These are the first official pictures of the revised Kia Sorento, due for release in South Africa in late 2012 or early 2013 - and it's more than just a nip-and-tuck job, although Kia's big beetle-crusher has had that as well.
Starting inside, the Sorento, in either five or seven-seat layout, has 'got smart' with new materials (trim is either black or beige, fabric or leather), new features (a liquid-ctrystal instrument display and a new, 180mm display screen in the centre stack) and a new gear-shift pattern for auto-transmission models.
Instead of the previous dogleg gate, the leather-booted lever now has a more intuitive, straight-gate selector, mounted in a new, simpler console.
MORE GLASS
The panoramic sunroof is now even larger than before - does that qualify as inside or outside? Either way, it has meant re-engineering the body shell, giving the Kia boffins an excuse to revisit the suspension, resulting in better ride and handling.
The powertrain guys, not to be outdone, have tweaked all the engines in the range to deliver lower fuel consumption and emissions.
And finally, on the outside, there are redesigned front and rear bunpers, new headlight clusters with LED daytime running lights, and a revised tailgate with LED combination lights.
A new, wider range of alloy rims will include 19” on top-of-the-range models.
Kia SA says no decisions have been made yet as to which derivatives will be released in South Africa. As soon as we know, so will you.