2025 Kia Sorento GT-Line PHEV evaluation

The Kia Sorento vary is likely one of the most various massive SUVs by way of its powertrain choices, with petrol V6, diesel four-cylinder, petrol-electric hybrid (HEV), and petrol plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variations out there.

WATCH: Paul’s video evaluation of the 2024 Kia Sorento GT-Line HEV AWD

All of them have seven seats and loads of sophistication, however as of proper now – early 2025 – you continue to should spend a heap more cash if you’d like an HEV or PHEV model of this spectacular mannequin.

It’s the most costly model of the Sorento that’s on take a look at right here: the GT-Line PHEV, which has all-wheel drive as commonplace, however prices a complete lot greater than you may count on.

So is it value contemplating? Learn on to seek out out.

How does the Kia Sorento examine?

View an in depth breakdown of the Kia Sorento towards equally sized autos.

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How a lot does the Kia Sorento value?

As talked about, the PHEV powertrain is reserved for the flagship GT-Line trim at this time limit. Kia Australia has, nevertheless, urged it needs to increase its providing of ‘new power’ powertrain choices throughout extra value factors within the Sorento line-up.

That ought to imply, in principle, that there’ll be some motion within the vary in 2025 that will see HEV and PHEV powertrains turn into out there with decrease gear ranges at extra reasonably priced costs.

However the actuality right here is that the all-wheel drive PHEV is the most costly choice within the Sorento vary proper now, representing an enormous circa-$19,000 premium over the equivalent-spec front-drive petrol V6, and about $16,000 greater than the wonderful diesel AWD. It’s additionally greater than $11K dearer than the GT-Line model of the plugless HEV with AWD.

To see how the Kia Sorento strains up towards the competitors, try our comparability instrument

What’s the Kia Sorento like on the within?

The inside of the Kia Sorento GT-Line, irrespective of which powertrain you decide, is a beautiful place to sit down and feels extra upmarket than some rivals.

Entrance seat occupants have terrific inclusions like heated and ventilated seats with loads of adjustment and good consolation, and the tasty Nappa leather-based seat trim additionally makes you’re feeling such as you’re getting the business-class expertise, too. 

The sprint design is fashionable and trendy, with a pair of 12.9-inch screens flowing collectively in a single panel, and it actually does make this cabin really feel up-to-date. It’s additionally simple to study, with massive icons and fast response occasions that make it simple to leap across the screens. And despite the fact that there’s built-in sat nav, you continue to get wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, too.

There’s a line of contact buttons under the dashboard for shortcuts across the infotainment menus, and likewise for the local weather controls. You’ll be able to toggle between these capabilities with a button which adjustments the show, and the way the 2 knobs on the sprint behave. When you get the grasp of this touch-panel, it’s actually intuitive.

The digital instrument clusetr is simple to learn, and presents a very good quantity of information, however you possibly can’t present a live-map navigation readout there. Odd. 

Charging is taken care of by a set of USB-C ports up entrance, and there’s a wi-fi cellphone charger as properly. 

Plus the space for storing up entrance is phenomenal, with an enormous space for telephones beneath the dashboard, two cupholders, a deep bin beneath the central armrest, and spacious door pockets.

Annoyingly, although, there may be some plastic trim on the transmission tunnel that is still a mud and fingerprint magnet.

Mother and father will love the actual fact there’s a passenger discuss perform, so these within the very again can hear the grown-ups by the use of the audio system and a microphone up entrance. 

As for the center row, there may be sufficient legroom and headroom for giant youngsters and full-sized adults, to the purpose the place six-footers can fortunately sit behind six-footers. 

Center-row riders get a fold-down central armrest, with further cupholders on the door playing cards, and extra storage moreover that. There aren’t any local weather controls for the second row, however there are directional vents.

Mother and father might be pleased with the ISOFIX baby seat anchors within the window seats, and there’s additionally a trio of top-tether factors again there. If baby seats aren’t occupying the window seats, those that do will be capable to toast their tooshies by the use of the outboard seat heating controls.

The third row is okay, however not excellent (in the event you want excellent, purchase a Kia Carnival – belief me!).

The rearmost seats are greatest reserved for small children or emergency seating, and there may be one-touch folding for the second row, to make entry simpler. Large models may wrestle, however little agile ones will clamber in fortunately. 

