Kia Sets Sorento Global Debut for Paris

The third-generation Kia Sorento will launch in Korea this month, but make its global debut at the Paris motor show.

After sending out teaser renderings of the exterior and interior of the all-new Sorento, Kia issues the official photographs of the redesigned and re-engineered vehicle.

A spokesman tells WardsAuto the new Sorento will launch in Korea toward the end of August, which is in fact its global premiere. The vehicle will have its full-fledged global debut at the Paris Motor Show on Oct. 2.

Dimensions provided by Kia are for domestic and European versions, as the U.S. rendition may differ slightly.

Kia builds the second-generation Sorento in the U.S., at its West Point, GA, plant, but a Kia global spokesman has no information on when production in Georgia will shift to the third-gen model. However, WardsAuto forecast data shows builds of the third-generation Sorento will get under way in November at the West Point plant.

Swept-back styling and extended dimensions, including in the vehicle’s wheelbase, are a welcome evolution to what has been Kia’s most boxy CUV, but the change is not dramatic.

The new entry is 3.7 ins. (95 mm) longer at 188.2 ins. (4,780 mm); 0.06 ins. (15 mm) lower at 66.4 ins. (1,685 mm); and with a 3.5-in. (80 mm) increase in wheelbase to 109.5 ins. (2,780 mm).

Kia’s Namyang design studio at the Hyundai-Kia Namyang R&D Center oversaw and coordinated design and development, but with strong inputs from Kia’s design centers in Irvine, CA, and Frankfurt, Germany.

“The all-new Sorento has been completely redesigned and re-engineered,” Soon-Nam Lee, Kia’s vice president-overseas marketing, says in a statement. “It promises to surprise customers with its thoroughly updated styling, a host of new convenience and safety technologies and enhanced space, driving comfort and handling response.”

When interior renderings were released, Kia gave the Frankfurt design studio credit for the interior and claimed its designers were “influenced by the finest modern Swiss watches.”

The interior goes upscale with more soft-touch materials, leather and stitching, according to information then released.

Drivetrain and other technical specifications for the third-gen Sorento have not been divulged. An Australian debut for the Sorento is expected in early 2015, based on media reports out of the country.