Price, as tested, £29,795

TO some people buying a Kia might seem like the motoring equivalent of purchasing own brand goods at the supermarket.

But while that might have been true a few years ago, it certainly isn't the case these days.

Take this Sorento, for example, just like those foodstuffs you can buy for less at Tesco or Sainsburys, it may not have the cache of the bigger brands such as a BMW or an Audi, but it does pretty much everything that they can do and what's more it's thousands of pounds cheaper.

In addition, and unlike those nondescript boxes of cereal in the supermarket aisle, this Sorento certainly stands out from the crowd.

The outgoing version of this big 4x4 was a pretty unremarkable beast. It certainly did nothing to grab my attention.

That's certainly not the case with the revamped version.

Look at that imposing nose. To me, it has animal-like qualities, like that of a big cat. It looks like it means business.

There's that big grille, array of huge lights and chunky wraparound bumper.

The windscreen is steeply raked, and the roofline flowing, while the rear end is bluff, but no less full of character.

Inside, the Sorento is huge. Sit your kids in the third row of seats and you'll barely hear them.

Getting there is also remarkably easy. At first glance, you might disagree, but pull the lever and the seat nearest the path folds and slides forward.

If you don't need the rearmost seats, then they fold in seconds to provide a flat load floor. If, like me, you need to lug larger loads – I demolished a two-storey wooden children's house and got all bar the last few bits in – then you can fold the middle row down to create a 1,525 litre space.

The boot lip might be quite high, but I didn't find it a problem lifting things from ground level.

In addition, while the Sorento is a classy looking car, it's no frail supermodel. No, this car is built tough. Despite the huge lumps of broken off timber I loaded it with, after I'd emptied them all in the tip there was not a mark to be seen on the interior surrounds.

Despite its size, the Sorento is easy to manoeuvre thanks to its light steering. Negotiating parking spaces one-handed, while looking over your shoulder is no problem, but thanks to the parking sensors on our high-end car there was no need to risk a cricked neck.

The 2.2 litre diesel engine replaces the outgoing 2.5 litre unit, but while it has dropped its capacity it still manages to outperform many of its rivals.

It's not the quietest of powerplants, admittedly, but it would be nit-picking to be overly critical.

I found it responsive from the off and the automatic gearbox selected the gears just when I expected it to. At 70mph, the noise drops off and the Sorento becomes an admirable motorway cruiser.

As I mentioned before, the car comes with plenty of kit to make your journey both safer and more enjoyable. This is the third Kia, after the cee'd(CORR) and Soul, to receive the full five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. There's ABS and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, Electronic Stability Control and Downhill Brake Control, as well as six airbags. Technological mumbo-jumbo? Maybe, but at least you know you'll be safer in the event of an accident.

On the pleasure side, this particular Sorento came with dual zone climate control, a six-speaker CD audio system with MP3 compatibility, steering wheel controls, electrically adjustable driver's seat and full length sunroof, among other things.

If all that and everything that's gone before is not enough to float your boat, a seven-year warranty is thrown in in the hope of tipping the scales.

While they might not yet be exactly rubbing shoulders with the bigger manufacturers, Kia are definitely only a couple of steps behind and the new Sorento brings them closer still.