By admin 
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. Little did I know, this very mantra would become an ironic personal challenge during a recent holiday escapade, one that the 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid proved exceptionally well-equipped to navigate. This refreshed mid-size SUV, a testament to Kia’s evolving design and engineering prowess, became an indispensable part of a family journey fraught with unexpected twists, from sudden altitude sickness to a formidable mountain storm.
Our adventure began with a cross-country flight from Chicago, a city known for its flat plains, to the thin air of Denver, Colorado. Our destination, however, lay even higher: Salida, nestled at a lofty 7,200 feet, accessible only after traversing passes exceeding 10,000 feet. For this challenging ascent, we had chosen the 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid, fresh off its significant refresh and brimming with the promise of comfort and capability. Loaded with three sets of ski gear, six pieces of luggage, and enough space to comfortably recline the second-row captain’s chairs for long naps, the Sorento Hybrid was put to the test immediately.
The journey beyond Denver, heading towards the majestic Rockies, was initially smooth. Our family, a quartet of "flatlanders," ascended gracefully, making a necessary bathroom break at 10,000 feet in Fairplay, Colorado, a small historic town often called the "Highest Incorporated Town in North America." Despite our diligent hydration efforts, the insidious effects of high altitude struck late that night in Salida. The headache, body aches, and debilitating nausea were severe enough to silence even my perpetually witty teenagers, who mercifully refrained from pointing out the glaring irony of my own "drink more water" advice. While they hit the slopes with the rest of the family the following day, I remained a temporary casualty, as idle as the Sorento resting below my window.
From my temporary convalescence, I had ample time to admire the Sorento’s revitalized exterior. Its new face, looking up at me with an almost expectant plea to join the holiday adventuring, showcased a broader, bolder "dogbone" grille that anchored a more vertical front fascia. The redesigned stacked headlights and distinctive boomerang running lights gave it a modern yet rugged appeal. For 2025, the Sorento Hybrid receives the same comprehensive updates applied to the gas-only model in 2024, aligning with Kia’s contemporary "Opposites United" design philosophy that seeks to blend natural forms with geometric precision. This aesthetic evolution gives the Sorento a more commanding presence, with blockier and more upright ends that subtly evoke the classic, rugged charm of old-school SUVs, yet it retains its sophisticated crossover body lines. It strikes a balance that avoids the more overtly "Lego blocky" aesthetic of its platform mate, the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid, which coincidentally earned this publication’s Best Car To Buy 2025 award – a testament to the shared, yet distinct, excellence within the Hyundai-Kia family.
Soon enough, having swum in a sea of fluids and rallied my strength, I was back in action, joining my family on the slopes the very next day. The six-passenger Sorento, once again loaded with family and gear, proved its mettle as we resumed our mountain adventures.
2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid Sports a Smarter Interior
While the exterior updates are significant, the most impactful enhancements for the 2025 Sorento Hybrid truly blossom inside the cabin. Kia has wisely addressed one of the previous model’s minor critiques by streamlining the often-busy center stack. Gone are the dual vent towers, replaced by a sleek, cohesive design dominated by a panoramic display that seamlessly integrates a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster with a matching 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system. This expansive, driver-centric display immediately elevates the perceived luxury and technological sophistication of the interior. Critically, it now boasts wireless smartphone compatibility for both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a long-requested feature that enhances convenience and reduces cable clutter.
Below this impressive digital landscape sits a haptic menu bar – a clever innovation that serves a dual purpose. With a simple tap, it can switch between controlling the climate settings (temperature, fan speed, air direction) or acting as hot buttons for the infotainment system (navigation, media, radio presets). This intuitive design reduces physical buttons while keeping essential controls easily accessible without delving into screen menus. It’s a testament to Kia’s attention to detail, especially appreciated after an illness when simplicity and ease of use become paramount. I also particularly appreciated the return of designated physical toggles for heated seats, a minor but significant ergonomic improvement over burying this function within the touchscreen, a common annoyance in many modern vehicles. The overall effect is a nicer, neater, and undeniably more premium cabin experience, making long drives, even those filled with mountain passes, significantly more comfortable.
Our journey continued, with the Sorento ascending the winding contours of a mountain river, cutting through valleys dotted with ranches and pristine wilderness, and eventually climbing into the treeline. The Sorento Hybrid’s powertrain, a refined combination designed for efficiency and capability, found its groove. It utilizes the same robust 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-4 engine found in the award-winning Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid, paired with a potent 47.7-kW electric motor. This electric motor is cleverly sandwiched between the engine and a traditional 6-speed automatic transmission, collectively generating a healthy 231 horsepower.
