PARIS MOTOR SHOW: Europe's next Sorento revealed

Yesterday Kia launched its new Sorento in Korea and now it has unveiled the European version that will make its world debut at the Paris motor show on October 2.

While the images show more details of the third-generation Sorento's luxurious new interior, Kia Motors Australia is yet to announce details of the model that will go on sale here next February.

The company has previously listed the dimensions of the large seven-seat SUV's bigger exterior length, which is 95mm longer at 4780mm, 15mm lower at 1685mm and 5mm wider at 1890mm.

Now it has announced the dimensions of its larger interior, liberated by an 80mm longer (2780mm) wheelbase. They include a 17.5 per cent increase in cargo space with the third-row seats folded, from 515 to 605 litres (VDA), and an 87mm longer cargo floor that conceals a new tonneau cover compartment. Kia says headroom also increases for occupants in all three rows.

Australians will be able to specify the interior in either single-tone (Saturn Black) or two-tone (Saturn Black and Stone) color schemes with cloth or leather trim. Brown or light grey leather colors will be optional.

As we've reported, the new Sorento features 40/20/40-split second-row seats with a higher folding centre armrest, plus remote folding of the third row via two levers at the side of the cargo bay.

New available technologies now formally announced include an Around-View Monitor with four cameras and a Smart Power Tailgate.

Kia makes much of the Sorento's improved refinement, thanks in part to the body's increased torsional rigidity (up a claimed 14 per cent compared to the outgoing model), new soundproofing material for the transmission tunnel, a 29 per cent thicker dashboard soundproofing panel (increased from 0.7 to 0.9mm), larger engine and transmission mounts and, for diesel models, a new DPF cover and an acoustic shield integrated into the engine’s timing chain cover.

Kia says cabin noise is reduced by three to six per cent, depending on driving conditions, and a range of enhancements have been applied to the MacPherson front and multi-link rear suspension systems.

An all-new electric motor-driven power steering system (R-MDPS) is claimed to offer greater steering feel and quicker response, "ensuring that new Sorento will be among the more agile and sporty vehicles in its segment, without sacrificing the ride quality that customers expect from a luxurious SUV".

A stiffer bodyshell employing more widespread use of ultra-high tensile steel (UHTS) also aids safety, says Kia, adding that while the old Sorento's body was 24.4 per cent UHTS, the new one is 52.7 per cent.

Particular areas of reinforcement include the wheel-arches, tailgate surround and rear-wheel surrounds and Kia says the new Sorento also features more than twice as much ultra-strong hot-stamped steel as the outgoing model – especially around the A- and B-pillars -- up from 4.1 to 10.1 per cent.

Depending on the market, a host of new active safety features will be offered, including ASCC (Adaptive Smart Cruise Control), LDWS (Lane Departure Warning System), FCW (Front Collision Warning), BSD (Blind-Spot Detection), LCA (Lane Change Assist), RCTA (Rear Cross-Traffic Alert); and SLIF (Speed Limit Information Function), which displays the speed limit in the driver’s instrument cluster based on cameras detecting roadside signs.

Five engines will be offered globally, with power outputs ranging from 126 to 198kW. These include a 2.4-litre four-cylinder direct-injection petrol (GDI), multi-point injected 2.4 and (V6) 3.3-litre engines, and revised 2.0 and 2.2-litre ‘R’ turbo-diesel units.

Australia should continue to offer the 2.2 diesel and one petrol engine, most likely the 3.3 V6 to replace the outgoing Sorento's 3.5-litre V6.