Compare the2024 Kia SorentoVS 2023 Mercedes GLB

Both the Sorento and GLB 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 GLB’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.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Sorento are reminded to check the back seat when a sensor determines the back seat is occupied. The GLB doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Sorento Prestige has standard Parking Collision Avoidance-Rear that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The GLB doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

The Sorento’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GLB.

Both the Sorento and the GLB have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Sorento the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 165 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The GLB has not been tested, yet.

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

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Sorento 6 years and 50,000 miles longer than Mercedes covers the GLB. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the GLB ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 2 times as many Kia dealers as there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Sorento’s warranty.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Sorento’s reliability 24 points higher than the GLB.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in initial quality. With 31 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is rated below 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 Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in reliability, above the industry average. With 50 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is ranked 18th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 19 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

The Sorento EX/SX’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 60 more horsepower (281 vs. 221) and 53 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 258) than the GLB’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Sorento EX/SX 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Mercedes GLB:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Kia Sorento uses regular unleaded gasoline. The GLB requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Sorento has 1.8 gallons more fuel capacity than the GLB (17.7 vs. 15.9 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Sorento stops shorter than the GLB:

For better traction, the Sorento SX/SX Prestige’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the GLB (255/45R20 vs. 235/55R18).

The Sorento has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the GLB; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed. Some tire options on the GLB don’t have a run-flat feature, either.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Sorento is 1.5 inches wider in the front and 1.9 inches wider in the rear than the track on the GLB.

The Sorento X-Line SX Prestige handles at .85 G’s, while the GLB 250 4MATIC 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 1 seconds quicker than the GLB 250 4MATIC (26.5 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 27.5 seconds @ .63 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Sorento X-Line has a greater minimum ground clearance than the GLB (8.2 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the Sorento to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Sorento has .3 inches more front legroom, 3.2 inches more front shoulder room, 3.6 inches more rear legroom, 3.2 inches more rear shoulder room, 2 inches more third row headroom, .5 inches more third row legroom and 9.2 inches more third row shoulder room than the GLB.

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

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

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

The Sorento has a 2000 lbs. towing capacity. The GLB has no towing capacity.

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 GLB doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Sorento has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the GLB only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Sorento has standard extendable sun visors. The GLB doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Sorento to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The GLB doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

Both the Sorento and the GLB offer available heated front seats. The Sorento Prestige also has standard heated second row seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated second row seats aren’t available in the GLB.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Kia Sorento, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Mercedes GLB isn't recommended.

The Kia Sorento outsold the Mercedes GLB by over five to one during 2023.