Kia moves up a gear with the Sorento

There can be little doubting about Kia’s ambitious nature right now. The Korean company — a sister brand to Hyundai, remember — has made massive strides since the days when it pedalled fairly grim family-oriented hatchbacks and saloons, as well as a couple of faux 4x4 jobbies.

Its ambitions now stretch to far greater things, underlined by cars such as the excellent Cee’d range and the compact SUV Sportage range whose popularity recently saw it crack the top 10 list of sellers in Ireland. But now, with this week’s test car, Kia is demonstrating something even more determined.

That tester is the Sorento and for a manufacturer which was previously regarded as ‘third world’ by many punters, it has to be said that in every facet of this car Kia has really stepped up to the plate and upped the ante to a point where it can be confirmed as a legitimate player in every aspect of design and engineering.