SPY PICS: Salubrious Sorento

The next generation of Kia Sorento is undergoing testing at the company's German R&D centre and the spy photographers at Carparazzi have managed to snap off some pics of the new SUV.

Whilst there's little to see through the camo, the design of the A-pillar base and the very fact that the vehicle's development at the German facility suggests that the Sorento will continue to be an SUV in the European mould, rather than an American-style SUV, such as the larger Borrego (more here).

According to the Carparazzi blokes, the new Sorento appears unlikely to be large enough for third-row seating, despite the larger dimensions. They do, however, expect the new model to be priced higher and to feature larger displacement engines.

The original Sorento was designed with the Mercedes-Benz M-Class in mind as a benchmark, so the new vehicle -- and we can't stress enough the importance of the German involvement here -- could maintain that stylistic legacy, or it may move in the direction of the corporate style already laid down by Kia's chief of design, Peter Schreyer.

-- with Carparazzi