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00:00Hello and welcome to another MotorTrend comparison, this time with the Kia Sorento X-Pro SX Prestige
00:15and the Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy.
00:17With me is MotorTrend Mexico editor Miguel Cortina, and we're going to see between these
00:22two, which one is best.
00:23Yeah, these two SUVs are very similar to each other.
00:27Three rows, lots of space inside, so we're going to get behind the wheel and tell you
00:31all about it.
00:33Okay, in the Kia Sorento, things are immediately louder.
00:41I think the NVH, perhaps not as improved as it was in the Santa Fe.
00:46I think that's the first most notable thing.
00:50Right away, I can feel that this engine, it's pretty powerful for this kind of car.
00:56Have a lot of low-end torque, and if you're merging on the freeway or passing cars, it's
01:04pretty good for a size like this.
01:06It's just smooth, responsive.
01:09This is the X-Pro, so it is the off-road-y version of the Sorento.
01:16So the tires are a little different, the suspension is tuned a little differently.
01:20That being said, I mean, basically, it's a Sorento still.
01:25Oh, gosh, that engine, that is working also, and actually, when you drive the Sorento a
01:33little more aggressively, that vague, loose steering does get a little better.
01:43And you know, despite this being the car with the off-road tires and off-road look and rugged
01:47look, it really, it's very smooth on the road.
01:51There's also paddle shifters, which, why?
01:54It's a Sorento.
01:55Why are there paddle shifters?
01:58But there are, they're here if you need them.
02:01But overall, the Sorento is a very good choice.
02:04I mean, you have excellent power, great driving dynamics, yes, the ride is a little bit jittery,
02:12the vibrations can be smoothed out a little bit more, and the steering can be a little
02:17bit more precise.
02:19I think the gearbox also should need a little bit more refinement.
02:22But considering all of that, I mean, this is a car that essentially came out in 2021,
02:27and when you take that into consideration, this is still a pretty good car, though.
02:32All right, so now we're in the Hyundai Sanathe.
02:37Listen to this snow.
02:39I mean, that's way, sounds way more refined than the Kia.
02:45The steering feels a little tighter, responsive, yes.
02:52And even while I'm driving, this climate setup here, much easier to figure out, because the
02:57climate and the volume controls, radio controls, they are separate.
03:01I didn't think that needed to be said, but apparently it does.
03:06Everything from the steering to the suspension to the transmission mapping to the throttle
03:12mapping, it's better executed in the Sanathe.
03:15And that's the difference from a 2021 model to a 2024 model.
03:19It's those little differences that engineers can make to make the car better and smoother
03:24and more refined.
03:26And that's exactly what we have in the Sanathe.
03:28Taking these turns, it feels more planted.
03:33The center of gravity is lower.
03:36There's still a little bit of roll everywhere in a three-row SUV.
03:39It's not meant to be caned around these turns, but it'll handle a nice turn.
03:46You know, we also have the dual screen setup in the Sanathe, but I like that we have the
03:50transmission lever by the steering column.
03:53So that frees up a lot of space in the center console and allows you to have two phones.
03:58But yeah, I think the Sanathe does a better job than the Sorento.
04:02It just edges over the Sorento in the suspension, in the steering, in the transmission mapping.
04:08And that little difference is just when you combine all of that together, it makes a decent
04:13difference between both of them.
04:17So we've driven both.
04:18Miguel, let's start with the Kia.
04:19What did you think?
04:21I think the Kia is a very impressive product, right?
04:24You look at it, it looks really nice.
04:26It's rugged.
04:27It's modern.
04:28At the same time, you have these very cool DRL lights that, you know, whether you're
04:32looking at it at night or during the day, it's very distinguishable, right?
04:36Kia has made such strides from where it was just 10 years ago.
04:41Now we get wonderful products like this, the EV9, great stuff.
04:44And this came out in 2021, which wasn't that long ago.
04:47And in that time, the Sorento has made a name for itself as a midsize SUV, but with three
04:53rows. And in this footprint, pretty rare because usually they're bigger.
04:57Yeah, exactly.
04:58You don't see this that often, right?
