Bolder, smarter, and safer.
It seems this is the new charter for the modern seven-seat SUV, and the new fourth-generation
Kia Sorento is a perfect demonstration, especially in this flagship GT-line form.
So in this comparison, we're putting the new Sorento up against the benchmark of this segment
in recent years, the Mazda CX-9.
Large SUV buyers are pretty spoilt for choice in 2020, with the inclusion of a new Sorento
plus updated offerings on their way from Toyota and Hyundai.
In this comparison, we're going straight to the top of the pops, seeing just how much
seven-seat SUV you can get with a $70,000 budget.
The fourth-generation Kia Sorento is all-new, while the Mazda CX-9 has been on the scene
since 2016, receiving its last major update in 2018.
Both these models have had significant price hikes in their latest guise, the Kia up by
$4,000 and the Mazda by about two and a half thousand dollars.
Since the Kia is the all-new shiny offering, we'll start with it.
It's worth pointing out that only 17 years ago, the Sorento was an all-new body-on-frame
SUV that was looking to take Kia in a new direction.
Now in its fourth generation, the new model has a much bigger on-road focus.
It's 10 millimetres longer, 10 millimetres wider, and it has a 35-millimetre-longer wheel
base.
It's got a lot of new technology.
It even parks itself.
This is a big step forward.
Those bigger exterior dimensions have translated to a roomier cabin with excellent passenger
amenity across all three rows.
Up front, it's all about the screen, you get a 10.25-inch centre display and a 12.3-inch
digital instrument cluster that controls all the key functions.
It's just a clever cabin as well.
You can pair two phones concurrently to the Bluetooth, and you can even speak to the rearmost
passengers via the speakers.
Further back, every passenger has access to an air vent and a USB point, and there are
four Isofix attachment points and five top tether points throughout the cabin, more than
the Mazda on both counts.
There are some big-ticket items in safety as well.
A center air bag in the front row, which is designed to stop occupants clashing heads
in the event of a collision, along with a new blind spot view camera.
Like the Mazda, the Sorento also boasts autonomous emergency braking and the latest electronic
aids.
There's a bit to get your head around with those safety features at first, but after
some time at the wheel, they operate really effectively in the background and actually
complement a new-found solidity for the Sorento on the road.
The initial on-road impression of the new Sorento is strong.
It sits flat through corners, it isolates occupants from bumps in the road really effectively,
and it offers decent feel and feedback from the controls.
In fact, of these two cars, it's the quietest on coarse-chip sections of bitumen as well.
Under the bonnet of our test car is the flagship 2.2-litre turbo diesel that beats the Mazda's
petrol engine for torque, but can't quite match its power figure.
The engine sends drive to all four wheels via a new eight-speed dual-clutch automatic
with a shift by a wire dial.
There's also a petrol V6 available, plus forthcoming plug-in hybrid and electric grades that will
arrive in 2021.
The diesel is incredibly efficient in reality.
In fact, we managed 8.2 litres per hundred Ks across our test loop, whereas the Mazda
came home with a 13.2 litre per hundred K rating, so a big difference there.
I've gotta be honest, the diesel is a little bit gruff, a little bit coarse at low RPM,
so much so that you'll feel it vibrating through the seat at lower speeds.
But beyond that, the power curve is smooth and accessible.
And with the new eight-speed dual-clutch automatic doing the shifting, you're spoiled with low-down
diesel torque, but also quick shifting and quite a sporty demeanour to the drivetrain.
Otherwise, this feels like new territory for the Sorento.
It's sportier than before, but it also feels lighter on its feet.
Sporty?
Light on its feet?
Though those are some of the key descriptors of Mazda's CX-9 as well, and just some of
the reasons why it's one of our favourites in the Carsales garage.
In fact, the CX-9 took out our 2016 Carsales Car of the Year Award, so here we're revisiting
it in top spec Azami trim.
Now, "polished" is a word that we've used to describe the CX-9 in the past, and it still
rings true today.
This car feels smaller than it really is on the road.
It's easy to place inside your lane, and it offers genuine feel and feedback from the
steering and controls.
There's a little bit more body roll through corners than in the Sorento, and the sporty
premise of the CX-9 isn't infallible.
It feels busier over bumps, and it's also audibly noisier as well.
I think of these two cars, the Kia's the one that you're gonna feel a little bit fresher
jumping out of after an eight-hour road trip.
Under the bonnet of the CX-9 is a familiar 2.5-litre turbo petrol engine that makes 170
kilowatts and 420 Newton-metres.
Like the Kia, it sends drive to all four wheels in this application via a slightly dated six-speed
torque converter automatic.
Being a petrol, the CX-9 feels a little bit perkier at the top end of the dial compared
to the Kia.
It doesn't quite have that same truck-like torque right down low, but I think the power
delivery is more linear across the dial.
We've already mentioned the hefty fuel use of the Mazda on the road.
Its other let-down is probably engine noise.
It's definitely the smoother and more refined of these two at low RPM, but rolling acceleration,
and once you're up to speed, it's actually more audible than the Kia's diesel.
Now, it might not have the headline tech of the Kia, but the CX-9 is still a really nice
place to be nonetheless.
It's got gorgeous Nappa leather, soft contact points, and although the interior presentation
and technology feels a little bit off the pace in this comparison, it does win key points
back with a slightly longer boot area and excellent passenger amenity.
Upon closer inspection, the Mazda does fall short in some areas, missing out on the Kia's
rear split fold levers in the boot, a full-size spare wheel, air vents across all three rows,
and the Kia's touch-screen capability.
But seat and door materials do feel slightly plusher in the CX-9, and its longer overall
length does liberate slightly more legroom across all three rows.
The Kia is a clear winner in terms of ownership prospects, with a longer seven-year warranty
in place of the Mazda's five, as well as 15,000-kilometre servicing intervals.
So while the Mazda is cheaper on paper, it's a service over a five-year period, if you're
doing more than 10,000 kilometres annually, that figure will likely spike.
On a wild and woolly day, believe me when I say there is no better place to be than
inside the cabins of these two quasi-luxury SUVs.
And on that note, it's incredible just how far the Sorento and the CX-9 have come in
terms of their overall luxury and refinement.
But there can only be one winner, and that car today is the Kia Sorento.
Cheaper, laden with tech and luxury, and better executed overall, it steps up the game massively
for 2020.