The Kia Sorento Hybrid

The 2024 Kia Sorento Hybrid is the best of several worlds. It’s a family SUV. It’s a Hybrid powered, high-mileage vehicle and finally, it has three row capabilities. Win. Win. Win. At Napleton News, we’re all about winning. Read on about our week in this popular vehicle.

What is the Kia Sorento Hybrid?

Simply put, the Kia Sorento Hybrid is a midsize six-passenger hybrid-powered SUV. Originally introduced in 2021, Kia continues to refine it with powertrain upgrades, new grilles and other features to continue to keep it fresh.

While the standard Sorento is available in nine trim levels, Kia offers the Sorento Hybrid in two models. We’re not saying they’re dumbing down the lineup. Let’s just call it simplifying. Kia offers the Hybrid in two trim levels.

• The Sorento Hybrid EX: The base level Sorento Hybrid starts with a 1.6-liter turbo hybrid engine, standard 3-row seating with 2^nd row captain’s chairs. Add to that, a Smart Power Tailgate, SynTex seating trim, LED fog lamps, front and rear parking sensors, a 10.25-inch touchscreen display with Navigation.

• Sorento Hybrid SX Prestige: Starts with the 1.6-liter turbocharged powertrain, and adds torque-vectoring all-wheel drive with a center locking differential, 19-inch alloy wheels, blind-spot view monitor and a Bose premium audio system.

All-wheel drive is available on the Sorento Hybrid EX for an additional $2,300.

What powers this Hybrid?

An ultra-efficient 1.6-liter turbocharged hybrid engine powers the Sorento Hybrid. This small, but potent four-cylinder makes 227 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. The EPA estimates you’ll see a combined 37 mpg on the front-wheel drive Hybrid, while the AWD version should deliver an estimated 34 mpg.

With Front-Wheel Drive standard, All-Wheel Drive remains as an available option. A standard six-speed automatic transmission shifts the engine decisively. The torque-vectoring AWD in our tester helped us shorten the radius of our turns. The result is some stellar handling in case you want to challenge some twisty backroads.

The Kia Sorento Hybrid is one of the most fuel-efficient 3-row Hybrid SUVs sold today. And we ain’t whistling Dixie!

What does it look like?

If you liked the Kia Sorento back in 2021, you’ll love the Sorento Hybrid in 2024. It starts with a newly refreshed and more inset grille that gives it a more grown up look than before. The headlamps accommodate the grille’s new look. This is by design, literally and figuratively.

There are other cues around the Sorento. But the one we like most is the fact this crossover doesn’t scream that it’s a hybrid. It just looks normal.

A Grown-up Sorento Hybrid Interior

The centerpiece of the new Kia Sorento Hybrid is a wide panel configurable screen that features a super-trick accessory that shows what’s in your blind spot when you turn on your left or right turn indicator. A left or right rear view appears in the gauges depending on which indicator is lit. There are dials for the radio (Thank you-Someone at Kia is listening) and other features including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The interior is well-equipped even though not as large as a three-row SUV like a Chevy Suburban. Still, it is large enough to carry four adults within the first two rows and a pair of shorties in the third. If you are in cargo-hauling mode instead, folding down the third row will yield 38.5 cubic feet, while the area behind the third row will carry up to 12.6 cubic feet.

Behind the Wheel of the Sorento Hybrid.

After a week in the Kia Sorento Hybrid, we actually wondered if we were using any gas at all. It’s just that this hybrid was using electricity all the time to the point there was barely a budge towards the Empty side of the gas gauge. Eventually, the needle moved, but not before we put about 300 miles on a tankful of fuel.

Acceleration from the 1.6-liter turbo was surprisingly brisk for a somewhat zaftig SUV. That is because of the extra weight from the lithium-ion battery. Still, we had no problem passing the so-called keepers of the speed, who we encountered on Florida’s Turnpike and I-95 Interstate.

And finally, we have one more thought. EV’s may not be the answer for some folks and sometimes Hybrids won’t cut it either. For either of those customers, Kia offers traditional gasoline powered engines for those who don’t like living on the edge.

The Kia Sorento Hybrid Specifications