Compare the2021 Kia SorentoVS 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L

Both the Sorento and Grand Cherokee L have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Sorento S/EX/SX/Prestige/X-Line has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Grand Cherokee L’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

Both the Sorento and the Grand Cherokee L have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

The Sorento comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Grand Cherokee L’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Sorento 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Jeep covers the Grand Cherokee L. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Grand Cherokee L ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the engines in the Sorento have an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of the 5.7 V8 in the Grand Cherokee L.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Sorento first among midsize suvs in their 2020 Initial Quality Study. The Grand Cherokee L isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2020 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in initial quality, above the industry average. With 19 more problems per 100 vehicles, Jeep is ranked 11th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia third in reliability, above the industry average. With 44 more problems per 100 vehicles, Jeep is ranked 24th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Jeep vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 4 places higher in reliability than Jeep.

The Sorento 2.5T’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 54 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 257) than the Grand Cherokee L’s standard 3.6 DOHC V6.

On the EPA test cycle the Sorento gets better fuel mileage than the Grand Cherokee L:

Regardless of its engine, the Sorento’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. (Start/Stop isn’t accounted in present EPA fuel mileage tests.) Jeep only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Grand Cherokee L V6.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Kia Sorento uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Grand Cherokee L with the 5.7 V8 engine requires mid-grade for maximum efficiency, which can cost 5 to 40 cents more per gallon.

The Sorento offers an available sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The Kia Sorento may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 900 to 1250 pounds less than the Jeep Grand Cherokee L.

The Sorento is 1 foot, 3.9 inches shorter than the Grand Cherokee L, making the Sorento easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Sorento has .5 inches more front headroom, .1 inches more front legroom, 2.3 inches more rear legroom, .1 inches more rear shoulder room and 1.1 inches more third row shoulder room than the Grand Cherokee L.

The front step up height for the Sorento is 1.2 inches lower than the Grand Cherokee L (19” vs. 20.2”). The Sorento’s rear step up height is 1.2 inches lower than the Grand Cherokee L’s (19” vs. 20.2”).

The Sorento has a standard third row seat which folds flat into the floor. This completely clears a very large cargo area quickly. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer seats that fold into the floor.

The Sorento has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer a locking fuel door.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Kia Sorento, based on reliability, safety and performance.