The past year we have been inundated with positive reviews and accolades about the large-and-in-charge Kia Telluride. The Kia Telluride quickly became one of the brand’s most popular and notable vehicles, offering unique style, a touch a luxury, and the space of third-row seating. It isn’t the only highly-reviews third-row seating SUV in the manufacturer’s lineup, either, because the 2021 Kia Sorento also has third-row-seating and plenty of other features to make it a great competitor in its price range.

A smaller third-row seat option

You can expect to buy the surely soon-to-be popular 2021 Kia Sorento for a starting price of around $29,390, making it only slightly cheaper than the larger Kia Telluride. The Sorento is a slightly smaller but still very capable SUV that offers third-row-seating, with the turbo-hybrid trim level boasting an incredibly attractive 37 mpg combined, at least according to the manufacturer. But, that is only the tip of the iceberg of reasons why we have high expectations for the Sorento.

The 2021 Kia Sorento

There are a handful of trim levels and available packages that can help you customize the 2021 Kia Sorento. At first glance, the new Sorento looks rather sporty, with smooth body lines around an impressively spacious body. An aggressive front fascia looks modest yet modern, with sleek, well-designed headlights on either side of a widened grille. In fact, the interior of the car wouldn’t leave you disappointed, with nice touches of high-quality materials that make it feel comfortable and surprisingly luxurious.

But, on first glance, you might not notice that this SUV is capable of having third-row seating at all. This is especially surprising because the brand has become increasingly known for the Kia Telluride, an obvious third-row seat SUV. The more compact size of the Sorento is part of the appeal: it’s a spacious, third-row seat SUV for drivers who didn’t want a vehicle as large as the Telluride.

The rugged Sorento

Among all of the trim levels, you will, of course, find all of the tech and safety features you are looking for. Automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, and rear occupant alert are all of the best features you can find amongst the varying trim levels. Combined with an updated touchscreen infotainment system and Bluetooth capabilities, the redesign does well to enhance the 2021 Kia Sorento.

Overall, the 2021 Kia Sorento is yet another contender amongst the third-row-seat SUVs, a market lacking many affordable yet impressive options but with a lot of interest. Hopefully, for the brand, the Sorento will prove to be just as successful as the Telluride this year.