Kia Sorento – AJAC Best New SUV / CUV ($35,000 – $60,000)

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The 2016 Kia Sorento has won the “Best New SUV / CUV ($35,000 – $60,000)” category at the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). And every winner of each category (9 categories in total) will be competing for the “Car of the Year” and “Truck of the Year” awards. So, the Kia Sorento will be competing for the “Truck of the Year 2016” award.

I would like to use this opportunity to wish Kia Canada and Kia Motors best of luck with its Kia Sorento. I will be attending the media day this Thursday to witness the announcements for both awards.

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I first saw the 2016 Kia Sorento last year when I was on the Kia Gear-Up event where there was a nice Sorento in the beautiful white body finish. I got to admit, the all-new Sorento really caught my eye. It had a beautiful front, side and rear design. It has good ground clearance, good height and a good size. I have not seen such a beautiful all-around good looking SUV for a long time.

So, when I came back to Toronto, I had requested Kia Canada to provide me with the Kia Sorento for a week long experience. The Sorento that I got was in an unique body paint called the “Dark Cherry”. But to my own naked eyes, it looked more like a nice burgundy brown. Nevertheless, it looked very good on the Sorento and there wasn’t anything like it on the road. The trim level was a Sorento EX V6 AWD with 7 seats.

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I recalled how powerful the engine was in the Sorento. The powerplant was a 290-horsepower 3.3L V6 GDI and I was told that this beast have a 5,000lb towing capacity, which is impressive.

Once I hopped inside the SUV, you could feel the rich material throughout the entire cabin.  The seats were comfy and supportive. All the high-tech features could be found in this vehicle. Although I ain’t 6 feet and I ain’ t a big guy, entering and exiting the Sorento was at ease. It didn’t give me any trouble at all. I recalled when my manager, MoKenny sat inside the passenger seat for the first time, he was observing and looking around, touching the dashboard. He nodded his head and said “the interior looks very luxurious and rich material. I am impressed from a company such as Kia. This car company really come along way, building something that customers want and really can compete with the leaders of this segment”.

The steering wheel in the Sorento had a good feel on the road. It was not too heavy and not too light, which had a good-balance of the turning radius and the road conditions. I honestly didn’t feel like I was driving a massive truck. Instead, the Sorento drove and felt like as if I was driving a luxury mid-size sedan.

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The engine was powerful and adequate in moving such a large mass of vehicle from a dead stop. I am very impressed with the overall design and the engineering of the Kia Sorento. It really changed my perception to this brand and when it was announced that Sorento beat out other competitiors and won the Best New SUV / CUV ($35,000 – $60,000) at AJAC 2016. I am very happy for Kia Canada and Kia Motors.

I wish them all the best come this Thursday at the media day at the Canadian International Auto Show (CIAS) when AJAC announces the winner of the “Truck of the Year”. Who is going to be? We will find out.

Follow me on Instagram (@RealMoVernie) and Twitter (@MoVernie) as I will be posting awesome photos and videos at the Canadian International Auto Show (CIAS). Stay tuned!

And MoVernie is outta here!

Follow @KiaCanada on its latest tweets.

Also check out the latest Kia Canada vehicles lineup here.

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