Parents magazine advises Concord Kia consumers to choose 2021 Sorento vehicles with captain’s chairs in order to be able to conveniently fit three car seats. Rear-facing car seats and high-back booster seats should go in the second row.
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Can a Kia Sorento accommodate three car seats?
When traveling with the family, the Kia Sorento is a fairly roomy 7-seater with plenty of cargo space.
The second row of seats is readily wide enough to accommodate three child seats. Both of the second row’s outermost seats have ISOFIX mounting points, and all three of the seats have top tether points. Due to the lack of ISOFIX or top tether points, the third row of seats is not appropriate for child seats.
All Sorento models have four-wheel drive, and this substantial SUV provides families with a very comfortable ride. Additionally, the boot is a functional design, and the floor is flush with the boot opening, making it simpler to carry larger objects like a pram.
BabyDrive Verdict
In order to increase internal cabin and cargo capacity as well as legroom, Kia made the new Sorento model slightly broader and longer than the outgoing model. This car is surprisingly roomy for a seven-seater, and we were able to fit a tall third-row passenger and an 184cm driver in front of a rear-facing child seat! The third row’s legroom is undoubtedly adequate, but the head and shoulder room was the main drawback.
This resulted in a large amount of boot space as well! When all seven seats are occupied, the boot can accommodate five shopping bags or a basic Steelecraft Holiday 2 umbrella stroller along with three shopping bags.
The boot space is particularly large when the third row of seats is folded down. It could accommodate 16 grocery bags. Eight shopping bags could fit in the twin stroller, seven bags in the Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle stroller, and thirteen bags could fit in the basic Holiday 2 umbrella stroller!
Additionally, the third-row seats have air conditioning vents and controls that you can turn on when not using them for passengers to keep your shopping cool in the boot on warm days!
The retractable blind in the boot was another another fantastic feature. If the second row seats are upright, you should mount it in one of the two positions; if they are reclined, you should mount it in the other. This seems so simple, yet the majority of other cars have difficult, complicated solutions involving flaps and clips! I have yet to see a better and simpler cargo blind than this one! (I never imagined I’d be writing this!) To prevent them from scratching the car’s interior as you get in and out, the ends of the cargo blinds bar are additionally protected with a strip of felt. The inside of the automobiles are usually damaged and scratched, but I have never seen this on any other vehicle.
The second-row seat backs have three top tether anchor points, whereas the third-row seats have none. The second row of seats has two ISO Fix points.
Legroom and access to the third row of seats are adjusted by sliding the second row of seats. It is easy to get in and out of the second row because the seats can either fold down in a 60/40 split or independently 40/20/40.
Three child seats fit across the second row of seats thanks to my ingenuity. With the Infasecure Compressor 4 in front on one side, the Mountain Buggy Protect infant capsule in back on the other, and the Infasecure Foldaway booster seat in the middle.
The third row of seats is VERY simple to fold down by merely pulling a tape in the boot floor, and all of the seats are very comfy.
Autonomous emergency braking, radar-based adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance, driver attention alert, anti-lock brakes with brake assist and electronic brake force distribution, stability control, and traction control are just a few of the numerous safety features that come standard on the 2018 Kia Sorento.
Additional standard features include automated headlights, an electric park brake with auto hold, a reversing camera with animated guidance lines, front and rear parking sensors with object proximity displays, a digital speed readout, and a multi-function trip computer.
BabyDrive Indepth – Storage
Two cup holders with a slide-across top for when they are not in use are located in the center console in the front of the Sorento. They are very generous in size and could accommodate most vessel kinds. They carried a 600ml water bottle, a pigeon baby bottle, several huge, re-fillable water bottles, a sippy cup with handles, and a throwaway coffee cup.
A huge rubber-based well with two 12V outlets, AUX, and USB ports is located in front of the cup holders. This well includes a slide-across lid that allows you to cover anything within, such as coins or a phone that is charging (it’s excellent for that), without having to remove it all.
The Sorento’s door pockets can accommodate my huge refillable water bottle, a 600ml water bottle, a Pigeon baby bottle, my wallet, but not an iPad.
There are no tiny storage compartments in the door handles. Out of habit, I’ve put stuff in them a few times when getting Tulsi in and out of the car, and they have fallen right through.
The roof has a lined glasses case, and the backs of the visors for the two front passengers each have an illuminated vanity mirror. For use on the side windows, the visors themselves can be extended as well.
