Kia Sorento has come a long way. Originally introduced as a compact SUV in 2002, it transitioned to a mid-size crossover in 2009. The 2022 Sorento is the 4th generation of this SUV and comes in multiple engine options and trim choices, with a plug-in hybrid model also on offer.
No matter which Sorento version and model year you’re driving, it will offer dynamic handling characteristics and a smooth ride. Fuel economy will be excellent, too, with the 2022 base Sorento getting an EPA-estimated 24 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway.
All in all, the Kia Sorento strikes the perfect balance between ride comfort, agile handling, and a fuel-efficient engine. However, things could go downhill pretty quickly if you make one mistake: pairing this crossover SUV with tires that won’t enhance the above qualities.
To save you from doing just that, we’ve prepared this comprehensive guide on the top 10 best tires for Kia Sorrento. All the models you see below are available in all tire sizes the Sorento comes in. So, if you like any tire from the list, simply buy and install it on your ride.
#1. Michelin Defender LTX M/S – Best Overall
The Michelin Defender LTX M/S is our top tire pick for Kia Sorento. Mainly because it is available in all Sorento tire sizes, offers excellent dry, wet, and (light) snow performance, and has superb road manners. But also because this model will improve your Sorento’s fuel economy.
An all-season tread compound strikes the optimal balance between firmness and flexibility to help this tire stay useful year-round, even when there’s light snow on the roads. That means you can keep on using this model until there are sheets of snow and ice on your driveway.
MaxTouch Construction enables this tire to enhance your Sorento’s already impressive fuel mileage. It does that by expanding the contact patch for better road contact. This results in a better distribution of pressure forces along this tire’s rubber, lowering its rolling resistance.
The main reason why we’re confident about this tire’s ability to keep you safe in light snow is because it comes with variable 3D sipes. These biting edges don’t just occupy space on the tread area – they will also help your Sorento plow through mild to moderate wintry conditions.
A 70,000-mile treadwear warranty means you can easily get 5, 6 years out of this model, which seems the minimum amount of time this model should last given that it doesn’t come cheap.
Pros
- Backed with an excellent 70,000-mile warranty
- Offers superb dry, wet and (light) snow performance
- Available in a large number of sizes
Cons
- Doesn’t come cheap
#2. General Grabber HTS 60 – Best Runner Up
The General Grabber HTS 60 checks several boxes for the average Sorento Driver. This all-season tire comes at an affordable price, performs reliably in dry and wet conditions, and is backed with an extended treadlife warranty. Plus, it comes in all Sorento tire sizes.
A cut- and chip-resistant tread compound has been molded into a vehicle-tuned tread pattern. The result? Reliable performance on uneven roads and low noise and vibrations on the highway. Plus, its strong center rib helps the HTS 60 all but guarantee high-speed stability.
Wet areas are also where this tire shines. Multiple circumferential grooves help with water evacuation to keep the contact patch dry and resist hydroplaning. Aside from that, the sipes on the tread area help this tire offer adequate traction on slippery and dicey surfaces.
A 65,000-mile treadwear warranty doesn’t seem that great on paper, especially when you have A/S tires from Michelin and Bridgestone, which are backed for as many as 80,000 miles. Yet, juxtapose the warranty with the asking price, and things would get in perspective.
Lastly, General offers this tire in two versions. The lighter version will work better with the pricier trims of the Sorento (Prestige, Hybrid, and P-HV). But if you own a base Sorento trim and use it for towing heavy stuff, the heavier version might make for a better pick.
Pros
- Available at a competitive asking price
- Offers excellent high-speed stability
- Performs reliably on uneven roads
Cons
- Warranty is smaller than premium all-season tires
#3. Yokohama YK-HTX – Best Budget All-Season
If you’re on a tight budget but still want a decent all-season tire for your Sorento, the Yokohama YK-HTX might be worth a look. This all-season highway tire might not offer as comfortable a ride as its rivals mentioned above. But on all other counts, it doesn’t disappoint.
A silica and orange oil tread compound helps the YK-HTX offer the best of both worlds. Silica has made the rubber firm to help it offer maximum road grip on the highway. Orange oil, meanwhile, ensures that the tire still has some flexibility to stay useful in inclement weather.
To make you confident about this tire’s ability to handle rough terrains, Yokohama has reinforced its sidewalls to make them more resistant to punctures. The added sidewall stiffness means an enhanced steering response, hence why its ride might feel a bit firm at times.
You won’t have any complaints about road noise, though. An extra layer of rubber in the tread area would smoothen out all but the loudest noises before they can reach the cabin. For this reason, you won’t have to close the windows to enjoy a blissful silent driving experience.
Finally, Yokohama backs the standard sizes of this tire with its 70,000-mile treadwear warranty and the LT tires with a 50,000-mile warranty. Which seems just about right for a budget-friendly model.
Pros
- Has a stable footprint
- Is quiet on the highway
- Reliable on wet and wintry roads
Cons
- Ride might feel a bit firm at times
#4. Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza Plus – Best Highway All-Season
The Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza Plus isn’t your average touring tire. Your average touring tire isn’t backed with an extended (80,000-mile treadwear warranty). Neither is it available in 60+ sizes or offers the wet traction that you’d get from this model.
