Fourth-gen Kia Sorento delayed until late Q3

THE local launch of the highly-anticipated fourth-generation Kia Sorento large SUV has been pushed back several months as Kia Motors Australia (KMAu) and the rest of the automotive industry begins its recovery from the crippling coronavirus pandemic.

Originally slated to touch down this month, the big seven-seat SUV’s local launch is now expected to be held late in the third quarter of this year, a delay KMAu media and corporate communications general manager Kevin Hepworth attributed to the COVID-19 fallout.

“The arrival timing for the new Sorento is simply a result of the confluence of a number of factors brought on by the global pandemic and the effects this has had on manufacturing and shipping,” he said.

If all goes according to plan with this new – expected – launch time, Mr Hepworth said he did not expect there to be any supply issues but did acknowledge “it is impossible to predict the future”.

A solid supply of new Sorento will be a must for KMAu with Mr Hepworth also revealing that excitement and interest was building at an exponential rate.

“Interest in the new car has been at record levels and continues to grow,” he said.

When it does finally arrive in Australia, the new Sorento will be offered with the same engine choices as the current model, those being a 206kW/336Nm V6 petrol or a 147kW/441Nm 2.2-litre turbo-diesel unit.

Both powerplants will be paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission with power being sent to the front wheels in the V6 variants and all four wheels in the diesels.

Underpinned by Kia’s new N3 platform, the new Sorento is 10mm longer, 10mm wider and 5mm taller than its predecessor and rides on a 35mm longer wheelbase.

Cargo volume with the third-row seats in place is said to be up by 32 per cent with 821L available when folded flat.

The headline upgrades for the new car include a drastically reworked interior, completely new styling and bundles of new tech including a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system.

Safety features have also been improved, with the next-gen Sorento set to be the first Kia available with a multi-collision braking system, which continues to apply the brakes after a crash to minimise or prevent secondary impacts.

Other safety kit includes seven airbags, autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian, cyclist and vehicle detection, blind-spot monitoring and collision avoidance, intelligent speed-limit assist, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, lane-keep assist, driver attention warning, rear cross-traffic alert, reverse parking collision avoidance assist and surround-view monitor.

KMAu shifted 1099 examples of the current Sorento over the first five months of this year, accounting for 3.4 per cent of the sub-$70,000 large SUV segment.

For reference, its platform twin, the Hyundai Santa Fe, notched up 1965 sales over the same period, accounting for a healthier 6.2 per cent of the segment.