Since its recent facelift, the Kia Sorento looks like it wants to crush every city car. It does this without making much noise, because it is only available as a plug-in hybrid. Although after 55 kilometers the plug cookie is gone.
With the Come on Sorento has something strange going on. The first generation (2002) was not popular, the second (more expensive) generation from 2009 still sold well and the third generation (2014) was not popular, with sixteen registered models in 2019 as a low point.
When the current Sorento came on the market in 2020, we didn’t quite understand why, but lo and behold, the numbers are quite okay. There were almost 500 in 2024 – not bad for such a beast.
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After just under four years, the Sorento received an extensive facelift. The appearance has been significantly improved, you can mainly recognize the Sorento by its larger grille and its larger hood, which fits nicely with the upper edge of the LED headlights. The largest petrol Kia now looks even more as if it wants to crush every A-segment car. At the rear you can see that you are dealing with the facelift model by the double taillights, which are connected at the top.
Kia Sorento PHEV actieradius
Kia also took no half measures inside. The dashboard has been extensively redesigned and now resembles that of the EV6. Kia has three screens: in the middle and in front of the driver’s nose is a 12.3-inch screen, the head-up display is 10 inches.
Furthermore, the broom went through the Dutch model range, the Sorento is only available as a plug-in hybrid (252 hp). A 1.6-liter petrol engine and an electric motor provide the drive, the power is transmitted to the road via a six-speed automatic transmission via all four wheels. With its power, the Sorento lags behind two recently introduced plug-in hybrids, the most powerful Volkswagen Tayron (272 hp) and the Mazda CX-80 (327 hp).
But you can still arrive with 252 hp of course. That much horsepower is also welcome, because the Sorento weighs more than 2000 kilos. The electric range is less impressive. The electric motor draws its energy from a modest 13.8 kWh battery, which means you can only drive 55 kilometers on electricity. Volkswagen’s large SUVs do more than double that.
Relaxation chairs
We have a drive of 500 kilometers on the autobahn ahead of us. That gives us plenty of time to press every button we come across and blatantly blow until the Sorento reaches its top speed of 183 km/h. If the battery is empty, take into account a consumption of approximately 1 in 12.
Kia has pulled out all the stops, especially in terms of comfort, to make the Sorento a worthy flagship. For example, the ExecutiveLine we drive has multi-adjustable relaxation seats. They should be reimbursed by the health insurer, they are that comfortable. After an hour of driving you automatically get a back massage – we even drove around the block on a 58-minute trip to take advantage of this.
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Zevenzits Kia Sorento
To increase comfort even further, Kia also adjusted the suspension after the facelift and noticeably improved the sound insulation. And that makes our drive to Wolfsburg extremely pleasant, after six hours of steering we arrive fit as a fiddle in the heart of Volkswagen.
Only the people on the back bench can complain about lack of space. You sit excellently in the first and second rows of seats. Two heated captain chairs, replacing the rear seat, give rear passengers the feeling of being a CEO or minister. These are available on the ExecutiveLine at an additional cost.
ADAS forget the step
Yet we are also quite annoyed on the autobahn journey. This is mainly due to the faltering ADAS systems. This is the theory: the Sorento has so many safety systems that in theory you hardly have to do anything on the highway. It would automatically stay between the lines, keep a distance from the vehicle in front, can overtake independently and monitor whether the driver is still paying attention.
But in practice, the lane assistant seems to have been invented by Snollebollekes: it fluctuates from left to right between the lines instead of straight ahead. When the road is clear, the cameras and sensors of the cruise control seem to spend an infinite amount of time doubting whether accelerating is justified. In Germany there will soon be plenty BMW-headlights in your interior mirror, so that you, out of desperation, just floor the pedal.
The Sorento overtakes hesitantly, as if it is flirting with the left lane for the first time in its life. Together with the annoying mandatory warning for exceeding the prevailing speed, we switch off many systems. Moreover, traffic sign recognition often overlooks signs or reads them incorrectly. The systems are more of a nuisance than helpful.
Mid-range
Once in Wolfsburg, we let our eyes run over the price list. The basic version of the Sorento costs 56,195 euros. We drive the top model, which is the generously equipped ExecutiveLine (64,895 euros). It has a 360-degree camera as standard, which is no unnecessary luxury when parking this sloop. Moreover, the parking assistant is smart enough to make a stop itself if the driver ignores the warning beeps. Other luxurious features of this version are the head-up display, the captain’s chairs and the seat ventilation.
Kia Sorento trek weight
Mixed feelings prevail. Kia is one of the major players in the EV field. The EV6 won award after award, the Let’s EV3 is discussed lyrically and seems to be a hit. We are therefore stricter with the Koreans than, say, ten years ago. The Sorento PHEV is more of a mid-range car in some areas. With its electric range, the Sorento is slowly falling behind the competition. It is also not the best choice for people with a caravan or horse trailer. 2500 kilos is the norm in this class, but the Sorento can pull 1010 kilos – just enough for a Shetland pony that Ozempic uses.
Conclusion
The Sorento excels with its extensive standard equipment and luxury. In other areas it is getting old: 55 kilometers of range is not much for a plug-in hybrid and a towing capacity of 1000 kilos is meager for such a whopper of a car.
Source: www.autoreview.nl
