Spyshots: Kia Sorento Facelift

Kia engineers have taken advantage of the good weather in Germany right, and found a window to test the Kia Sorento on the famous high-speed Nurburgring test track there.

This is a significant mid-life change for the popular Kia crossover that’s sold globally, and it’s good to see that engineers are making sure the vehicle is fun as well as safe on a track.

We’ve seen the Sornento facelift before, as it was undergoing winter testing in Sweden, but this time it’s dropped the fabric camouflage with padding in favor of a less concealing wrap.

Overall, the design changes aren’t major, but we can make out differences in the lower bumper, the fog light, headlights, which have either LEDs or a reflective bar at the top, and taillights. The grille honeycomb structure has also changed, but this sort of car isn’t al about the looks.

Of far more importance would be the arrival of some new engines. It’s been rumored that a new 2.2-liter turbo will over 200 horsepower will be introduced to the range, together with more efficient and powerful versions of the existing units.

The current generation of the Sorento SUV was first previewed at the New York Auto Show in March 2009. This new generation uses a uni-structure body and is Kia's first model built in the United States. We can expect the facelift to debut at the same venue next year.

Courtesy of Autoevolution