Compare the2023 Kia SorentoVS 2023 Subaru Outback

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Model Availability

Safety

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Both the Sorento and Outback 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 Outback’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.

The Sorento Prestige has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Outback only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

The Sorento has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. A system to reveal vehicles in the Outback’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Sorento has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Rear cross-path warning costs extra on the Outback and isn't available on the not available.

Compared to metal, the Sorento’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Subaru Outback has a metal gas tank.

Both the Sorento and the Outback 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, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available all wheel drive.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Kia Sorento is safer than the Subaru Outback:

	Sorento	Outback
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.6 inches
Leg Forces (l/r)	81/191 lbs.	161/137 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Kia Sorento is safer than the Subaru Outback:

	Sorento	Outback
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	32 G’s	43 G’s

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Sorento is 2.6% less likely to roll over than the Outback.

Warranty

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 Outback’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 Subaru covers the Outback. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Outback ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

There are over 22 percent more Kia dealers than there are Subaru dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Sorento’s warranty.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Sorento has a standard 760-amp battery. The Outback’s 620-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

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 Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 35 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is ranked 20th, 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 Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in reliability, above the industry average. With 81 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is ranked 22nd.

Engine

The Sorento’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 9 more horsepower (191 vs. 182) and 5 lbs.-ft. more torque (181 vs. 176) than the Outback 2.5i’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Sorento 2.5T’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 21 more horsepower (281 vs. 260) and 34 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 277) than the Outback XT/Wilderness’ standard 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Sorento 2.5T 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Outback 2.5i 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder:

	Sorento	Outback
Zero to 60 MPH	6.3 sec	8.7 sec
Quarter Mile	14.8 sec	16.6 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	97 MPH	86.1 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Sorento
	FWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	24 city/29 hwy
		2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/29 hwy
	AWD	2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/27 hwy
		2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	23 city/25 hwy
Outback
	AWD	Wilderness 2.4 turbo flat-4	21 city/26 hwy

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Sorento’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Outback:

	Sorento	Outback
Front Rotors	12.8 inches	12.4 inches
Rear Rotors	12 inches	11.8 inches

The Sorento stops much shorter than the Outback:

	Sorento	Outback
60 to 0 MPH	115 feet	132 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Sorento has larger standard tires than the Outback (235/65R17 vs. 225/65R17). The Sorento’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Outback (255/45R20 vs. 225/65R17).

The Sorento’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Outback Onyx/Limited/Touring’s 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Sorento offers optional 20-inch wheels. The Outback’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

Suspension and Handling

The Sorento has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Outback doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Sorento’s wheelbase is 2.7 inches longer than on the Outback (110.8 inches vs. 108.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Sorento is 2.9 inches wider in the front and 2.2 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Outback.

The Sorento X-Line SX Prestige handles at .85 G’s, while the Outback Limited XT pulls only .75 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Sorento X-Line SX Prestige executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.9 seconds quicker than the Outback Limited (26.5 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

Passenger Space

The Sorento has standard seating for 7 passengers; the Outback can only carry 5.

The Sorento has .2 inches more front headroom, .1 inches more front hip room, 1 inch more front shoulder room, 2.2 inches more rear legroom, .3 inches more rear hip room and .7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Outback.

Cargo Capacity

The Sorento’s cargo area provides more volume than the Outback.

	Sorento	Outback
Third Seat Folded	38.5 cubic feet	n/a
Third Seat Removed	45 cubic feet	32.6 cubic feet

The Sorento’s cargo area is larger than the Outback’s in almost every dimension:

	Sorento	Outback
Length to seat (3rd/2nd/1st)	15.5”/42.5”/76.5”	n.a./42”/75”
Max Width	54”	51”
Min Width	42.4”	43.3”
Height	33”	32.1”

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

Towing

Standard Trailer Stability Assist on the Sorento uses the Electronic Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Outback doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

Ergonomics

The Sorento S/EX/SX/Prestige/X-Line has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Outback doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Sorento Prestige’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Outback doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The power windows standard on both the Sorento and the Outback 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 Outback prevents the driver from operating the rear windows just as it does the other passengers.

On a hot day the Sorento’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Outback can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Sorento SX/Prestige’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Outback’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Sorento’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Subaru only offers heated mirrors on the Outback Premium/Limited/Wilderness/Touring/Onyx.

Both the Sorento and the Outback offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Sorento has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Outback doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

The Sorento Prestige has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Outback doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Model Availability

The Sorento is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Outback doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

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