05:01We're used to seeing, you know, bigger cars with more space, right?
05:04I was following you around all day today when we were doing this test, and I could always
05:09tell when it was you, even if you were six cars away, because of the way this car is
05:13styled. And it's not even in a way that is color that jumps out of you.
05:16It's earth tones.
05:17So it's not flashy, but it is interesting to look at.
05:21It's different. Every time I see a new Kia, I always look again because they look so
05:25fresh.
05:25I mean, Kia's design has been, you know, outstanding over the last maybe five years or
05:31so, right?
05:32Five or six years, yeah.
05:33We've seen the brand just turn around and design has been a big part of it.
05:37And here in the Sorento, that's not an exception.
05:39I mean, you have the tiger nose, right?
05:40Remember?
05:41I think it came out around the Telluride, around that time.
05:44Remember when the Telluride first came out?
05:46It was like, whoa.
05:47Yeah.
05:47And then it just got better from there.
05:49And then you take a step back and you look at the profile.
05:52And, you know, this is very rugged, right?
05:54I mean, you have the all-terrain tires.
05:56Also, you have blacked out details like the mirrors, this little thing over here, right?
06:00It just makes it a little bit different compared to everything.
06:03I mean, this is a three-row family SUV, right?
06:06It doesn't.
06:07It's not shaped like one, though.
06:08It's smaller.
06:10You wouldn't think.
06:11You wouldn't think.
06:11But you're getting this rugged styling.
06:14And that's what families today kind of want.
06:15Something different, right?
06:16Not something traditional.
06:18Yeah, everyone wants something rugged.
06:19Subaru has got it down.
06:21Obviously, this is not a Subaru, but this is pretty good.
06:25It looks like it could actually go and, you know, at least explore some dirt trails.
06:30At the very least.
06:31Yeah, you won't be able to take this to Moab or rock crawling or anywhere else.
06:35We're not condoning you rock crawl in this in this SUV.
06:37But everything else, I think it could do fine.
06:40But, you know, that's the outside.
06:43The inside has these really nice, visually interesting materials.
06:48Nice leathers, wood.
06:51There's a little bit of piano black trim still there.
06:53I think that's on its way out.
06:55It is just a really pleasant place to sit, though.
06:58Especially in this specific car.
06:59I love this combination, this playing of colors inside, right?
07:04Earth tone.
07:05Earth tone.
07:05You have beige, you have black, you have the wood, like you mentioned.
07:08So it's just a very elegant mix that you jump in it and you have like,
07:13wait a minute, the steering wheel, it's dual tone?
07:16Yeah.
07:17Like this is something I see on a luxury car, not in a Kia, right?
07:20How did you feel about the climate and the radio combination screen thing?
07:26I couldn't figure out how to word that thing.
07:27That's not my, I don't love that either.
07:30I think, you know, that's, they made it, they had just some room to work with.
07:35And that was a solution, right?
07:37What we're talking about is you have a lot of buttons and then you have to
07:40switch toggle between those two because those are dual function buttons, right?
07:44Right.
07:44And they're dual function touch screen, which is even worse.
07:48Yeah.
07:48Even more confusing, even more distraction.
07:50And then the volume knob also becomes a temperature knob, right?
07:53So you have to be on this, on the, on the volume to be able to turn up the
07:57volume, or you have to toggle back to the temperature controls to be able
08:01to turn up the temperature.
08:03Yes.
08:03That was, that was driving me absolutely insane.
08:06That is a ding against the interior of this car, which is otherwise good.
08:11Even the second row captain's chairs, comfortable.
08:14They can recline, love being back there.
08:17And if you need to, there is that third row.
08:19There it's, it's not the biggest third row in the whole world.
08:21And it only seats two and the seats are kind of low.
08:24So your hips are low and your knees kind of go high up.
08:26Did you try to get back there?
08:28I did.
08:28Yeah.
08:28How was it?
08:29I got back there.
08:30Okay.
08:31He got back there.
08:32Yeah.
08:33Yeah.
08:33He managed.
08:34But I'm coming out was also a struggle.
