There's a new flagship in the Kia Sorento Range. This is the long awaited Sorento PHEV,
and it's officially the most expensive Kia to ever grace Australian roads. Question is,
is it worth the premium over the rest of the award winning Sorento Range? Let's find out.
The Sorento is a vehicle that needs little introduction as the 2020 Car Sales Car of the Year
and winner of multiple comparison tests, it sits at the pointy end of the seven-seat SUV ranks.
Now the fourth generation Sorento has entered the electric race with the release of a plug
in hybrid version. At $80,000 before on road costs, the Sorento PHEV GT line adds a $15,000
premium over the equivalent diesel Sorento creeping it well into European territory.
A solitary tailgate badge and additional filler outlet are the only tell-tale styling cues from
the outside. But underneath the Sorento PHEV combines a 1.6 litre turbo petrol engine
with an electric motor that is mounted under the second row seat.
Combined outputs are listed at 195 kilowatts, and 350 Newton meters,
while the on-paper fuel claim is listed at 1.6 litres per 100 Ks. Inside the cabin, the PHEV
shares all of the tinsel offered in the diesel powered GT line Sorento. With excellent storage,
Napa leather appointed seats with first and second row heating, a digital instrument cluster, 10.25
inch touchscreen display, head up display and much more. Thankfully, the additional drive line
hardware has only imposed a 12 litre penalty on boot space. Pretty small in the scheme of things.
The Sorento PHEV certainly feels like uncharted territory upon stepping away from the curb side.
And that's because you do so in absolute silence. The electric motor takes up the initial slack
upon pulling away and it helps get you up to around town speed really quite seamlessly and
effortlessly. I really like that the Sorento PHEV doesn't sound or feel like a science
experiment either. There's no serious whirring at play from the electric motor. The brake pedal
still has normal levels of modulation, it's not spongy or wooden in any way. And there's no real
badging or giveaways either inside the car or outside to suggest you're in anything other than
a normal Sorento, which is, I think, is a real benefit at this point of proceedings. The hybrid
is a civilised affair on road, with the petrol engine chiming in fairly benignly as required.
The PHEV's older style six speed automatic transmission
doesn't feel quite as polished as the eight speed dual clutch fitted to the diesel version.
Another downside is a 500 kilogram lower towing capacity. In any case, we managed
to achieve up to 55 kilometres in pure electric range, marginally below the 67 kilometre climb.
Now, of course, the fuel consumption here is purely hypothetical based on how much
charge you've got, how far you're going, the type of driving that you're doing.
I've done about 200 kilometres worth of driving so far during this test, and the magic fuel
consumption figure I've arrived at is 5.5 litres per 100 Ks. Obviously, the first 60 odd kilometres
was all electric propulsion. And the PHEV felt really well really up to the task in both
open road and around town driving. And then it's been a mix of petrol power and electric power.
I went to plug in this particular vehicle at a 50 kilowatt DC fast charger early today,
it didn't have the compatible plug. So I've had to make use of the petrol engine, it's still being
relatively efficient. In sole petrol driving, the fuel consumption figure has been about 10 litres
per 100 Ks in a mix of conditions. So obviously, to get the most efficiency from the Sorento PHEV,
you need to make sure it has a full Bank of charge. But even that said, petrol engine
still makes light work of the curb weight. It doesn't feel flustered or overcome by
the sheer size of the Sorento PHEV. And as you might be able to hear it ambles away fairly
quietly in the background, it doesn't feel under done even without electric assistance.
Charging the Sorento PHEV from a household power point takes about three and a half
hours. That time is paired back significantly with fast charging infrastructure. The Sorento
also uses regen brakes to feed power back into the lithium ion battery in certain driving scenarios.
But unlike other electrified models, there is only one level of regen braking
available. In every other respect, this feels as polished as the regular diesel powered Sorento.
It's still quiet on the open road, it still feels composed over bumps really well controlled and has
a nice sporty demeanor to the way that it goes about its business. Do you feel the extra weight
through the bends? You might notice a little bit more shimmying through corners, especially if
you're making mid corner adjustments. But really, for 90% of your driving, you're not really gonna
be penalised for the extra weight. It's all been packaged in a really smart and efficient manner.
The scale suggests as much with only a circus 70 kilogram penalty
for the electrified drive train over the diesel powered all-wheel-drive equivalent.
The Sorento cements its positioning with a full suite of standard safety technology
and seven airbags to ensure a five star ANCAP rating. As far as safety criticisms go,
the third row airbags only offer protection around the glass area of the cabin. While some of the
driver aids feel a little bit overzealous in their applications. Space and packaging is strong across
the three rows and like the regular Sorento there's capacity for up to five child seats. A
familiar seven year factory warranty is standard. In terms of servicing the PHEV model features
shorter 10,000 kilometre intervals compared with other Sorento models. Over a seven year term, it
will set buyers back an additional $1440 compared with the existing diesel. So then the Kia Sorento
PHEV doesn't extend the appeal of the regular award winning Sorento. Well, for me, given the
pricing premium and the fact that you lose some of its towing capability, I'd say probably not but if
this is a sign of things to come for the Sorento Range, well, there's a lot to be excited about.