The all-new Kia Sorento, unveiled in March earlier this year, is unquestionably one handsome-looking SUV – at least on the tarmac where most buyers will spend the majority of their time in it. However, Kia is adamant that the Sorento will also look good off the beaten path, and have unveiled two off-road concepts at the virtual SEMA show this year to prove its point.
The first of the duo is the Sorento Yosemite concept, which Kia says is designed for “high elevation adventuring and mountain living”. For that purpose, the SUV has been fitted with large satin chrome skid plates, an exaggerated roof rack, roof-mounted auxiliary LED lighting, as well as custom fender flares surrounding the 20-inch wheels wrapped in knobby 32-inch all-terrain tires.
The Sorento Yosemite concept is painted in a matte Pine Green exterior, finished with accents in both gloss and matte black, as well as a large Sorento decal emblazoned across the bottom of the doors.
Meanwhile, the Sorento Zion concept is billed as a “desert escape vehicle made for stomping dunes”, and thus is finished in a Desert Sand paint job with gloss black accents. The roof rack is replaced by a covered roof cargo box to prevent sand build-up, while the off-road body kit is slightly less pronounced than the mountaineering counterpart.
Similar to the Yosemite concept, the Zion also sits on 20-inch wheels with 32-inch off-road tyres, but it does get an exclusive dual-tone alloy wheel design to go along with its Desert Sand paint job.
Both of the off-road customised concepts are based on the production X-Line model, which is the Kia Sorento’s more off-road focused variant, featuring an increased ride height, improved approach and departure angles, larger 20-inch wheels, as well as a more advanced AWD system with snow-mode.
The Kia Sorento is available in a wide array of powertrain options depending on region. Over in Europe, the SUV is available with either a 202 hp/440 Nm 2.2-litre turbo diesel engine, or a hybrid variant featuring a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, an electric motor, and a small battery pack to make a combined 230 hp and 350 Nm.
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