08:36Right.
08:37But you know, I mean, let's be honest, like this is a two row SUV with a third
08:42row built in, right?
08:43Like you're going to use a third row for emergencies only or for small children.
08:47Right.
08:48Don't expect to sit any adults back there.
08:50And if you do, maybe it's for a quick trip around the city or something, you
08:54know, maybe like a 10 minute ride to the restaurant or something like that.
08:57Yeah, exactly.
08:58And it makes sense because if it were a true three row SUV, then they would
09:01start eating up Telluride sales.
09:03And we don't want that.
09:04That's exactly right.
09:05I mean, that's why they have the Telluride.
09:06Yeah, exactly.
09:07Right.
09:07That's a proper three row SUV.
09:09This is like a two plus, right?
09:11Yeah, exactly.
09:13And even with those third row seats up, that trunk becomes so small.
09:17Yeah.
09:17Really tiny, almost unusable.
09:20You could probably fit grocery bags side by side by side, and that's about it.
09:24But once you put that third row seats down, then the trunk becomes very good.
09:28Yeah, yeah.
09:29So it's kind of one or the other.
09:30I remember both of these cars years ago, they were only two row SUVs, right?
09:34Mid-sized two row SUVs.
09:35And then they were the first ones that started incorporating the third row as
09:39standard.
09:40And now we see the Highlander, for example, doing that, right?
09:43And then there's the Grand Highlander, Max came out.
09:46Right, right, right.
09:47So there's this different trend in the industry that's going on.
09:51But yeah, I think these two cars, you see it as two row SUVs with an additional
09:56third row in case you need it.
09:58Speaking of in case you need, the Sorento does come with three different power
10:02trains.
10:02There's a gas only, there's a hybrid, and there's a plug-in hybrid.
10:05Today we drove the gas only version, which I thought the power was adequate
10:10for everything that we needed.
10:13I didn't have a problem with the power.
10:14I had a problem with two things, the brakes and the dual clutch transmission.
10:19Brakes, a little squishy.
10:22Go over the, yeah, there it is.
10:26Go over that washboard, we can feel the crashiness of the suspension.
10:32Definitely get into the cabin, the Santa Fe for sure rides better.
10:36I did have a problem with the transmission not downshifting
10:43when in sport mode.
10:45The dual clutch is fine.
10:46It's fast, it does its job.
10:47Around town though, it was a lot of hesitation and hiccuping.
10:51Did you see that?
10:52Yeah, it needs a little bit more of refinement, right?
10:55I think that's where the Santa Fe and Sorento, we'll talk more about it.
10:57But yeah, the Kia just needs a little more smoothness, refinement.
11:00Yeah, the brakes, a lot of effort before you get any brake bite.
11:04It's squishy, squishy.
11:06The steering is a little floaty, it's a little vague.
11:08And I think because this is the X-Pro version,
11:11the ride is a little less cushy than other ones.
11:15It's not uncomfortable.
11:16I just noticed the road more.
11:19This is the X-Pro version, the one that's
11:22designed to go on trails and like fire roads and things like that,
11:26designed to really be off the road.
11:29And here on smooth pavement, it might feel a little rough,
11:33and even on broken pavement too.
11:34I mean, the bounces and the vibrations are well absorbed,
11:39but the ride itself can be still a little bit jittery.
11:43I think this car, still as it is, is pretty good.
11:46The powertrain, like you said, a 2.5 turbo engine,
11:50four cylinders, 281 horsepower.
11:52Thereabouts.
11:53I mean, it's pretty good, right?
11:55Power-wise, you merge on the freeway easily, right?
11:59You can pass easily.
12:00I think it doesn't hesitate to do any of those functions.
12:03And look, I'll take this any day over that V6
12:06that's in the Telluride.
12:07That V6 needs to go.
12:08It is old.
12:10It's outdated.
12:11This one at least feels fresh, efficient.
12:14It's a little loud.
12:15Like, you get into it, and the four cylinder
12:18really gets into the cabin.
12:19Adaptive cruise control, though, really nice.
