Car road test: Kia Sorento

The Kia Sorento has ambition. What started life as an agricultural cheapie has been fettled and polished into something far more refined. This third generation model looks to have the finish and engineering to put the frighteners on the SUV-class high fliers.

Kia hasn't engineered this Sorento by halves. The UK range hinges around a 197bhp 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine that develops a peak torque of 441Nm. A great deal of work has gone into improving refinement, with a torsionally stiffer bodyshell, additional soundproofing, acoustic shields built into the engine bay, and a thicker dashboard. Depending on speed, ambient noise within the cabin is claimed to be between three and six per cent quieter than the previous car.

An electric assistance motor is attached to the steering rack rather than the steering column as in the old Sorento, helping to improve steering accuracy and offer more detailed feedback. The fully-independent suspension retains the format of the outgoing model (MacPherson struts at the front and Kia's multi-link system at the rear), but features a range of modifications. At the rear, the subframe supporting the suspension has larger bushings to better isolate it from the cabin and the larger shock absorbers are now mounted vertically behind the axle line, improving body control.

The 'p-word' crops up in almost everything you read about the Sorento: premium. It marks a measure of Kia's ambition. No longer does the brand feel it's achieved something being accepted into the mainstream. It wants to keep on trucking and leave the likes of Ford, Vauxhall and such like behind. There's little doubt that the Sorento's exterior design looks agreeably upmarket. The styling work was led by Kia's Namyang design studio in Korea, with significant input from the brand's Frankfurt, Germany and Irvine, California studios. The face of the new Sorento incorporates long, wrap-around headlamps and more prominent fog-lamps, as well as a larger, more upright 'tiger-nose' grille, with a distinctive three-dimensional diamond pattern. In profile, it retains the Sorento's hallmark long bonnet and trademark chunky D-pillar, but a lower roofline, higher beltline and swept-back shape give the car a more assertive, muscular stance.

It's hard not to be impressed at the way Kia has gone about developing the third-generation Sorento. While some may grumble that we don't really need cars to get progressively bigger with each passing generation, few would have any complaints about the way the Sorento has matured. It's better looking than before and a good deal more design input has gone into refinement, both aural and haptic. It's just a more assured and confident design. What we're still not quite seeing is a pronounced Kia hallmark with this car. It still seems a fairly reactive move to the way the SUV market is developing.

For many buyers, this is no bad thing. The Sorento looks a good deal more expensive than it is and even in a notoriously badge-conscious sector it would appear to be just too much of a bargain to overlook.