L.A. Auto Show: Kia Sorento’s North American debut

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The first Kia built in the U.S. at the South Korean automaker’s $1-billion plant in West Point, Ga., the 2011 Sorento is a crossover that Kia believes has been “right-sized” to appeal to customers who are abandoning traditional SUVs for less thirsty crossovers. Basically, it will be aimed squarely at Toyota RAV4 and Chevy Equinox consumers when it is released in January.

After a busy year or so that included new releases of its Soul, Forte and Forte Koup, Kia is also keeping the younger, family-oriented buyer in mind with the Sorento, a budget-friendly five-seater that can seat seven in a pinch. Other nice touches in a reworked interior include leather seating on upscale models, large driver-friendly dials and a touchscreen LCD console that sits on a square-looking central stack.

The exterior of the new Sorento has a deeper, wraparound front grille that chief of marketing Michael Sprague described as “very contemporary” that stretches into Kia’s Schreyer line that extends to the vehicle’s rear and defines the car’s monocoque shell. The Sorento has independent suspension; multi-link at rear.

The second-generation Sorento has two engine choices: a 3.5-liter V-6 that puts out 276 horsepower and a 2.4-liter four-banger that delivers 29 mpg highway. Both are mated to a proprietary (or developed in-house) six-speed automatic box.

-- Craig Howie