LA Auto Show - Georgia's New Peach -- the 2011 Kia Sorento

The all-new Kia Sorento makes its National debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show after its debut last April at the Seoul Motor Show in Korea. The completely redesigned Sorento will be the first vehicle built at an all-new Kia manufacturing facility in West Point, Georgia. To celebrate this new Korean-American partnership, several enthusiastic employees of the factory were flown in to Los Angeles to personally autograph the new model at the L.A. launch event.

Kia has completely redesigned the Sorento, taking it from a truck-on-body to a unibody with more solid construction. It in fact shares underpinnings with the popular Hyundai Santa Fe, although the Sorento is smaller and the sheet metal is fully unique.

The design is much improved from the original Sorento with some of the flare seen in other new Kia products, like the Soul and  Forte Koup. Sorento's all new "flying wing" integrated headlights and grille create a snarling look that may even turn a few heads.

There are two new engines including a 3.5-liter V6 with 273 horsepower -- 11 more than the last generation's V6. That engine also returns an impressive combined 20/28 mpg. An even more efficient 4-cylinder 2.4-liter engine is also available.

Based on price, Kia has loaded the new Sorento with standard and optional features galore. Starting at under $20,000 and riding on up to the $30,000 for a fully loaded Sorento, you get a huge laundry list of standard features like AM/FM/CE/MP3/satellite-radio system and Bluetooth for cell phones. The options stack up well -- stop/start pushbutton, huge 2-panel sunroof, rearview camera and DVD entertainment system, touch screen navi and more. You can get leather heated seats and even a cool ventilation system that reduces dust levels in the car using negative ions.

The Sorento will compete against Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Edge, Mazda CX-7 and Toyota RAV4 for the small-ute dollar and now that it's made in America, it may win several U.S. citizens a paycheck as well. And that’s just Southern hospitality at its best.

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