Where each one leads
BMW iX
- Against cars of the same year, the BMW iX comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 59% less often than average) than the Kia Sorento (fails 26% more often than average).
- Fewer BMW iX cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (0.8% against 3.1%).
- New BMW iX cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 0 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 109 for the Kia Sorento in 2022.
Kia Sorento
Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| BMW iX | Kia Sorento | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2021–2025 | 2003–2026 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 21,839 (2020–2022) | 144,558 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 44,635 | 40,612 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 2,946 | 6,277 |
| In traffic in Finland | 1,955 | 3,767 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| BMW iX | Kia Sorento | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | — | 69% |
| … against cars of the same age | — | −3% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 0.2% | 2.0% |
| … against cars of the same year | −59% | +26% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 0.8% | 3.1% |
| US owner complaints | 115 | 10,216 |
| Most complaints about | Electrical system | Engine |
| Model year with most complaints | 2023 (38) | 2011 (1,520) |
| US recall campaigns | 12 | 40 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 274 | 2,209 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 1 | 62 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| BMW iX | Kia Sorento | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | — | 5★ (2027) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| BMW iX | Kia Sorento | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | — | 9.4 l/100 km (2026) |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel | — | 7.7 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | — | 7.9 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 0 g/km | 109 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 229 kW (307 hp) | 136 kW (182 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 2,495 kg | 1,950 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €109,400 | €55,960 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 52,000 km | 196,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).