Compare the2025 Kia SorentoVS 2025 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 Kia Sorento achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Acadia has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

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’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than GMC vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 38 more problems per 100 vehicles, GMC is ranked 20th, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in long-term dependability. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, GMC is rated below average.

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.

On the EPA test cycle the Sorento gets better mileage than the Acadia:

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 better stopping power the Sorento’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Acadia:

For better maneuverability, the Sorento’s turning circle is .9 feet tighter than the Acadia Elevation’s (37.9 feet vs. 38.8 feet). The Sorento’s turning circle is 2.2 feet tighter than the Acadia Denali Reserve’s (37.9 feet vs. 40.1 feet).

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/X-Pro’s minimum ground clearance is .4 inch higher than on the Acadia AT4 (8.2 vs. 7.8 inches).

The Kia Sorento may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 500 to 700 pounds less than the GMC Acadia.

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

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.

When the Sorento Prestige is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Acadia’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

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

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