Kia Sorento PHEV – 2023
By Ian Strachan.
The award-winning generation Kia Sorento recently underwent a ground-up redesign. This popular SUV is bigger, more powerful and better equipped than its predecessors, and hybrid technology ensures it is also more fuel-efficient while giving out lower emissions.
The latest Sorento picked up a Car of the Year award for large SUVs, and deservedly so. Kia’s flagship SUV is a pleasure to drive, and combines off-road competence with on-road good manners, backed up by a wealth of technology.
All-wheel-drive and seven seats are standard across the range, making this a practical alternative to European 4x4s. Plus you get Kia’s industry leading seven year warranty, making this a serious contender in the Sports Utility Vehicle market.
The Sorento has a distinguished, quality feel to it inside and out, with sharper lines and an elongated appearance. Long gone is the slightly tin can feel to the bodywork of the newly launched Sorento’s of nearly 20 years ago. This is much more solid and substantial.
The Sorento is undoubtedly a good looker – much more sophisticated. It has a pleasant profile and sits close to the ground, which gives it a strong side-on presence, helped by the smart 19 inch alloys fitted to my 1.6 T-GDi test car in “Edition” spec.
Inside the car has a good deal of class about it. My test car had attractive black leather upholstery of a very high quality. The dash is simple and attractive, with sensibly placed, easily accessible controls and paddle gearshifts.
Interior space is very good, and can be further improved with the 60/40 folding split rear seat which can be folded completely flat. A foldaway third row of seats turns it into a true seven-seater. Obviously luggage space is compromised with the extra row of seats in place, but they split 50-50 if required.
A 1.6 direct injection turbocharged petrol engine powers this derivative, delivering a healthy 261 bhp, when combined with the 67 kw electric motor. Linked to an six-speed automatic gearbox, this is a good unit, offering plenty of power. Acceleration, with a 0-60 time of around 8.5 seconds, is surprisingly brisk for a vehicle of this size.
Fuel consumption is good, aided by the electric motor, and the Sorento has a electric-only range of 35 miles.
Specification as standard at this trim level includes automatic LED headlights and daytime driving lights, front and rear fog lights, black roof rails, heated and ventilated front seats and steering wheel, USB ports for all three seat rows, dual-zone climate control, electric, heated door mirrors, satellite navigation via a 10.35 inch touchscreen, a 12-speaker Bose sound system with Bluetooth and voice recognition, and a 360-degree around-view monitor.
You also get a panoramic tilt and slide sunroof with electric blinds, second row window blinds, cruise control, powered tailgate, head-up display, front and rear parking sensors with reversing camera and a wireless mobile phone charger.
Safety features include blind spot monitoring with collision avoidance assist via rear-facing cameras, driver attention arning, forward collision assist and lane monitoring.
The Kia Sorento “Edition” 1.6 T-GDi PHEV auto comes on the road at £56,995.
