The all-new Kia Sorento will soon be available with a plug-in electric powertrain, which will offer buyers official fuel consumption nudging three figures (probably) and a CO2 rating that will make it extremely efficient for tax purposes. Kia hasn’t said what those numbers are yet – they’re not homologated for Europe – but expect similar to something like the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, whose NEDC rating is 140mpg with 46g/km CO2. The newer WLTP test that the Sorento will use is stricter, though.
The new Sorento will, of course, be a much more modern and refined take on the massive plug-in hybrid SUV genre than the ageing and agricultural Mitsubishi. Think more Volvo XC90 Recharge, but cheaper. A brand new model, the seven-seat Sorento was supposed to get its world debut at the Geneva Motor Show this, which was of course canned because of the Coronavirus outbreak.
The PHEV version here retains the seven-seat layout of the standard car (it’s available as a five-seater too), although the packaging of a battery and electric motor means it loses some boot space. Not much, mind. With all seven-seats in place, that version loses only four litres compared to a conventional Sorento's boot.
The drivetrain, then. It adds a 66.9kW electric motor and a 13.8kWh battery pack (packaged under the floor) to Kia’s 1.6-litre T-GDi turbo petrol engine, driving the wheels through a six-speed auto. The petrol engine has 178bhp, but the combined power output of the drivetrain is 262bhp and 350Nm torque, and Kia says the battery enables the car to be “complete most short drives” using electric power alone. Again, this hasn’t yet been quantified by the company.
The standard 12.3-inch instrument display is redesigned slightly in the PHEV version including “new graphics and dials to provide drivers with a clear picture of the powertrain’s status,” allowing users to monitor battery charge. Drivers can also locate nearby charging stations using the display.
The plug-in Sorento joins a ‘standard’ hybrid in the fourth-generation car’s line-up – the sort of non-plug-in hybrid that Toyota has taken to calling “self-charging”, that is. That particular version boasts 226bhp and 40.9mpg using the WLTP test, which isn’t too bad for a massive seven-seat SUV. It’s quite quick too, taking less than nine seconds to hit 62mph.
Built on a brand new chassis developed by Kia, the latest Sorento is very well equipped as standard, coming with the aforementioned 12.3 inch instrument panel adjacent to touchscreen infotainment (both housed similarly to the setup used by today’s Mercedes-Benz models, as you can see above), Apple CarPlay, dual zone climate control, and proper LED headlamps.
The new Sorento is on sale now, with the PHEV version following later this year.
Keyword: Kia reveals new tax-busting plug-in hybrid Sorento