Unlike many automakers, which made a splash at the many events forming the Monterey Car Week 2023 or a few others, which wanted the spotlight all for themselves, Kia was quite subtle and quiet about its redesigned 2024 Sorento mid-size crossover SUV.
They teased it, they allowed the leaks, and when it came the time to shine, they shied away. That wasn't the case with the new, all-electric EV6 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year Limited Edition that tried to make the headlines at The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering in model-exclusive Deep Forest Green over Desert Beige. Frankly, not even the authentic NACTOY medallions can make it more interesting than the refreshed 2024 Sorento.
Hopefully, the South Korean automaker is reserving a grand premiere for the North American variant at a later date – their partners at Hyundai did exactly that with the 2024 Santa Fe's new generation presented in Santa Fe, New Mexico, of course. But with fanfare or low quiet, it doesn't really matter for the never-sleeping imaginative realm of digital car content creators.
For example, the good folks over at the AutoYa info channel on YouTube have recently imagined the CGI looks of the unannounced and unreleased Kia Sorento GT – a model to top all other CUVs, even the mighty Telluride. That's interesting, right? However, if you think about it, it's not exactly illogical either.
In America, the mid-size crossover SUV sector is like a veritable battlefield where every automaker tries to outdo and outrun their competitors – especially in the field of three-row models. And the 2024 Kia Sorento won't have to worry solely about its boxy sibling, the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe, but also about new entries in the field like the ICE-powered or hybridized 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander.
The latter version comes with a top Hybrid Max variant that churns a combined 362 horsepower and 339 lb-ft (460 Nm), making it a lot more powerful even than the popular Honda Pilot with its 285-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 engine. As such, the resident pixel master and the channel's host not only cooked the potential 2024 or 2025 Kia Sorento GT Line but also a fully-fledged Kia Sorento GT.
However, we disagree that both could field the same powertrain taken from the Kia K5 – a 2.5-liter turbo inline-four with up to 290 horsepower. That one could work wonders on a hypothetical Kia Sorento GT Line to mitigate the clear and present Honda Pilot danger. But the Kia Sorento GT would need much more oomph to become the most powerful crossover in the company's lineup, even above the Telluride.
So, maybe it's best if we suggest trying harder to find an appropriate powertrain – the Kia Stinger's Lambda II 3.3-liter turbo V6 with 368 horsepower sounds like a match made in heaven to address any 2024 Toyota Grand Highlander concerns, right? Of course, do remember this is all wishful thinking.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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