Kia Sorento vs Toyota Highlander (2021-2026 vs 2020-2024): Which Should You Buy?

The Highlander is the more reliable pick on paper — reliabilityScore 8 versus the Sorento's 6 — but both generations come down to the same trade: dodge one specific transmission and you get a genuinely solid three-row, buy into it and you're gambling. The Sorento's weak spot is the 2.5L turbo's 8-speed wet DCT, flagged "moderate" severity with repeated TSBs for judder/hesitation and a recall (22V-760/SC250) for an oil pump that can cut drive power outright. The Highlander's is the 2020-2022 V6's UA80 8-speed automatic, rated "severe," with a documented pattern of hesitation, harsh shifts, and whine that in the worst cases means a $2,500-$9,000 transmission replacement and drew a class-action lawsuit. Both brands solve this the same way — the Sorento Hybrid/base 2.5L and the Highlander Hybrid all skip the problem transmission entirely and are each file's top recommendation — so if you're buying the safe trim, it's a genuine toss-up; if you're buying the riskier one, the Highlander's failure mode is documented as worse and more likely to be out-of-pocket by now given its older model years.

• •Timing matters more than severity here: Kia's DCT trouble sits on the newer 2021-2026 generation, so a lot of it is still covered by Kia's 10-yr/100k (5-yr/60k for used buyers) warranty as free clutch-pack replacements; Toyota's UA80 problem is confined to 2020-2022 trucks that are now old enough to be outside Toyota's warranty window, making a same-class transmission failure more likely to hit the Highlander owner's wallet directly.
• •Both automakers' higher-output engines carry the risk: Kia's 281-hp 2.5T only comes bolted to the troublesome DCT, while Toyota moved off its V6 to a 2.4L turbo-four in 2023 that has a clean record so far (its one documented issue, hesitation/surging, was a free ECU reflash).
• •Both files agree hybrids are the standout: Kia's Sorento Hybrid (conventional 6-speed auto, no DCT) and Toyota's Highlander Hybrid (proven eCVT) are each brand's most trouble-free powertrain per their own commonProblems lists — Toyota's is described as one of the most reliable three-row SUVs on sale, a stronger claim than either Sorento option gets.