12:22I don't know what version of Highway Driving Assist
12:25that we are on because they update it so frequently,
12:27but this most recent update also adds lane change capabilities.
12:32So all you have to do is you turn it on, and you signal,
12:35and then the car will change the lane for you.
12:37You have to keep your hands on the wheel, obviously.
12:39This is not a hands-free system.
12:40But it's a nice, smooth lane change.
12:42It kept itself in the middle of the lane.
12:44It kept follow distance very organic.
12:45Braking felt nice.
12:46I trusted the system.
12:48It really takes the fatigue out of driving
12:50on long highway distances.
12:51And you know, only a couple of years ago,
12:53we were seeing that only on high-end cars, right?
12:55Yeah.
12:56Or Super Cruise, or-
12:58Unlike S-Class, it's only on the now, it's on a Kia.
13:01Exactly.
13:01Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:02So I mean, it's unbelievable how this trickle-down technology
13:06has made it to family crossovers, right?
13:09Right, right.
13:10And for the price, too.
13:11For the price.
13:11I mean, under $50,000.
13:13Under $50,000.
13:15So is this one, by the way.
13:16So now we can talk a little bit more
13:17about the Santa Fe calligraphy.
13:18This is the highest trim Santa Fe that you can get.
13:21Gas engine, as well.
13:22Same engine as this guy, as a matter of fact.
13:24As a design, I mean, you remember a time
13:26when the Santa Fe was blobby and anonymous?
13:29And that is no longer the case.
13:32And that was six months ago.
13:34This thing is chiseled, man.
13:35They really went to town with the design.
13:38I mean, do you have a favorite aspect of it?
13:40I like the attention to detail.
13:42I like the H theme that they call it.
13:44So you see the H here, right?
13:46There's also another H down here.
13:48There's another H built into the grille.
13:51There's just a lot of H's inside, outside, everywhere.
13:55And you know, I think that's something that stands out
13:58not only in the Santa Fe, but I mean, this is,
14:01you don't see this kind of attention to detail
14:02in a mainstream SUV design.
14:04No, it's not a non-luxury mainstream SUV.
14:07It's like unheard of.
14:08Exactly.
14:09And they put it here.
14:10Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
14:11But I think I like it.
14:12I mean, you look at it on the road
14:14and you might be thinking, wait a minute, is that a Hyundai?
14:16I thought that was a Land Rover, right?
14:18It does look like a Defender from, I think,
14:20the nose all the way to the last pillar.
14:23It's something very Defender, Land Rover about it.
14:26When we get to the butt, I don't, I don't like it.
14:29You don't like the square?
14:30No, no, it's droopy.
14:31It looks ungainly.
14:33And I was following you this whole time.
14:36And I kept thinking to myself, the rear of that car
14:38does not look good.
14:39And also the taillight looked like dog bones.
14:41Thankfully though, when you're inside of it,
14:43you don't look at it at all.
14:44And the inside is such a good place to be.
14:47I'd say it's really nice.
14:49It's spacious.
14:51This trim specifically, the calligraphy being the top trim,
14:54you'd expect to have every single feature.
14:57I expect it to be shiny.
14:58And it's not, it's the mirror.
15:00Yeah, but that's kind of like, you know,
15:03I think it goes well with the car, you know?
15:05I mean, especially, this is all an all black interior.
15:08You can get different stylings and combinations,
15:10but this one specifically,
15:12it does look a little bit more Land Rover-esque, I think.
15:15It's understated, you know,
15:16it doesn't feel like it has the need to show off
15:19or be blingy or compensate for anything.
15:22It's just nice, quiet, good materials,
15:25does its job.
15:26Way better climate and infotainment layout
15:29than in the Sorento, though.
15:30It's less confusing.
15:31There's not a dual action thing
15:32that you have to figure out.
15:33It's still not amazing.
15:34It's still very touchscreen heavy,
15:36but there are a few hard buttons.
15:37And again, it doesn't make you choose between functions.
15:40Yeah, that's, I think it's the big difference.
15:43Also, because you have the shifter in the steering column,
15:46that takes away a lot of space
15:47from the center console, right?