Yet another thing that distinguishes this tire from wannabes is its stability at high speeds. No matter which side of the speed limit you regularly drive on, this tire will always stay under your control, regardless of the weather or road conditions you’re driving on.
Its symmetric tread pattern creates further daylight between this tire and its rivals. The tread pattern has the uncanny ability to deflect road noise and soak up road vibrations for a comfortable ride. Which is the reason why all premium touring tires come with it.
The Dueler H/L Alenza Plus also excels at water evacuation, thanks to multiple parallel grooves, which won’t let the contact patch stay wet for too long. However, this model doesn’t have any sipes, meaning it cannot be relied upon for any kind of snow driving.
For this reason, it’s recommended to replace this model with a dedicated winter tire (revealed below) the moment the weather starts turning for the worse.
Pros
- Backed with an 80,000-mile treadwear warranty
- Offers a quiet and comfortable ride
- Performs reliably in dry and wet conditions
Cons
- Not designed for driving on snow and ice
#5. Continental CrossContact LX25 – Best Touring All-Season
The Continental CrossContact LX25 is one of the best all-season touring tires for Kia Sorento. Continental claims that this model offers the complete package: comfortable and luxurious ride, dynamic all-season handling, and long treadlife. Here’s why we believe these claims.
This tire features various improvements over CrossContact LX20, its predecessor. It is backed with a longer treadwear warranty (70,000-mile vs. 60,000-mile), has extra grooves for enhanced wet and snow traction, and features Continental’s Comfort Ride Technology.
The technology positively affects this tire’s ride by placing an additional layer of rubber underneath the multiple existing ones. As you might guess, this provides additional cushioning to the tire, reducing the amount of noise and vibrations you’d experience inside the cabin.
Thanks to the symmetric tread pattern and the additional rubber layer, this model’s fuel consumption is pretty low for tires in this category. So, you can expect savings at the pump. This is great given that the LX25’s price tag is cheaper than most of its rivals.
However, just like any other tire on the market, the LX25 isn’t faultless. This model’s handling isn’t agile as you’d expect from tires in this category. Similar is the case with its cornering performance. So, don’t expect this model to perform at its best when pushed to its limits.
Pros
- Competitively priced
- Backed with a bigger warranty than its predecessor
- Offers excellent ride quality and handling
Cons
- Not the best for spirited driving
#6. Pirelli Scorpion Verde – Best Fuel-Efficient
According to EPA estimates, the base Sorento 2022 model does 22 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway (25 mpg combined). No matter how you slice these figures, they are outstanding for a three-row SUV. Yet they can be improved with a set of fuel-efficient tires.
That is precisely what the Scorpion Verde is. A computer-optimized pitch sequence and a symmetric tread design help this model stay glued to the road. The result is an even pressure distribution for reduced tire stress and, more importantly, reduced rolling resistance.
The results of reduced rolling resistance have been verified by Pirelli. Tests on this tire show that it consumes up to 3.9% less fuel than its rivals during city driving. On mixed routes (city and highway), your fuel savings can be as high as 3.4%.
Even when compared to tires in the same category, the Scorpion Verde is pretty quiet. The credit for its noise-free performance goes to the sound-absorbing device that you cannot see (it’s placed between the treads). Yet the effect (enhanced ride comfort) will be felt.
Unsurprisingly for a premium tire, the Scorpion Verde doesn’t have any deal-breaking flaws. Still, if you want us to be critical, its 65,000-mile warranty might put off some people.
Pros
- Delivers excellent fuel economy
- Offers a plush highway driving experience
- Gives enhanced handling and steering response
Cons
- Average traction on wet roads
#7. Yokohama Parada Spec-X – Best Performance
Pocket-friendly asking prices, excellent road manners, and usability in light snow– these aren’t features you normally associate with high-performance tires. Yet these are precisely what the Parada Spec-X offers. And that too while offering what you expect from tires in this category.
The Parada Spec-X offers outstanding cornering performance, with the firmness of its sidewall giving you the confidence to attack and exit corners with speed. The model is also controllable at a limit, something you don’t normally get from budget performance tires.
Its street/sport credentials are further strengthened by the aggressive tread pattern, whose large tread element ramps up the feedback this tire will deliver to the steering. The tread pattern’s aggressiveness is also to credit for this model’s superb dry road grip.
All these are features you’d expect from any performance tire worth its salt. Yet there are design elements – deep sipes for light snow driving; multiple grooves to reduce the risk of hydroplaning – that this model possesses, which you don’t get to see in most of its rivals.
Bear in mind, though, that the Spec-X doesn’t come with a treadwear warranty. So, if anything goes terribly wrong with this tire due to a fault of yours, nobody else would foot the bill for replacement.