The Sorento has plenty of storage space, but the glove box is small. The manual there takes up most of the available space, and I could only fit my wallet inside, not an iPad.
The storage compartment in the center of the console is a fair size, has a felt interior, a top tray that can be removed, and its lid doubles as an armrest.
Passengers on the second row have net 1/2 map pockets on both sides, allowing anything placed inside to be seen.
The door pockets at the back are smaller than those in the front; they could only fit a bottle no bigger than a 600 ml bottle or a Pigeon baby bottle.
Two cup holders that are a good size for a single-use or reusable coffee cup are located in a fold-down armrest in the middle seat.
Below the second row of air conditioning vents in the back of the central console box are 12V and USB outlets. The second row’s footwell is flat, which is better for passengers in the center seats.
Each of the third-row seats has a cup holder built into the tire arches, along with a place to prop up an iPad or a book. I adore that the cup holders are then in the boot when I’m only using five seats and the third-row seats are folded up! When loading and unloading the boot, they come in incredibly handy for holding my cup or beverage.
I always bring a portable cup of tea with me when I travel with Tulsi! primarily because, like most new mothers, I’m exhausted and in need of caffeine! Additionally, just in case, I pull over so I can grab a cup of coffee and pass the time while she sleeps. Or I have water bottles that, despite the fact that they all claim to not leak, eventually do so after being dropped a few times. It is therefore a juggling act to keep the bottles upright and away from babies or curious toddlers! As a result, I head to the car’s trunk with the baby, bags, beverages, and snacks and hope that the trunk has automatic opening because I don’t have a spare hand. I then sort of just throw everything in there while fastening the baby to her seat. Drink holders in the boot are really helpful because you can just place your hot and cold beverages there out of the way. being confident they won’t spill, trip, or burn somebody!
The cargo blind attachment was one of the Sorento’s best features, in my opinion. All other automakers might take a page out of Kia’s book! Kia has installed two sets of indents rather than just one, leaving a gap between the cargo blind bar and the backs of the second row of seats or, worse, flimsy fabric flaps that attach to the seats. GENIUS! So the seats fit in one while they are erect and another when they are reclined. That’s all there is to it, and I couldn’t be happier! There are no flimsy clips or fabric flaps! I had to climb up into the boot since, at 162 cm, I couldn’t reach the cargo blind from where I was standing outside.
The cargo blind can be stored conveniently under the boot floor, where there is also a small additional area that is lined with plastic that you may use to store damp or dirty objects in order to keep them out of the boot. Additionally covered with felt are the ends of the cargo blind’s bar! This is a wonderful little touch that prevents the blind from scratching the inside of the car when you install and remove it, which I always find to be a problem.
There is a sizable well with rubber lining next to the cup holders for the third row seats. When I was loading and unloading the boot, I also found this to be quite helpful. It was excellent for storing things like my phone, sunglasses, and keys. Basically, I didn’t want anything in the boot to get destroyed or mingled with the other items.
Even with only five seats occupied, the Sorento’s boot space was surprisingly large. With nothing else in the boot, I could fit 16 bags of groceries inside, which is a significant amount of highly practical storage.
The boot area was large enough to accommodate the Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle pram either lengthwise or widthwise, together with seven bags of groceries.
The boot area can accommodate our Steelecraft Holiday 2 umbrella stroller either lengthwise or widthwise. I could fit 13 shopping bags in with it because it was not blocking the backrests.
With just five seats, a huge dog could fit in the boot of the basic umbrella stroller or a medium- or small-sized dog could fit in the Mountain Buggy pram. There is no room in the boot for a dog when all seven seats are occupied.
The boot space’s functionality and importance cannot be overstated. I prefer vehicles with large boot spaces and small side wells or other compartments that can be divided into. Therefore, items like Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear that I don’t want to move while driving may be compartmentalized in a small space so they won’t spill or get squished by other items in the boot.
The ability to fasten the bag containing more delicate items, such as eggs, so they don’t move about on the trip, makes hooks for hanging shopping bags one of my other favorite types of hooks.
I gauge the boot room for dogs, strollers, and frozen shopping bags. I don’t believe that a mother’s existence is limited to grocery shopping, pushing a stroller, and caring for dogs. (Even though at times it seems like it!) However, since these are things that can be measured visually, we can all relate to them. For me, the 400L boot measurement from the car manufacturer is not a quantity I can easily see, and depending on how the space is organized or shaped, 400L in one car may not be as usable as it is in another.
