Seven-seated path to happiness

In those happy, carefree days of long ago there would be certain weeks at this time of year when I would like to be testing a big SUV or people carrier. This would be for trips to and from the airport to fetch friends, more than often Welsh, who would be coming for the rugby.

I’d also take them sightseeing into the Wicklow hills and back through Dalkey before the serious business of match watching and drinking got under way. I was left with happy memories and good copy.

Alas, times change, and when testing the new Kia Sorento it was just me, the wife and two dogs who had the absolute pleasure of being in this stonkingly good seven-seat, all-wheel drive SUV which is absolutely coming down with safety equipment and other spec.

I don’t usually get so carried away in the first few paragraphs of an article but the plug-in hybrid version of this very popular car was an absolute revelation of just how good the Kia brand is becoming.

A couple of years back I gave the strongest recommendation that my daughter should buy the seven-seater Peugeot 5008 to carry her family of three children and it was a delight when she came over from the North-West of England and we all travelled to Centre Parcs in it.

Seeing the new Sorento might make my recommendation very different. There are diesel versions of the new Korean car at €52,440 and €57,430 (K3 and K4 specs, respectively) which might appeal to people doing high mileage and not having easy access to a home wallbox.

However I’m not in that category and the plug-in hybrid would suit me fine, especially as you can get over 60km fully electric motoring from one charge that takes about four hours.

Prices for the PHEV are cheaper too, courtesy of the €5,000 grant, and I believe the Sorento at €50,000 (K3) and €55,000 (K4) is we project.

This is very fine family motoring with some lovely added touches like being able to listen to many different relaxing nature sounds from ocean waves to forests at the touch of the very easy to navigate large infotainment screen.

There is also an amazing safety feature that first spooked me but afterwards could not get enough of. When you are using an indicator, one of the two large instrument dials shows the rearview of that side. It wasespecially good for turning down the narrow lane behind our house.

Everything is made easy in the Sorento. For instance, press one button and the middle seats slide forward to access the two in the rear. Press another, and the front passenger seat back folds flat.

Both the K3 and K4 specs are pretty comprehensive and most people will probably be happy with the lower, however a panoramic sunroof, ambient mood lighting, two tone leather, power passenger seat and heated rear seats together with some added safety equipment would swing the matter for me, especially if planning to keep the Sorentofor a good while.

I won’t list all the equipment on board, if you are at all interested in seven-seaters check out the Kia website as well as that of its sister brand, Hyundai where the Santa Fe is massively highly regarded, and of course Peugeot. However being rather old school I did like the fact the Sorento PHEV did have a spare steel wheel housed under the very good rear load area.

I liked the automatic gearbox and the choices for driving on different terrains or under wintery conditions. It isn’t an exciting drive but a very safe one. I agree with Autocar that it still lacks “dynamic finesse” yet themagazine says that it is a car of “real ambition” with an “exterior and interior design radically reimagined.”

What Car? calls it a“top notch large SUV” meanwhile Auto Express says that the latest Sorento remains “the practical, comfortable and safe family SUV that it has always been, but it’s now packed with tech you won’t find anywhere else. It also looks better than ever (and) it’s a difficult package to fault.”

Last Tuesday when I returned the Sorento it was announced that it has won the Best Large SUV category in the 11th Women’s World Car of theYear Awards for which my colleague Geraldine Herbert is one of the 38 jurors. The overall winner will be announced tomorrow.

I’d like to see the Sorento do well. As with all PHEVs fuel consumption does suffer quite radically if you don’t keep using the plug-in function. However for the average family doing school runs, shopping and normal commutes the Kia Sorento plug-in could make an awful lot of sense.

I loved it, despite not being able to use it to its fullest abilities. It’s a real looker too.

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Talking of awards, the Toyota Yaris won the European Car of the Year Award last Monday with 266 votes, beating the Fiat 500 with 240, the Cupra Formentor with 239, the Volkswagen ID.3 with 224, the Skoda Octavia with 199, the Land Rover Defender with 164 and the new CitroenC4 with 143.

The small Toyota’s case was massively helped by the love shown for its GR version which has nostalgic petrol-heads swooning.

Meanwhile on Tuesday Volvo said that its complete range of cars will befully electric by 2030. The announcement came alongside the launch of the Volvo C40 Recharge which has all the benefits of an SUV but with a lower and sleeker design.

It is based on the CMA vehicle platform and the first Volvo model in history designed as purely electric.Interestingly the car will have “superior connectivity” and the C40 Recharge will receive software updates over the air. That means it will continue to improve over time after it has left the factory.

It will be propelled by twin electric motors, one on the front and one on the rear axle, powered by a 78kWh battery that can be fast charged to 80 per cent in about 40 minutes.

It offers an anticipated range of around 420 km, which is expected to improve over time via over-the-air software updates.

The C40 Recharge will go in production this Autumn alongside the XC40 Recharge at the Volvo Cars manufacturing plant in Ghent, Belgium.