2014 Kia Sorento Sxl Awd on 2040-cars

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How the Koreans are cracking the luxury market

South Korea's two largest automotive brands are no longer the same companies they were when they first entered the world stage.
Anyone who visits Seoul after a few years absence is likely going to be in for a shock. What was, not that long ago, a decidedly third-world city is today a thriving, sprawling metropolis increasingly on a par with the world's most modern cities.

2014 Kia Sedona rises from the dead, same as it ever was

Don't throw away your car seats just yet, Korean minivan enthusiasts - the Kia Sedona is back on the market. If you recall, Kia killed its minivan offering at the end of 2012 (there was never a 2013 model). But here's what's making us scratch our heads: Despite the fact that Kia did confirm that the Sedona would eventually be back, we were under the impression that it would return with a proper replacement for the aging van. (Earlier reports suggested something along the lines of that cool KV7 concept.) Instead, the reincarnated Korean minivan you see here is, well, the same as it ever was. Consider our buzz killed.
That's not to say there haven't been a couple of delightfully refreshed bits thrown into the new package. For starters, the Sedona wears a slightly updated schnoz with a redesigned grille, LED positioning lamps and standard foglamps inside the reworked lower fascia. (If we're honest, the Kia looks a bit Ford Windstar-ish from the front three-quarter angle.) There's a new 17-inch wheel design for the 2014 model year, and aside from a couple enhancements to the interior in terms of storage, that short list rounds out the full extent of the new updates.
All Sedonas are powered by the same 3.5-liter V6 that debuted in the 2011 model, producing 269 horsepower and 246 pound-feet of torque, mated exclusively to a six-speed automatic transmission. Fuel economy ratings fall in at a rather mediocre 17/24 miles per gallon (city/highway).

2014 Kia Sorento

For most new car shoppers, three-row crossovers are little more than a way for the family-minded to avoid succumbing to the minivan stigma. Admit it - the only things that differentiate most larger CUVs from minivans are their lack of sliding side doors and - on most of them - the option of all-wheel drive. Having blossomed into a popular segment with thicker profit margins, though, automakers have plenty of incentive to keep their offerings fresh, and that's exactly why Kia is presenting its 2014 Sorento so soon.
At first glance, the crisply styled utility vehicle seen here appears to be nothing more than a mid-cycle refresh - and not a particularly extensive one, at that. But that's not the case at all. Despite looking very similar to the second-generation vehicle that came on the scene for the 2010 model year, this is an all-new Sorento. Or, more precisely, it's about 80-percent new. Kia says less than 20 percent of the parts have been carried over from the 2013 Sorento, and that's a pretty typical amount for an 'all-new' vehicle generation.
Since we've yet to spend quality time with the "Made in the USA" Sorento for more than a short First Drive in Arizona last February, we snagged the keys to a 2014 model in the all-new SX Limited trim level for a lengthy backroad sojourn from Florida to South Carolina.