The third row of seats are relatively easy to erect. When you pull on the woven tape that is velcroed to the seatback in the boot floor, the seatback rises and the base glides out. This is the most straightforward and user-friendly mechanism I have tested, in my opinion. By pulling the same tape and moving the seat backward, the seats can be folded away once more.
Even with the third row of seats in place, there is still plenty of room in the trunk. Even with all seven seats occupied, I could fit five shopping bags in the trunk.
I was quite impressed that I could fit the Steelecraft Holiday 2 umbrella stroller over the seatbacks with three shopping bags.
The Sorento’s open boot makes it simple to load and unload cargo. It was the right height for menot too high or low. It was challenging for me to reach the very rear (I am 162cm).
The carpeted, smooth, and flat boot floor is ideal for laying down baby for a diaper change.
Behind the tire arches, on either side of the boot, are wells that I found practical for storing items like lunchboxes that you don’t want to slide around.
Additionally, the second row of seats may be moved forward using the grips on each side of the boot.
BabyDrive Indepth – Noise
The Sorento has standard front and rear parking sensors, and a button in the center console may be used to disable them.
While the beeping, sensors, and visual turn off, the reverse camera remains on. The Sorento can be easily parked in reverse thanks to the reversing camera’s animated assistance lines and crystal-clear image.
The Sorento offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, making it easy to use your phone and mute it on the screen while using the sat-nav. The built-in sat-nav system from Kia is also incredibly user-friendly and reliable. It does emit numerous sounds to warn you of various threats, including speed traps, red-light cameras, and railroad crossings, which would wake up a sleeping youngster. Additionally, it has SUNA traffic notifications that notify you if there is an impending traffic jam.
In terms of noise, I didn’t notice anything particularly bothersome for little children in the Sorento. I find that if nothing stands out, it is a good thing, and the windows, doors, and indicators were all fairly quiet.
After becoming a father, I quickly realized that there are some noises and sounds I could live without if it meant that my child would stay asleep.
That frequently my crying, upset infant is a bigger distraction when driving than, say, not having a lane departure warning.
Which is the safest option if my kid is distressed by the lane departure warning beeping?
It’s at this point that I believe we need to be able to strike a balance and decide when we may turn off the alerts or switch to something else, like a vibration in the steering wheel or possibly a flashing light?
Many of these noises are a result of the development of technology, particularly those associated with alerts and safety measures. These all have their place in my opinion.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that I spend a lot more time in locations where young children congregate, such as parks, beaches, play areas, swimming lessons, childcare facilities, etc. I’m more conscious now that I need to triple check for little children when I’m reversing or maneuvering in the parking lots since they may be running about behind me or in my blind area. I adore reverse cameras for this, but I detest their beeping noises!
I enjoy the peace of mind I get from the cameras and sensors paired with my personal view from windows and mirrors because I don’t trust cameras alone. Since having a child, I have been much more alert of safety and potential mishaps or hazards.
The road and engine noise were excellent. In fact, the journey was really peaceful and relaxing as we were secluded from the outside commotion in the luxury of our Sorento!
When I inserted my phone into the car’s USB port and started playing nursery rhymes from my phone, the Bluetooth hands-free connected without any trouble. This was made easy and convenient by Apple CarPlay.
BabyDrive Indepth – Car Seats
The Sorento is a family SUV with seven seats. It had three top tether anchor points in the second-row backrests and two ISO Fix attachments, one in each of the outside second-row seats. The third row of seats lacks top tethers and ISO Fix.
My three child seatsa Mountain Buggy Protect baby capsule on one side, an Infasecure Foldaway booster seat in the middle, and an Infasecure Compressor 4 (forward-facing) in the other outside seatcould fit across the middle row of the Sorento with relative ease. The center booster seat’s seatbelt buckle was hidden beneath the base, but it wasn’t as difficult to get to as it had been in some other automobiles.
As the Sorento’s door openings are lovely and broad and tall, you have plenty of area to post baby in and out of their rear-facing capsule. Additionally, the interior of the automobile has a great high ceiling and plenty of space, making it simple to put a baby in their seat from inside.
Due to the harsh weather in Australia (scorching sun and pouring rain), you might find it occasionally simpler to buckle Baby into their seat from inside the vehicle. If it’s hot outside, you can turn on the air conditioning to chill the car while you secure the kids in, or you can find cover from the rain to avoid getting wet while you do it if it’s raining. Therefore, it’s crucial to test whether installing Bub is simple from any direction.
There is plenty of space in the back seats to feed baby even with only one child seat fitted.
