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Kia is set to launch the Sorento in India today. With just half an hour left for the official launch, we have now learnt the starting price of the SUV. The Sorento will have a shocking starting price of Rs 27.99 lakh, ex-showroom! That would simply make it the most value-packed offering in its segment.

The Sorento is a large SUV that will compete primarily with the likes of Skoda Kodiaq, Volkswagen Tiguan, Tayron, MG Majestor and even some variants of the Toyota Fortuner. All these rivals sit much higher with their prices. An ex-showroom starting price of Rs 27.99 lakh would give the Sorento a clear advantage over them. It will almost make the SUV a runaway success as solid value can impress the customers in this segment. Kia has already got the packaging right with the Sorento, which we will talk about in detail, later in this article.

This pricing aligns with our previous predictions that the Sorento would start at Rs 28 lakh. Now, let’s look at the rivals. The Kodiaq starts at Rs 36.99 lakh, ex-showroom. The Fortuner starts at Rs 34.76 lakh, Majestor at 42.49 lakh, and the Tiguan R Line is priced at Rs 47.11 lakh. The Sorento is clearly at a massive price advantage. It is a couple of lakhs more expensive than a top-spec Mahindra XUV 7XO! That’s incredible value for a vehicle of this kind.

There will be plenty of variants and trims to choose from. Seven broad trims will be available: Seven broad trims will be on offer- HTE, HTE(O), HTK, HTK(A), HTX, HTX(A) and Black Line. There will be two engine and transmission options on offer. This would mean that there will be a lot of variants to choose from. The Black Line will be the more premium trim ( similar to X line on Kia’s smaller SUVs) and could carry a significant price premium. We don’t know that yet. We don’t know the upper end of the price spectrum.

The India-spec Sorento will stand close to the global model with its design. It will have LED lighting, 7-shaped LED DRLs, a large Tiger Nose grille, 19-inch wheels, and an upright stance. It will come in 8 different colour options- Glacier White Pearl, Aurora Black Pearl, Matte Graphite, Imperial Blue, Red, Gravity Grey, Pewter Olive, and Ivory Silver Gloss.

Inside, the SUV will have a modern and technology-rich cabin. It will come with features like dual 12.3-inch screens (touchscreen and digital driver’s display), ventilated and powered seats, digital IRVM, 12-speaker BOSE audio system and more.

The carmaker will offer the Sorento with two powertrains- a 1.6L turbo-petrol strong hybrid and a 2.2-litre diesel, shared with the Carnival. The SUV will also offer all wheel drive (AWD) in higher variants. In addition to a manual transmission, a DCT automatic is also likely to be offered. We will only get to know those details once the actual launch commences.