Pros
- Offers superb cornering performance
- Cheaper than rival street/sport tires
- Offers amazing steering response and feedback
Cons
- Doesn’t come with a treadwear warranty
#8. Continental CrossContact LX Sport – Best All-Season Performance
The Continental CrossContact LX Sport is one of few all-season tires that are as reliable on dry and wet roads as they are in harsh wintry conditions. Aside from that, it delivers a quiet ride, while absorbing road vibrations with as little fuss as possible.
Its Tri-net silica tread compound is the reason why this tire offers reliable performance 365 days a year. When it’s hot out there, silica won’t let this tire’s road contact break come what may. In wet and snowy conditions, it will take the help of siping to prevent loss of traction.
If you’re switching from another all-season tire, you’d find this tire’s responsiveness and handling to be much better. Another improvement you may notice is enhanced wet traction, thanks to the four circumferential grooves that form this tire’s water evacuation system.
Even for an all-season tire, this model’s noise levels are pretty low, something that wouldn’t have been possible had it lacked Acoustic Alterra Technology. Furthermore, this tire’s 680 UTQG rating means you can expect its tread to last for a long time.
Pros
- Superb dry traction
- Excellent handling and stability
- Best-in-class ride comfort
Cons
- Wet traction could have been better
#9. BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 – Best All-Terrain
The BFG All-Terrain T/A KO2 has everything you may look for in an off-road tire.
A double-thick tread compound not only minimizes cuts, chips and punctures but also keeps this model stable on soft, loose, and hard surfaces. It is supported in this by internal steel belts, which make sure that no amount of rough use can deform the tire’s shape.
A sidewall that is as thick as the tread compound cuts both ways. On the one end, it keeps cuts and punctures at bay, allowing you to enjoy the journey with minimal put stops. On the other end, it will transmit more vibrations to the steering.
Mud buster bars and side biter lugs give this tire all the traction it needs to excel in mud and snow, respectively. Once the tire is aired down, the side biter lugs will also enhance its rock crawling capabilities, with tests from BFG backing this claim.
To further sweeten the deal, BFG backs this model with a 50,000-mile treadwear warranty, an outstanding number for an all-terrain tire. Thus, if you have no issues with a firm and noisy ride, then you won’t have any issues with the BFG All-Terrain T/A KO2’s performance.
Pros
- Offers superb cornering performance
- Cheaper than rival street/sport tires
- Offers amazing steering response and feedback
Cons
Could get noisy at high speeds
#10. Bridgestone Blizzak DMV2 – Best Winter
There are many dedicated winter tires that will keep your Sorento stable on light and hard-packed snow. Among them the top three have to be Michelin X-Ice, Yokohama IceGuard G075 and Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2. None of these tires will steer you wrong in this SUV.
That said, many things give the Blizzak DM-V2 an edge over the other two tires. For instance, this model has a special tread compound that won’t become stiff in winter. This means you’d get reliable performance on snow without installing studs.
The one feature that truly elevates this tire above its rivals is MultiCell Technology. This technology traps snow and ice particles within the DMV2’s tread area to deliver enhanced snow and ice traction. Neither the X-Ice nor the IceGuard G072 has any feature of this kind.
Unfortunately, the MultiCell Technology won’t last long. Bridgestone admits that the technology covers the first 55% of the tread area. This means that once this model has approved its half-life, its snow and ice traction would take a significant (though not fatal) hit.
Pros
- Provides excellent traction on snow and ice
- Offers great hydroplaning resistance
- Has extremely short braking distances on slippery roads
Cons
- MultiCell structure covers only the first 55% of tread depth
Best Tires for Kia Sorento
Highway Tires
Highway tires are the ideal option for the average Kia Sorento driver. These models would offer the kind of road grip and traction that you usually associate with touring tires. Plus, unlike touring tires, the best highway tires will also keep your rides quiet and comfortable on uneven roads.
Touring Tires
If you have no intention of pushing your Sorento to its limits and you spend most of your time behind the wheel in city traffic or on the highway, touring tires are worth a shot. These models are backed with long treadwear warrant and would complement your Sorento’s ride quality and handling.
Performance Tires
Performance tires are a good option for enthusiast drivers. These models deliver enhanced steering response, cornering performance, and high-speed stability. Bear in mind, though, that performance tires require replacement much sooner than touring or highway models.
Frequently Asked Questions
What tires come standard on the Kia Sorento?
Kia Sorento versions with 17-inch wheels come with Continental CrossContact LX Sport or Hankook DyanPro HP2. Models with 18-inch wheels come with both these tires as well as the Kumho Crugen HP. Models with 20-inch tires only have Continentals.
How long do Kia Sorento tires last?
Factory-installed tires on the Kia Sorento usually last up to 60,000 miles. If you have installed premium touring or grand-touring tires, they may last as many as 70,000 miles. However, with a set of performance tires, you may have to replace them after 30,000 to 40,000 miles.
Conclusion
To experience the features that have made the Kia Sorento one of the best-selling vehicles in the US, it’s imperative that you install a set of premium touring tires on this SUV. Otherwise, you might not be able to experience this crossover SUV’s famous ride quality and handling.