Third-row headroom is tight for adults, and the flat seats imply it’s a knees-up proposition. However in the event you’re somebody who makes use of their seven-seater with plenty of children on board, you’ll be comfortable to study there are an extra two ISOFIX factors and two top-tethers for the very again row.

These within the again get separate fan controls and vents, and USB cost factors, in addition to storage for a small bottle and cellphone.

By way of baggage area, the Sorento gives 187L with the third row in place, 616L in its five-seat structure and 2011L with the second and third rows folded flat. There’s a small charging cable bag that takes up a little bit of area within the boot, too.

All variations characteristic a full-size alloy spare wheel, and there’s even an area for the cargo blind beneath the boot flooring.

To see how the Kia Sorento strains up towards the competitors, try our comparability instrument

What’s beneath the bonnet?

This PHEV is a bit totally different to a number of the different plug-in hybrids in the marketplace.

It runs a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine teamed with an electrical motor built-in into its six-speed automated transmission, and it has on-demand all-wheel drive. 

The petrol engine makes 132kW of energy at 5500rpm and 265Nm of torque over 1500-4500rpm by itself, with the transmission-mounted e-motor contributing 67kW (2100-3300rpm) and 304Nm (0-2100rpm) for complete system outputs of 195kW and 350Nm.

Underneath the second-row seats is a 14kWh lithium-ion polymer battery pack which might be charged through AC single-phase energy at a most charge of simply 3.3kW. It’ll take three hours 25 minutes to cost from 15 to 95 per cent at this charge by way of its Kind 2 port.

Kia claims a pure-electric driving vary of as much as 68km (NEDC), mixed gasoline consumption of simply 1.6L/100km, and CO2 emissions of 36g/km. It has a 67-litre gasoline tank and wishes 95RON premium unleaded.

After I charged it up, I noticed an indicated 50km of EV vary on the show, and in actuality it achieved 55km in EV mode over a mixture of driving situations.

I ran it out to 100km to get an concept of whether or not the claimed 1.6L/100km is lifelike, and I noticed a real-world determine of two.5L/100km for that first hundred kays.

Then I did 100 with the battery depleted, to get an concept of what it is likely to be like in the event you can’t prime up on EV energy. And with some start-stop driving, city working and freeway cruising, I noticed a return of 6.5L/100km indicated.

Not dangerous, however not fairly a game-changer.

The battery weighs 140kg by itself, and contributes to this Sorento’s porky tare weight of 2052kg. Be conscious that the gross car mass is 2680kg, so if you wish to match seven individuals on-board they could have to eat mild lunches within the lead-up. 

The towing capability for the Sorento PHEV is 750kg unbraked and 1350kg braked. Select the diesel AWD and also you get 2000kg max towing functionality.

To see how the Kia Sorento strains up towards the competitors, try our comparability instrument

How does the Kia Sorento drive?

Let’s discuss concerning the powertrain before everything, as a result of it’s a peculiar one.

The electrical motor is built-in into the transmission, and what this implies is you can really feel and even hear gearshifts occurring, even with the automotive working in totally electrical mode.

In hybrid mode, it should clearly use that gearbox too, and in some situations it could possibly make the drive expertise really feel considerably laggy, with a hesitation between the engine and transmission and the electrical intervention. My accomplice drove this automotive and stated “it felt laborious to guess what would occur subsequent” when in hybrid mode.

One other quirk of this powertrain is that, even in the event you’re in EV mode and also you’re making an attempt to dictate the powertrain behaviour, it should overrule you and sometimes kick the petrol engine into life.

Whether or not it’s whenever you push the throttle laborious, and even throughout deceleration down hills, it gained’t keep in EV mode on a regular basis when that mode is chosen, in contrast to another PHEVs.

As talked about above, it does have a very good quantity of EV driving vary out there, however with this a part of the market shifting shortly – there are PHEVs with 100km-plus ranges hitting our shores this yr – it already seems like this Sorento is a bit behind the occasions.

That comes right down to the low-capacity battery, which at 14kWh for a two-tonne-plus SUV is just not precisely made for long-distance EV commuting.

Actually, in the event you want a seven-seater SUV and you recognize you’d prefer to get extra out of your EV drive part, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is likely to be an amazing selection. It’s cheaper than this SUV, and whereas additionally it is barely smaller, I managed to get greater than 80km of EV driving out of a full cost.

