Kia is getting ready to bring the Sorento to the Pakistani Market. Sorento is Kia’s mid-sized crossover SUV that sits between the compact Sportage and the full-sized Telluride SUVs, as a competitor to the likes of Toyota Fortuner and Hyundai Santa Fe.
The mid-sized SUV segment has, for the longest time, only one major player in the Pakistani market, i.e. the Toyota Fortuner. Hyundai Nishat also introduced the Santa Fe but it never saw the same amount of success as the Fortuner, mainly due to the high price tag and inferior brand recognition.
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Kia is set to take a shot at the supposed king with their offering as the reports suggest that Kia has already brought in a few CBU units to Pakistan, with the 2.4-liter engine and the 3.5-liter V6 engine options.
Both types of vehicles have been brought in for the company to dissect and analyze the SUVs, in hopes of selling them here as complete knockdown (CKD) units in the near future. The company is initially importing 46 CBUs followed by local assembly akin to the Sportage and Picanto. Kia expects Sorento to be as successful as the Sportage in Pakistan. Reports suggest that the company is selling over a thousand units a month.
With that said, here’s what you need to know about the vehicle.
Performance
Kia Sorento has a number of engine options in various markets all across the globe. Though it has been reported that Pakistan is likely to get 2 main engine options. One of them is a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder petrol engine that makes 169 horsepower, and 220 newton/meters of torque. The other one is a 3.5 liter naturally aspirated V6 petrol engine that makes 276 horsepower and 336 newton/meters of torque.
Both engines can be mated to a 6-speed automatic gearbox that sends power to all four wheels or the front wheels only, depending on how the car is optioned.
Suspension setup consists of a McPherson Struts Upfront and Multi-link coil spring suspension outback. The SUV comes standard with disc brakes on all 4 wheels with ABS technology.
Tech and Safety
The Sorento, being a modern midsized 3-row, 7 seater family SUV, is fairly kitted out with safety and tech features.
In the international market, the SUV has features such as keyless entry, powered driver seat, LED taillights, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, 7.0-inch driver supervision display, wood-design trim in the cabin, a 10-speaker Harmon/Kardon audio system, a powered tailgate, 360º camera, smartphone mirroring for Android and iOS, an eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system with satellite navigation, and a panoramic sunroof.
On the safety side of things, the SUV has dual front airbags, side-impact airbags, ABS, EBD, and BA technology for the brakes, hill-start and hill descent assist, traction and stability control, forward collision and lane departure, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control among other hi-tech features.
Price
Again, given that it is a big family SUV with all the modern tech features and that it is set to compete against the likes of Toyota Fortuner, the vehicle is likely to be priced between Rs. 7.5 million and Rs. 9 million, although no official figures have been revealed at this point.
In the international market, the 4th gen Sorento is all set to hit the dealerships, however, reportedly, Pakistan will be getting the 3rd gen Sorento instead of the 4th gen. Still, it is likely to make a good addition to the gradually rising SUV market of Pakistan.
Via: Pakwheels
Welcome….
Shape purani aur qeemat nai say bhi zayada ho gi aur is tarah kay banday awaam ko is ki khoobian batatay rahain gay
Should introduce 4th gen. 3rd gen
Globally discountinue and bringing it in Pakistan!! Not fair!!