In Los Angeles at this year’s auto show, the 2019 Kia Sorento was introduced with refined styling, revised powertrain options, and now standard three-row seating across the board.
At the LA Auto Show, Kia’s best selling crossover SUV gets a healthy dose of freshness with a redesigned face and fanny among other updates for the 2019 model year. The Sorento receives an all-new front fascia, grille and headlamps.
An evolution of the previous generation, the look is more rounded and curvacious with heightened detail in the grillework and the new LED headlights and fog lights shown here on the higher-end trim grade. The lower fascia has more detail and shape, reminiscent of some Ford products in its lines.
At the rear, a new lower fascia and tail lamps give the 2019 Sorento a fresh take with LED lamps available on top trim grades. New wheel designs from 17 to 19-inch sizes are added to all trim grades across the lineup.
The interior gets a few tweaks here and there in the hardware you have and hold. A redesigned steering wheel and shift knob have more tactile feel. The instrument cluster also has a new look in its graphics and air-vents are slightly redesigned.
Big news is that the third-row seating is now standard equipment across all trims and powertrain choices, currently an option on some of the 2018 Sorentos and not available at all models.
The standard infotainment system is 7-inch touchscreen featuring Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Optional is an updated top-end system with AVN 5.0 navigation and a 630-watt Harman-Kardon audio system.
Standard motivation for the 2019 Kia Sorento is a 185 horsepower 2.4 liter four-cylinder engine that comes with a revised six-speed automatic transmission. Stepping up to the 3.3 liter V6 gives you its healthy 290 horsepower and is now given the more efficient and performance oriented eight-speed automatic transmission.
The 2.0 liter turbocharged four has been discontinued for 2019, but Kia tells us that a new four-cylinder turbo-diesel is under development. More information is to come, but the diesel engine is most likely a debut for the 2020 model year.
Both available engines can be had with either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The 2019 Sorento can tow up to 5,000 pounds with the V6 and all-wheel drive. Both powertrains also feature user selectable drive modes including Eco, Sport or Smart.
The 2019 Kia Sorento will be along later next year with pricing and perhaps information about the arrival of a turbo-diesel engine option closer to launch.