- The Sorento Hybrid AWD averaged 32.7 mpg during one Rocky Mountain vacation
- A center locking differential and Snow mode eased the anxiety of a snowy descent
- SX Prestige trim handles the altitude better than at least one human
If I were to die today, my teenagers might scrawl an epithet that reads, “Drink more water.” It’s my most frequent parental directive, the panacea for all that ails thee.
Some version of that suggestion was said at least a dozen times before landing from Chicago in Denver for Christmas vacation. We flatlanders ascended beyond the Mile High city in our refreshed Kia Sorento Hybrid, loaded with three sets of ski gear, six pieces of luggage, and enough space leftover to recline the second-row captain’s chairs for long naps on a three-hour drive up into the Rockies.
We were hydrated well enough for a bathroom break at 10,000 feet in Fairplay, Colorado, before touching down in Salida, at 7,200 feet of altitude. Late that night, the altitude sickness erupted for the first time in my life.
The headache, body aches, and nausea were bad enough for my teens not to point out the irony. They skied with the family while I recovered, as idle as the Sorento.
From below my window, its new face looked up at me with a plea to hit the slopes. Its broader, bolder dogbone grille stamped its more vertical front fascia, the stacked headlights and boomerang running lights wished me down some level of holiday adventuring. For 2025, the Sorento Hybrid follows the same updates applied to the gas-only model in 2024. The blockier and more upright ends call to mind old-school SUVs, but still within its crossover body, yet it’s not as Lego blocky as the related Hyundai Sante Fe Hybrid that won this publication’s Best Car To Buy 2025 award.
Soon enough, swimming with fluids, I was back at it and joining them the next day, the six-passenger Sorento loaded with family and gear.
2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid
2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid sports a smarter interior
The best updates happen inside, where Kia erased the busy center stack and its dual vent towers for a streamlined 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster flowing into a 12.3-inch touchscreen with wireless smartphone compatibility. I appreciate the little things more after an illness. Below the screens sits a haptic menu bar that either controls the climate settings or serves as hot buttons for the infotainment. It’s all nicer, neater, and with designated heated seat toggles instead of burying that function in the touchscreen.
The road ascended the contours of a mountain river cutting through the valley of ranches and wilderness. It ascended into the treeline, the 6-speed automatic transmission finding its groove in Smart mode to about 3,500 rpm without taxing the engine enough to disrupt the cabin calm.
Kia uses the same 1.6-liter inline-4 as the winning Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid, and sandwiches a 47.7-kw electric motor between the engine and the 6-speed to make 231 hp. An old pickup saddled with a day’s or life’s work encouraged an uphill passing move, so I dialed in Sport mode, downshifted the paddles to more readily access the 271 lb-ft of torque, and passed the pickup uphill without a second thought.
In Eco or Smart mode, the paddle shifters become regenerative brake settings, with up to four different levels; it can coast like a normal gas car, or get pressed to the most assertive level, L3. It wasn’t as smooth as most electric cars, with too much grab once I was off the accelerator instead of a gradual transition between the two. I preferred L2 for the smoother handoff between accelerating and braking.
2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid
2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid
2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid
2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid
Since I’m somewhat used to this hybrid setup used by Hyundai and Kia, I hardly noticed the transmission shifts at low speeds when it was only electric power, up until about 18 mph. Some drivers used to single-geared electric vehicles or a continuously variable hybrid transmission with no real gear shifts might be surprised by a gear shift in electric power, but it normalizes soon enough. Other than that, the dance between motor and engine is seamless enough to be unnoticeable.
For passengers in the posh SX Prestige trim, it was quiet and comfy enough to nap in at considerable length. Heated second-row captain’s chairs helped, but for this leg of our voyage, our four heads were alert with excitement. We had the third row down, and three sets of skis laid out from the back through the captain’s chairs. There was plenty of other cargo room for boots and the rest of it.
The ride back down after skiing, even without an apres beer, made me better appreciate the comforts and smarts of the Sorento Hybrid. Of course the top SX-Prestige trim had luxury-like appointments with a heated steering wheel, leather trimmed upholstery, heated and ventilated front seats, nap-inducing power lumbar and bolstering support, and a panoramic sunroof, the better to watch the incoming storm.
2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid
Kia Sorento Hybrid AWD system handles snow and ice
During the second half of ski day, the resort shut down all but two lifts due to 60 mph winds. Swirling clouds erased the 14,000-foot peaks and chopped up the visibility on the slopes and on the road. We shut the screen on the sunroof, a stark contrast from the morning when my daughter reclined in the front seat to gaze up at frosted trees and bluebird skies.
The storm cut temperatures and snow and sludge hid ice spots on the winding descent home. I turned the dial to Snow mode and pressed the center locking differential button. It apportioned torque evenly between the axles to ensure optimal grip and balance in exchange for efficiency. But since we were going downhill, the hybrid system was using mostly electric power. Using the paddle shifters to engine brake wasn’t an option since the battery was full. The gear dial that replaced the mechanical shifter on the preceding model also meant I couldn’t pop it into manual mode and let the engine rev higher to preserve the brakes. Kia would probably thank me for this. Snow mode shortened the first gear, but seemed to delay the shifts otherwise to let the engine rev higher and generate more torque, so it served the same purpose without me having to futz about with the controls.
We made it home safe and sound, with the adrenaline from ski day and over-hydration helping fully cure the altitude sickness. The Sorento Hybrid helped, easing the stress of mountain driving, and comforting the eventual three-hour drive back down the range to Denver.
Over 380 miles, up and down nearly a mile of total elevation, and loaded with three adult-sized passengers and ski gear, it averaged 32.7 mpg, a shade off the EPA-estimated 34 mpg combined. With a large 17.7-gallon gas tank, the Sorento only needed to be refilled once during our travels, and that was on the way to the drop off at the airport. That helped neutralize the financial sickness of any family vacation, with altitude or otherwise.
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2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid SX Prestige AWD
Base price: $40,065, including a $1,375 destination charge
Price as tested: $49,090
Drivetrain: 227-hp 1.6-liter turbo-4 and 47.7-kw motor with a 6-speed automatic transmission; all-wheel drive
EPA fuel economy: 34/34/34 mpg