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

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> 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 

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

Verdict

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.

Kia

## Sorento

2021–2026

Reliability

6/10

Documented problems

6

Severe/safety issues

4

Drivetrain

FWD / AWD

EPA combined MPG

25–37

Built in

United States

[Read the full Sorento case file →](https://carcasefile.com/vehicles/kia-sorento-2021-2026/)

Toyota

## Highlander

2020–present

Reliability

8/10

Documented problems

6

Severe/safety issues

2

Worst-case repair total

$16,200

Drivetrain

FWD / AWD

EPA combined MPG

24–36

Built in

United States

[Read the full Highlander case file →](https://carcasefile.com/vehicles/toyota-highlander-2020-2024/)

Reliability scores and documented problems trace to each car's own case file. See [how we verify](https://carcasefile.com/methodology/).

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