Compare the2023 Kia SorentoVS 2023 Acura MDX

Both the Sorento and MDX 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 MDX’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.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Sorento’s standard Downhill Brake Control allows you to creep down safely. The MDX doesn’t offer Downhill Brake Control.

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

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 MDX’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Sorento 4 years and 30,000 miles longer than Acura covers the MDX. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the MDX ends after only 6 years or 70,000 miles.

There are almost 3 times as many Kia dealers as there are Acura dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Sorento’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Acura vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 36 more problems per 100 vehicles, Acura is ranked 21st, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Acura vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in reliability, above the industry average. With 99 more problems per 100 vehicles, Acura is ranked 28th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Acura vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 13 places higher in reliability than Acura.

The Sorento 2.5T’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 44 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 267) than the MDX’s standard 3.5 SOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Sorento 2.5T 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Acura MDX V6:

On the EPA test cycle the Sorento gets better mileage than the MDX:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Kia Sorento uses regular unleaded gasoline. The MDX requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 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 MDX doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The Sorento stops much shorter than the MDX:

The Sorento X-Line SX Prestige handles at .85 G’s, while the MDX SH-AWD pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Sorento X-Line SX Prestige executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the MDX SH-AWD (26.5 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 27.2 seconds @ .63 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Sorento’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the MDX’s (37.9 feet vs. 40.5 feet).

The Kia Sorento may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 550 to 650 pounds less than the Acura MDX.

The Sorento is 9.4 inches shorter than the MDX, making the Sorento easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Sorento has 1.8 inches more front headroom, 1 inch more rear headroom, 3.2 inches more rear legroom, .6 inches more third row headroom, .5 inches more third row legroom and 1.9 inches more third row hip room than the MDX.

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

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Sorento’s optional second row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The MDX doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The power windows standard on both the Sorento and the MDX have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Sorento is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The MDX prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Sorento will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Sorento will retain 46.98% to 47.45% of its original price after five years, while the MDX only retains 45.63% to 46.51%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Kia Sorento will be $14720 to $16366 less than for the Acura MDX.

Motor Trend performed a comparison test in its December 2021 issue and they ranked the Kia Sorento X-Line SX Prestige higher than the Acura MDX SH-AWD.

The Kia Sorento outsold the Acura MDX by 85% during the 2022 model year.