Compare the2024 Kia SorentoVS 2024 GMC Acadia

Both the Sorento and Acadia 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 Acadia’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 Kia Sorento has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Acadia doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Both the Sorento and the Acadia have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact 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, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, 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 Acadia’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 GMC covers the Acadia. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Acadia ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

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 GMC vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in reliability, above the industry average. With 47 more problems per 100 vehicles, GMC is ranked 17th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 14 places higher in reliability than GMC.

The Sorento has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Acadia. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

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 Acadia doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For greater off-road capability the Sorento has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Acadia Elevation (6.9 vs. 6.8 inches), allowing the Sorento to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Sorento X-Line’s minimum ground clearance is .4 inch higher than on the Acadia AT4 (8.2 vs. 7.8 inches).

The Sorento is 1 foot, 2.4 inches shorter than the Acadia, making the Sorento easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Sorento’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The Acadia’s swing out door blocks loading from the driver’s side.

The Sorento’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Acadia’s (2000 vs. 1500 pounds).

The Sorento Prestige’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches. The Acadia’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

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

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

The Kia Sorento outsold the GMC Acadia by 34% during 2023.