It is impossible to conceal the diesel and urea fill cap holes with a regular-issue fuel door.
We were informed a little more than a month ago that Kia was planning to introduce a diesel-powered Sorento SUV into the U.S. Spies have now shown us that an oil-burning Kia is already in existence, at least in prototype form. This white Sorento looks like one of the many SUVs and crossovers that are available in America. Kia doesn’t make any attempt to conceal its branding. It also doesn’t even try to hide the diesel or urea caps behind a regular fuel door.
Is this a sign that Kia wants to make a statement about offering a diesel-powered crossover on a U.S. marketplace that is still hostile towards diesel? Since the Dieselgate scandal, automakers have been cautious about offering diesel power to American cars, particularly brands that fall under the Volkswagen umbrella. However, this hesitation seems to be primarily about cars.
Diesel options seem to be as abundant as ever for pickup trucks as well as SUVs such as the Sorento. Ford has diesel options for half-ton trucks, while Chevrolet offers diesel in the Equinox. The GMC Terrain will also have a diesel option. Additionally, the Jeep Wrangler will get one and Mazda will be getting one. This is just a small sampling of the information we have.
What is in store for the diesel-powered Kia? Although the automaker isn’t shy about showing off test vehicles, details of the mill are still unknown. A 2.2-liter turbodiesel will be available to share with the Hyundai Sa Fe. It should produce approximately 200 horsepower (434 Newton-meters) and 320 poundfeet (434 Newton meters) of torque. The Sorento diesel should be ready by the end or early 2019 if there are no issues during testing.