Kia confirms local Sorento hybrid and PHEV pricing

Monday, 8 March 2021

Kia has revealed its new-look for the Sorento SUV, inspired by the small Seltos that has just arrived in New Zealand.

Kia New Zealand has confirmed local pricing for the plug-in hybrid and regular hybrid variants of the Sorento SUV. We knew the PHEV was coming but the hybrid is a bit of a surprise.

The Sorento hybrid 2WD starts at $80,990, moving to 82,990 for the AWD. The PHEV is only available with all-wheel drive and lands at $89,990. That’s up from the previous range-topper, the $76,990 diesel-powered Premium AWD.

Both electrified Sorentos use a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine, producing 132kW/265Nm. The hybrid adds a 44kW/264Nm electric motor while the PHEV gets a stronger 67kW/304Nm unit. Total outputs for each are 169kW/350Nm and 195kW/350Nm respectively.

The plug-in hybrid version of the Sorento SUV is on sale now, along with a regular hybrid variant.

The plug-in hybrid offers an electric-only range of 57km and fuel consumption of 1.6L/100km while the hybrid returns 5.4L/100km in 2WD guise and 6.2L/100km with AWD.

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The electrified Sorentos are all based on the Premium trim, which means they all have this slick digital instrument cluster.

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Apparently the new PHEV powertrain is the Korean carmaker’s “most advanced and efficient” to date, using an independent water cooling system for the battery pack, which should allow it to charge at it maximum rate for longer.

Aside from the new mechanicals, the Sorento PHEV is identical to the rest of its family. That means it has a full suite of driver assistance systems, including active cruise control, lane-keep assist, autonomous emergency braking and automatic high beams, among others.

All the electrified Sorentos are based on the Premium level of specification, which includes a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster with extra information for the new powertrains, as well as leather upholstery, a head-up display, wireless phone charger, heated/ventilated seats and a Bose 12-speaker surround system.

The new hybrid and PHEV Sorentos are on sale now, coming with four years of servicing (up to 40,000km) and the standard five-year/100,000km factory warranty.