The Sorento is built to a price, however, and this is most evident in the interior fittings. The EX has splashes of woodgrain trim, which is plastic doing a poor job of imitating wood. (Then again, the woodgrain trim in the Toyota Highlander isn't that great, either.) The woodgrain surrounds the center stack on the dash and splashes of it are on the door panels. The steering wheel rim on the Luxury package Sorento is half leather, half woodgrain, where a full-leather wheel would be nicer to grip.

The interior is loaded with features, however. A display on the EX provides readouts for outside temperature, compass, altitude, and barometric pressure, good for fishermen, boaters and other outdoors people. (Off-hand, we can think of no other car in history that has offered a barometer.) And there are lots of places to put stuff: An overhead console offers sunglasses storage, map lights and a garage door-opener pocket. The center console has double bins, and there are useful cubbies, including a soft-touch, slide-out storage bin and a tip-out coin bin, both felt-lined. A storage bin under front seat is standard, and the big lockable glove box has a map shelf plus the usual room. There are four power points: two up front, one for the second row and another in the cargo area. Those who frequent colder climes will appreciate the rear defroster and rear wiper, and the hot-wire windshield de-icer.

The automatic shifter is easy to reach and has a straight fore-and-back pattern. The control for four-wheel drive is a twist knob on the dash to the left of the steering wheel. You can shift into low range when it gets really tough. The ignition key is on the dash, easier than fumbling to find a column-mounted keyhole behind the steering wheel.

The cargo area is accessible through the main hatch, or through the glass rear window. There's another storage area under the cargo area floor. A cargo cover comes standard. The full-size spare tire is mounted under the vehicle and, if the model has alloy wheels, the spare is mounted on an alloy wheel as well. The rear seat flips and folds 60/40 to form a flat floor with a cargo capacity of 66.4 cubic feet with the rear seat folded. With the seat raised, there's 31.4 cubic feet of cargo room.