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New Car Review Video
The 2019 Kia Sorento is worth a good look for those shopping for an affordable and attractive crossover. -
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New Car Review
For the most part the enhancements to the 2019 Kia Sorento are rather minor. -
Car Comparison
The differences between these mid-size crossovers are more than skin deep.
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I'll never forget my first thought when I opened up the door to our long-term 2017 Kia Sorento for the first time and saw the rich Merlot-colored leather (that's the official color according to the automaker; I'm not just being descriptive): "Wow. That would make a gorgeous nail polish." Naturally, I chose a lovely shade of burgundy on my next trip to the nail salon, but I digress.
There's only one interior color choice if you opt for the Platinum Graphite exterior, as we did. And while Merlot is a beautiful shade both for wine and for nails, I wasn't sure how I felt about it inside the Sorento at first glance.
The leather is very plush, and the monochromatic stitching is an elegant, understated touch. But I'm not going to lie -- the color is bold. My 5-year-old daughter jumped in the car for the first time and screamed excitedly, "Mommy! The seats are purple!!" (There could be nothing better in her eyes, except maybe if they were pink.)
The interior of the 2017 Kia Sorento as a whole is extremely impressive -- so much so that it made it onto our 10 Best Car Interiors list this year. It's surprisingly luxurious, with lots of soft-touch surfaces and easy-to-use tech. And the rich Merlot leather paired with black accents is definitely growing on me.
I do wish Kia would offer another color option for the Platinum Graphite exterior. I think the "Light Grey" shade offered with a few of the other exterior colors would look really sharp with the dark gray paint. And it might hide Goldfish crumbs a little better, too.