row and forward-facing in the third-row a 182cm passenger.
Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!
Posting bub into their child seats in the second-row from inside and outside the car is nice and easy. Being a big SUV, the ceiling is nice and high and there is plenty of interior space.
I found there is room to feed bub in the second row if you only have one child seat installed or the front seats are spacious and comfortable for it too.
BabyDrive Indepth - Drive & Comfort
How comfortable is the 2021 Kia Sorento? And How good is the 2021 Kia Sorento to drive?
The front seats of the 2021Â Kia Sorento are nice and comfortable. In the sport model they have woven upholstery, whereas in the GT-Line they were leather.
The headrests in the new 2021 Kia Sorento were not adjustable which meant I couldn't wear a ponytail while driving.
I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!
For a mum travelling in the back with bub, the seats are quite comfortable. In the third row, there is enough leg and headroom for me and I'm 162cm.
The GT-Line seats are perforated leather which will be just as hard to clean as the woven upholstery.
For the first year of my first daughters life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with her so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!
The steering wheel is fully adjustable in/out and up/down. The cruise controls are on the right on the steering wheel and are easy to use. I found the cruise control to be very accurate on both motorways and at lower speeds on undulating roads which is great.
There are eight air-conditioning vents across the front dashboard; two either side of the media screen and two at either end of the dash. The little lower vents are fantastic and we found them to be one of our favourite things about the front of the Sorento because in the Australian climate you can direct some of the airflow down onto your legs as well as up onto your torso keeping all of you cool.
We also loved the three-stage AUTO aircon. Which meant when we got into the hot car we could press AUTO but didn't have to be hit full pelt with aircon we could have a gentler setting at the press of a button.
There are air vents in the back of the central console box for the second-row passengers, which I could easily reach from the front.
In the third row there are aircon vents on both sides and a control dial too.
You can control all the air-con from the front media screen, which is fantastic to over-ride any fiddly little finger in the back playing with it.
There are handles above both rear doors which are well-positioned to hold a baby toy for rear-facing passengers.
The GT-Line has built in window shades to keep little passengers sheltered from the sun, but in the Sport model there are none so we had to add our own.
I have found our kids do not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it’s really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.
Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON’T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a five-minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it’s not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!
It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.
Visibility in the Kia Sorento is really helped by the reversing camera and rear view camera in the GT-Line model. When the back is loaded up with five child seats visibility is very limited so the rear view camera is great in the GT Line.
One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and my daughter has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the Forester was simple to park as the visibility and cameras was so good!
BabyDrive Indepth - Safety
How safe is the 2021 Kia Sorento?
The 2021 Kia Sorento has a five-star ANCAP safety rating from 2020 onwards, despite it having no third-row airbags, as for some reason the third-row seats are STILL not tested during ANCAPÂ crash testing despite all the latest changes to make them more challenging.
In Adult Occupant Protection testing it scored 31.23 out of 38 overall which breaks down into; 3.5 out of 8 in the frontal offset test. Gaining maximum points for the side impact test, 5.73 out of 6 for the oblique pole test and 2 out of 2. 7.31 out of 8 for the full-width frontal crash test.
In Child Occupancy Protection testing it scared 85%, which equates to 42,09 out of 49. Broken down into 14.89 out of 16 for Dynamic front crash testing. 8/8 for Dynamic side crash testing. 11.20 out of 12 for child seat installation and 8 out of 13 for n-board features.
ANCAP said of the Child Occupancy testing:
In the frontal offset test, protection of the neck of the 10 year dummy was ADEQUATE, while the protection offered to all other critical body regions of both the 6 and 10 year dummies was GOOD.
In the side impact test, protection of all critical body areas was GOOD for both dummies, and maximum points were scored.
The Kia Sorento is fitted with lower ISOFix anchorages on the rear outboard seats in the second and third row of seats, and top tether anchorages for all rear seating positions.
Installation of typical child restraints available in Australia and New Zealand showed most child restraints could be accommodated in most rear seating positions, however care is needed to correctly install the ISOFix restraints in the third row seating positions.
The Kia Sorento is fitted with seven airbags as standard. Front and side airbags for both front passengers and central head airbag between the front passenger and the driver, as well as side head airbags offering protection for the first and second rows only.
The Kia Sorento has a seatbelt removal warning for both rear rows of seats.
Reversing collision avoidance (camera), child presence alert and autonomous emergency braking (AEB) – Backover are not available on base model but are standard or optional on higher models.
Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when my daughters are asleep!
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About Tace Clifford
Tace Clifford founded BabyDrive in 2017 after discovering a huge information gap in mainstream car reviews that left new parents and expanding families in the dark when it came to one of the biggest purchasing decisions of their lives.
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2 Comments
Hello, thank you very much for this thorough analysis. The family will soon be growing with the arrival of a third child and we wanted to know if it is possible to install a rear-facing seat on one side 1 with ISOFIX attachment and 2 front facing seats with the center one attached by the belt and the other side by the isofix. Thank you very much!
I have the 2021 sport+, I have found the hi beam to be the worse hi beam of any car I have owned, it is almost useless, Have tried to get a light bar fitted but 3 auto elects cant get it to speak to the computer due to no one making a canbus module for this model, Kia service people saying lights are working normal, I said you drive at night and see how bad the hi beam is, love this car but the poor lighting is making me regret the purchase
Hello, thank you very much for this thorough analysis. The family will soon be growing with the arrival of a third child and we wanted to know if it is possible to install a rear-facing seat on one side 1 with ISOFIX attachment and 2 front facing seats with the center one attached by the belt and the other side by the isofix. Thank you very much!
I have the 2021 sport+, I have found the hi beam to be the worse hi beam of any car I have owned, it is almost useless, Have tried to get a light bar fitted but 3 auto elects cant get it to speak to the computer due to no one making a canbus module for this model, Kia service people saying lights are working normal, I said you drive at night and see how bad the hi beam is, love this car but the poor lighting is making me regret the purchase