On the subject of efficiency, there’s actually sufficient on provide right here. You’ve acquired a number of modes to select from, together with Eco, Regular and Sport, and the latter actually lets you get probably the most out of the powertrain. It’s not ridiculously quick, however it’s speedy sufficient. 

The drive expertise is predictable, with steering that feels manageable in any respect speeds and straightforward to show whenever you’re parking, and the journey consolation isn’t too dangerous, with a barely agency edge to it, however it by no means feels too jarring or sharp.

It’s a little heavier than the opposite variations, however the weight isn’t all that noticeable in most conditions. 

However we famous a few high quality points with our mortgage automotive: there was a slight vibration in EV mode at low speeds, particularly when turning, and the dashboard of the automotive developed a squeak after simply 1200km.

To see how the Kia Sorento strains up towards the competitors, try our comparability instrument

What do you get?

On take a look at right here is the flagship variant within the Sorento vary, the GT-Line PHEV.

2025 Kia Sorento GT-Line PHEV gear highlights:

• 19-inch alloy wheels
• Full-size spare wheel
• 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster
• 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen
• Blind Spot View Monitor
• Distant Sensible Parking Help
• Keyless entry
• Push-button begin
• Electrical tailgate with proximity opening 
• Parking Collision Avoidance Help – Reverse
• Quilted Nappa leather-appointed seats
• Digital rear-view mirror
• Suede headliner
• Ambient inside lighting
• 360-degree encompass view monitor
• Heated and ventilated entrance seats
• Heated outboard second-row seats
• Panoramic sunroof
• Kia Join
• Over-the-air updates

Is the Kia Sorento protected?

The utmost five-star ANCAP ranking was awarded to the Sorento in 2020, and it continues on with the consequence throughout all powertrain decisions.

Normal security gear contains:

• Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
  • Automobile detection
  • Pedestrian detection
  • Bicycle owner detection
  • Junction help
• Blind-spot help
• Rear cross-traffic help
• Lane-keep help
• Lane Following Help
• Adaptive cruise management
• Clever Velocity Restrict Help
• Driver consideration alert
• Secure Exit Warning
• Reversing digicam
• Entrance and rear parking sensors
• Tyre strain monitoring

All 2024 Kia Sorento fashions now additionally obtain Kia Join on-line providers, which embody:

• eCall
• Distant lock
• Distant local weather management
• Car monitoring
• Car standing monitoring
• Voice assistant
• Vacation spot ship to car
• Actual-time visitors updates
• Valet parking mode

The Sorento Sport and above add Freeway Driving Help which capabilities solely when driving on a freeway or motorway and builds on adaptive cruise management with stop-and-go functionality, mixed with Lane Following Help to maintain the automotive centred within the lane.

GT-Line variants add:

• Blind-Spot View Monitor
• Secure Exit Help (NEW)
• Digital baby security lock
• Encompass-view digicam
• Facet parking sensors
• Distant Sensible Parking Help

The Sorento has seven airbags, together with twin entrance, entrance centre, entrance facet and curtain airbags, however be aware that the third-row occupants’ heads are usually not lined by these curtain luggage.

How a lot does the Kia Sorento value to run?

The 2024 Kia Sorento is roofed by a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee, and the identical cowl is obtainable for the battery pack for the PHEV mannequin.

Servicing necessities are a giant consideration right here. The Sorento PHEV wants upkeep each 12 months or 10,000km, making it needier than its non-electrified siblings.

And it prices a helluva lot to service, contemplating these interval durations, as follows:

Meaning your common service value is $705, so whereas your petrol bills is likely to be decrease, you’re diverting a few of that value in the direction of upkeep. 

Roadside help is offered, and in the event you service with Kia you’ll have it renewed out to eight years of canopy.

CarExpert’s Tackle the Kia Sorento

Frankly, that is the least engaging model of the Sorento in GT-Line spec. The worth appears exorbitant, and the diesel AWD is definitely a greater decide for individuals who need a highly effective and environment friendly model of this seven-seater.

That’s what I’d purchase if I used to be set on a Sorento. Or perhaps even the cheaper Sport+ diesel AWD.

Concerned with shopping for a Kia Sorento? Get in contact with one in every of CarExpert’s trusted sellers right here

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