Fuel economy: 21 city/29 highway mpg

With its redesign for 2011, the Kia Sorento moves from a truck-based SUV to a car-based crossover SUV, now seating up to seven in three rows. For the first time, Kia offers a 175-horsepower, 2.4-liter four-cylinder that achieves 21 city/29 highway mpg on front-wheel-drive models equipped with the automatic transmission and 20 city/27 highway mpg when equipped with the six-speed manual transmission. As a four-wheel-drive model, this four-cylinder crossover gets 21 city/27 highway mpg.

A 276-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 paired with an automatic transmission is also offered. It achieves 20 city/26 highway mpg for front-wheel-drive models, while four-wheel-drive models get 19 city/25 highway mpg. With a starting price of about $20,000, all Sorento models come equipped with air conditioning, a CD stereo with USB/MP3 connectivity and a second row that folds flat into the floor. The third row, which also folds flat, is offered in two luxury models, the LX and EX.