2024 Kia Sorento Hybrid

As crowded as the SUV market is today, the mid-size Kia Sorento Hybrid somehow sits in a niche with few direct competitors. Most mainstream brands have offerings that share the Sorento’s approximate dimensions, but few squeeze three rows of seating into that footprint, and even fewer pair seats for six with a hybrid powertrain. Last year, Kia ditched the Sorento Hybrid’s base S trim and added the range-topping SX Prestige variant, which it abbreviates as SX-P. For 2024, the only changes the brand has made to the Sorento Hybrid are revised interior and exterior colors.

Powertrain Specs and MPG
All Sorento Hybrids are powered by a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that’s paired with an electric motor and a battery for a total output of 227 horsepower and 258 pounds-feet of torque. A six-speed automatic transmission is standard.

The base EX trim is front-wheel drive, with all-wheel drive adding $2,300; the SX-P is exclusively AWD. The EX gets an EPA-estimated 39/35/37 mpg city/highway/combined; AWD Sorento Hybrids are rated at 36/33/34 mpg. For comparison, the non-hybrid Sorento manages a high of 26 mpg combined.

Standard and Available Safety Features
The 2024 Sorento Hybrid includes nearly Kia’s entire catalog of advanced safety systems as standard equipment. The only available technologies that aren’t included on the EX trim are a 360-degree parking camera, rear emergency braking and blind spot cameras that show a view down the side of the car in the instrument panel when the driver activates a turn signal. Those three features are reserved for the SX-P.

The EX includes forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind spot warning, active lane-centering steering assist, lane departure warning, rear cross-traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors, automatic high beams and traffic-sign recognition.

Pricing and Availability
The 2024 Kia Sorento Hybrid is available to order now. Full line pricing, including $1,325 for delivery, is as follows:

• EX FWD: $38,015
• EX AWD: $40,315
• SX-P: $43,815

The EX trim comes comfortably equipped with a power liftgate, keyless entry and starting, synthetic leather, power-adjustable heated front seats, second-row captain’s chairs, dual-zone climate control, a 10.25-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and wireless phone charging.

The SX-P can be identified by its 19-inch wheels, which are 2 inches larger than the EX’s. It also gets ventilated front seats in real leather, adjustable lumbar and thigh support for the driver’s seat, a heated steering wheel, heated second-row seats, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12-speaker Bose audio system.

Versus the Competition
The Sorento Hybrid’s most direct competitor is the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, which seats up to eight and has a similar EPA rating of 36/35/36 mpg city/highway combined. Base prices for the Highlander hybrid start about $4,000 higher than the Sorento. The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV also packages three rows into a similar footprint, but with up to 38 miles of electric range, it, too, starts north of $40,000 and includes fewer standard luxury and safety features.