The Sorento we drove had leather seats, which were easier to clean than woven cloth seats. However, because they are largely perforated, it is more difficult to keep them clean because spills from kids, sand, and crumbs become trapped in the perforations and are challenging to remove.
The flat base of the second-row seat makes it easier to place three kid seats across. The backrests can also be lowered.
BabyDrive Indepth – Drive & Comfort
The front seats of the Sorento we were driving were plush and comfortable. I had no trouble finding a comfortable seating position, and the seat bases weren’t overly long like I frequently find with lever-adjustable chairs (I am 162cm tall). Eight-way power driver seat adjustment and two- and four-way lumbar support control, respectively, are included with the more expensive SLi and GT variants.
Large, flat seats in the third row, but they do not recline. Despite being less cushioned than the rest of the automobile, they are nonetheless incredibly comfortable.
The second-row seats are divided 60:40 for reclining and sliding, as well as 40:20:20 split-folding so you may easily lower the middle seat independently. You can choose from a wide variety of seat configurations thanks to this. My mother friend prefers to have the center seat lowered so their dog can view out of the boot!
It is particularly roomy for a mother traveling in the second row with their infant. With the center row slid forward, you could fit another tall passenger in the third-row seats with enough legroom, though their headroom was constrained. The second-row seats slide to adjust for leg room, and we discovered that with the driver’s seat set for an 184cm driver, another could comfortably sit behind them.
The Sorento’s steering wheel is completely adjustable and feels incredibly high-quality in your hands.
The Sorento’s cruise control was fantastic! It maintained its set pace really well on both fast motorways and slow sloping roads, and because to the radar cruise control, I was confident that it would stop and start in time with the traffic in front of me. Since I could rely on the steering wheel controls to be easy to operate and the vehicle to maintain the posted speed limits, driving required less of my attention.
Even the Sorento’s air conditioning is perfectly calibrated by Kia! A cabin air purifier is included! There are two vents in the centre and one on either end of the dashboard at the front.
Two vents for the second row’s passengers are located in the back of the central console storage box, while the third row’s vents have their own controls below the windows.
I simply adored the arrangement and placement of the vents. The central console and side vents were a great addition because our daughter has always been extremely bothered by ceiling vents because they blow air directly onto passengers’ heads and faces, especially when they are rear-facing. And it’s fantastic that the third row has its own controls! The air vents and controls allowed me to keep my groceries cool in the boot when I was using it as a five-seater vehicle.
Around me, the Sorento had shrunk. I didn’t feel as though I was driving a large car, despite the fact that it is a seven-seater SUV that is VERY roomy!
It offered outstanding sight for the driver and passengers, large, deep windows that gave the cabin a feeling of openness, and a huge windscreen thanks to the higher riding position. The third-row seats had sizable triangle windows, which significantly improved sight for me as the driver and second-row passengers who are facing the back. I discovered that because there was more window space due to the child seats being put back a little bit, the driver’s view out of the side windows was improved.
Both the driver and the passenger can use the illuminated vanity mirrors in the front, and the visors can be extended to completely cover the width of the side windows. I particularly enjoy this feature because it makes driving in the intense side sun much more tolerable and prevents you from arriving somewhere with a sunburn on one side!
The second row light is situated in the center of the ceiling behind the over door handles. The interior lights are on. I couldn’t get there while driving since it was too far back.
When I am driving at night, I frequently reach back to switch on the interior light because I find that my daughter is less agitated that way. If I can turn on and off the interior light while driving, it will be easier if I can do so from the driver’s seat. When we start our journey in the dark, I frequently find that my kid needs it on, but once she nods off, I can turn it off. Additionally, having lights above the doors, where the handles are typically located, is helpful. When vision is bad, these are useful for placing babies in their car seats because you can do it without having to reach across them to a centrally located light, etc.
Because of the way it hugged me, I didn’t feel like I was driving a huge SUV through town.
In the Sorento, a ponytail was not permitted! The headrests were positioned improperly for it.
No new mother has ever stated, “I spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too!”
The Sorento’s brakes were my main complaint, other from the headrest. They made me feel squishy and unconfident since I thought I REALLY needed to stamp on them to make sure I was going to stop.
You have more options for interior colors and trims with the higher spec variants. The model we tested included a variety of black textures that were all easily cleanable. The Sorento appeared to be a very high-quality vehicle overall, with a well-made, well-designed cabin, and a very comfortable interior.
The car has removable carpet floor mats that can be cleaned and shook out.