Kia's implementation of a hybrid powertrain in this latest Sorento comes across as a slightly hollow gesture. This is entirely down to its underwhelming electric performance.
With more than two tonnes worth of metal to shift, the Sorento’s 59bhp electric motor simply doesn’t have the muscle required to move the SUV off from a standstill, or bring it up to speed, without the petrol engine doing the vast majority of the heavy lifting. In fact, the only instances where our testers found they could reliably run on electricity alone was when travelling downhill or while maintaining a constant speed on clear, flat, open roads.
As a result, the Sorento hybrid is only an averagely efficient car in the sorts of stop-start, inner-city driving environments where you’d typically expect a hybrid to excel. We saw an overall average economy figure of 35mpg during our time with the car, making it only marginally more efficient than the 177bhp diesel-powered Land Rover Discovery Sport (31mpg) that we road tested at the beginning of 2020. And given that even the most powerful oil-burning Discovery Sport is still only a few benefit-in-kind tax brackets higher than the Sorento, it’s difficult to see exactly what it is you’re gaining by opting for this particular electrified powertrain. In reality, it doesn’t feel or perform like anything more than a glorified mild hybrid.
Viewed as such, it’s a bit easier to appreciate. As feeble as the electric motor is in isolation, it combines effectively with the petrol motor to lend the Sorento a respectable turn of real-world pace. On Millbrook’s mile straight, it bettered its claimed 8.7sec 0-60mph time by 0.2sec, and the 30-70mph run was dealt with in a respectable 7.9sec. By way of comparison, the Discovery Sport required 10.3sec to hit 60mph and 10.5sec to cover the 30-70mph dash.
Acceleration off the line is generally pretty smooth, too, thanks to the torque fill provided by the electric motor, although sudden throttle inputs at speed can easily catch the six-speed ’box out. Smaller applications made while on the move aren’t always answered swiftly, either, leaving the electric motor to feel as though it’s occasionally playing catch-up. The switch from electric to petrol power could be less conspicuous, too.
Still, it’s refined at a cruise, and on the motorway its fuel efficiency is a degree more respectable: we extracted a touring economy figure of 43.3mpg.
Things are improved in the PHEV, which has a more powerful, 90bhp electric motor and a much larger, 13.8kWh battery. Around town, performance in EV mode feels quite sufficient, and nor does it feel especially lacking when you hit faster stretches. And don’t fret: if you’ve locked it into EV mode (done via a button) but suddenly need a burst of serious acceleration, the engine will jump in to help.
Fuel economy is also potentially better: the official figure is 177mpg, and this would be achievable if you charged it every day and drove only around town, thus barely using the engine. We even got around 40mpg after draining a full battery and then doing another 40 miles on the motorway – not bad at all. And yes, it proved itself capable of those 35 miles of electric-only driving in reality, even though we spent most of our test out of town.
What’s more, the PHEV can provide some serious finance benefits: company car drivers will incur just 12% benefit-in-kind tax, rather than 32% for the hybrid.