Oh, right... automatics. I've been thinking Porsches and GTIs and EcoBoost Mustangs (all of which in my world would only have a manual) so never even considered what throwing an automatic into the mix would do.
So it's kind of irrelevant to even talk about low-rpm throttle response (or turbo lag) if the tranny is just going to downshift right away and kick the rpms up a couple grand or more. Who knows which Sorento would pull away in that scenario, but for sure the turbo 4 would have a fighting chance.
The problem with 2.0T (or smaller turbos) is the torque falls off a cliff after low RPMS. I've seen dyno plots where they drop 50+ TQ in only 3,000 RPM....and when flooring the auto, guess where the RPMs will be? This isn't an issue with how Hyundai makes turbos or anything....just an issue of small displacement engines.
And we're all over the map here....sometimes low RPM response matters (in the sports cars you mention), or things like GTIs, and other fun things that really need a stick IMO to see their full potential.
EDIT...here's a plot of a 2.0L turbo...see the torque curve falling....even on the tuned version, it's dropped nearly 80TQ in only 3,000 rpm.
