For those who seek the road less traveled — or the off road less traveled, Kia offers two of the few remaining small SUVs that aren’t “crossovers” — that is, carlike and often car-based.

The smaller Sportage and the larger Sorento —- the latter our focus today — are built the traditional truck way, with ladder frames, separate bodies and rear-wheel drive, rather than with a unitized-body frame and front-drive. Four-wheel or all-wheel drive usually costs extra on both traditional and crossover SUVs, and that includes the Sorento.

Refreshed for the 2007 model year, the five-passenger Sorento starts at $21,695 with freight and standard rear drive, $24,895 with four-wheel drive.

Both rear-wheel and four-wheel-drive Sorentos are available in higher “EX” equipment level that have the same 3.8-liter, 262-hp. V6 engine as last year. The cheaper “LX” level gets a new 242-hp. 3.3-liter V6, which attains the same 15 miles-per-gallon city rating as the larger engine but gets 2 mpg more on the highway, or 22.

The 20-hp difference isn’t much, but the larger engine’s extra 32 pound-feet of torque could be important if you tow. Kia says 4X4 models with the larger V6 can tow 1,500 pounds more, or 5,000 pounds.

In fact, towing might be the only reason to go with a traditional ladder-frame rear-drive SUV. Most crossover competitors in its price range can’t match the Sorento’s towing power, including the Toyota RAV4 (3,500 pounds at most) and Honda CR-V (1,500).

The downsides to the Sorento’s traditional construction are more weight and more shake and shudder over bumps. Its solid rear axle tends to hop on bumps.

And its steering is ultralight and vague, though it is speed-variable. A suspension tuned for comfort, not performance, means significant lean in cornering.

This 4,300-pound vehicle offers great utility but is missing the “sport.” On the upside, the ride is comfortable and quiet.

The tester was a $30,000 EX with a $3,000 luxury package that added a more sophisticated, full-time all-wheel-drive system and leather upholstery.

The Sorento has a top, five-star, federal government rating for protection of occupants in front and side impacts. And it is rated “good” by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for frontal protection. But the institute was perturbed enough about the readings it got from a test dummy to rate the Sorento “poor” in side-impact protection. A company spokesman says a design change was later made to improve side-impact performance.

Like parent Hyundai, Kia tries to overcome concerns with a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty and a five-year/60,000-mile basic warranty.2008 Kia Sorento EX 4X4

Engine: 3.8-liter V8, 262 hp.

Fuel: regular

Transmission: Five-speed automatic, all-wheel drive

Safety: Dual front, seat-mounted side and curtain air bags; 4-wheel disc brakes with antilock and stability control; fog lamps, tire-pressure monitoring system

Place of Assembly: Hwasung, South Korea

Cargo room, rear seatbacks up/down; cubic feet: 31.7/79.9

EPA fuel economy estimates: 15 mpg, city; 20, highway

Price as driven: $30,095, including freight