15:49And also in the Santa Fe,
15:50you get climate control in the second row.
15:54It's really comfortable back there.
15:55You even get climate control in the third row.
15:58I was so shocked when I climbed back there and saw that.
16:00You get air vents in the back,
16:02which you don't get on this one, right?
16:04There's USB ports back there,
16:05which there are in the Sorento, too.
16:08But you know, I think Hyundai didn't forget
16:10about the people in the third row.
16:11No, no, no, no, definitely not.
16:12I mean, package-wise, they are the same size.
16:15They feel the same size, at least.
16:16Did you also have trouble getting in
16:17and out of that third row?
16:18Yeah, I felt a little bit better on this one.
16:22I felt like the second row seats
16:23do move forward a little bit more,
16:25but it was, I mean, it was a struggle, thank you.
16:27Right, it's still not a true third row,
16:30which we have outlined already.
16:32And same as this car, with the third row up,
16:35the trunk is little, little, little.
16:38However, driving this, I felt better about driving it.
16:41You know, it just felt fresher, newer,
16:43better screwed together.
16:44The brake pedal felt better.
16:45The transmission was far less hesitant,
16:48and it was more refined.
16:50Yeah, absolutely.
16:52The ride, too, the steering was more precise,
16:55well-balanced, more feedback.
16:57You know, despite the difference in tires,
17:00I think the ride in the Santa Fe was much smoother, no?
17:04Did this one feel heavier to you?
17:06Not really, no.
17:07Oh, really?
17:08This one felt a little heavier.
17:08Oh, really?
17:09Planted.
17:10The weight felt like it was lower.
17:11Planted, yes.
17:12Yeah.
17:13Yeah, planted, yes.
17:13You know, we rode on the same pavement,
17:15back-to-back, both cars, right?
17:17And I also thought the Santa Fe was quieter
17:21than the Kia.
17:22Yes, it appears that there is more NVH addition
17:27in this vehicle than this one.
17:29I had a better time driving this.
17:30I didn't love the cruise control in this one as much.
17:33This one loved to put me very close to oncoming traffic,
17:37which was unnerving.
17:38This one, I trusted more.
17:39This one, I did not trust as much.
17:41Very strange to me, because they're the same system.
17:43And you know, in the Santa Fe,
17:45when you turn on the cruise control,
17:47or adaptive cruise control,
17:48you'll see it on the head-up display
17:49and how the road turns.
17:51And, you know, that also follows on the head-up display.
17:54So little things like that, graphics like that,
17:57that, you know, just make it a cooler experience.
17:59Yeah.
18:00That, again, it's a mainstream SUV, right?
18:02It is.
18:02Some of that you see on a Tesla or, you know,
18:04in much more advanced cars.
18:06Right.
18:06Also, this, under 50K.
18:08I think between these two is only a difference
18:10about $400.
18:11So, you know, that's like paint, basically.
18:15That's what the difference is.
18:16So they're basically the same price.
18:18They have the same engine,
18:19basically the same interior capacity,
18:22but we can only pick one winner.
18:24And after much consideration,
18:26we have decided that the Santa Fe
18:30is the better of these two vehicles.
18:32We think it is a better place to put your money.
18:34It is better value.
18:35And it's just newer, more modern, better assembled.
18:38Absolutely.
18:39After driving them back to back,
18:40I thought the Santa Fe was just much better put together.
18:44Yeah.
18:45It just, it feels newer.
18:46This is 2021, technically,
18:48because that's when it came out.
18:50This is now, there've been updates and this hasn't.
18:53It's more refined.
18:54It's smoother.
18:55It's more precise, right?
18:56It just has a little bit more advantage on the edge on it.
19:00Just a little.
19:01Enough to make it a difference.
19:01It's subtle, but it's there.
19:03Yeah.
19:04Yeah.
19:04So that concludes this comparison test.
19:06For more details, head over to MotorTrend.com
19:09and also check out our buyer's guide pages
19:11for the most detailed rundown of both these vehicles
19:14that you'll find anywhere on the internet.
19:15So thank you so much for watching
19:17and we'll catch you next time.