In its "Smart" driving mode, the 6-speed automatic transmission performed admirably, keeping engine revolutions around 3,500 rpm. This intelligent management ensured ample power for the continuous ascent without unduly taxing the engine or disrupting the serene cabin calm. The absence of a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), often found in other hybrids, is a deliberate choice by Kia, offering a more traditional and engaging driving feel, particularly noticeable during spirited acceleration or when navigating steep grades.
The true test came when an old pickup, heavily laden with what appeared to be a day’s or even a lifetime’s worth of work, slowed our progress on a particularly steep uphill stretch. This presented an opportune moment to test the Sorento’s more dynamic capabilities. I dialed in "Sport" mode, which sharpens throttle response and optimizes gear shifts for maximum power. Using the paddle shifters, I manually downshifted to more readily access the impressive 271 lb-ft of torque. The Sorento Hybrid responded with eager acceleration, allowing us to pass the pickup uphill without a second thought, confirming its ample power reserves even at altitude.
Beyond acceleration, the paddle shifters serve another crucial function in Eco and Smart modes: controlling the regenerative braking system. The Sorento Hybrid offers up to four different levels of regeneration, allowing drivers to customize the braking feel. At its least assertive, L0, it coasts much like a conventional gasoline car. At its most assertive, L3, it delivers significant deceleration the moment you lift off the accelerator. While aggressive regeneration can maximize energy capture and improve fuel efficiency, I found L3 to be a bit too abrupt, with an overly noticeable "grab" once off the accelerator, not as smooth as the gradual transitions often found in dedicated electric vehicles. My preference settled on L2, which offered a more balanced and smoother handoff between accelerating and braking, making for a more comfortable driving experience without sacrificing too much efficiency.
For drivers accustomed to the single-geared nature of many electric vehicles or the seamless, often imperceptible shifts of a continuously variable hybrid transmission, the Sorento Hybrid’s 6-speed automatic might present a subtle surprise. At low speeds, when operating solely on electric power, there are still discernible gear shifts, albeit gentle ones, up until about 18 mph. However, this quickly normalizes, and for most drivers, the sophisticated dance between the electric motor and the gasoline engine is remarkably seamless and largely unnoticeable, a testament to Kia’s refined hybrid integration.
For passengers in our top-tier SX Prestige trim, the journey was a symphony of quiet comfort. The cabin remained remarkably serene, even at highway speeds and during steep climbs, allowing for considerable lengths of nap-inducing relaxation. The heated second-row captain’s chairs were a particular luxury, ensuring our passengers stayed warm and cozy. For this leg of our voyage, with only four of us, the third row was folded flat, providing an expansive cargo area. This allowed us to lay out three sets of skis from the very back, extending through the captain’s chairs, with plenty of additional room for boots, helmets, and other ski gear. The Sorento’s versatility in cargo and passenger configuration is a significant selling point for active families.
The drive back down after a fulfilling day of skiing, even without the customary apres-ski beer, deepened my appreciation for the Sorento Hybrid’s inherent comforts and intelligent design. The SX Prestige trim elevates the experience to near-luxury levels, boasting amenities like a heated steering wheel, sumptuous leather-trimmed upholstery, heated and ventilated front seats, and nap-inducing power lumbar and bolstering support. The panoramic sunroof, which offered stunning views of frosted trees and bluebird skies in the morning, later became a practical feature for observing the incoming storm, its screen providing a necessary shield from the rapidly changing weather.
Kia Sorento Hybrid AWD System Handles Snow and Ice
The weather on the mountain can turn on a dime, and our second ski day proved this dramatically. By the afternoon, the resort had shut down all but two lifts due to howling 60 mph winds. Swirling clouds rapidly erased the majestic 14,000-foot peaks, reducing visibility drastically both on the slopes and, more critically, on the winding descent home. The panoramic sunroof, which had been a window to wonder just hours before, was now prudently screened shut.
The storm brought with it plummeting temperatures, and the winding mountain roads quickly transformed into a treacherous mix of fresh snow, slush, and hidden patches of black ice. This was where the Sorento Hybrid’s all-wheel-drive system truly shone. I instinctively turned the rotary dial to activate Snow mode and pressed the center locking differential button. This intelligent system proactively apportions torque evenly between the axles, ensuring optimal grip and balance across all four wheels, albeit at the expense of a slight reduction in overall fuel efficiency – a trade-off well worth making for enhanced safety in such conditions.
Interestingly, as we were descending, the hybrid system was primarily using electric power, and the battery was fully charged. This meant that the regenerative braking, which normally allows the paddle shifters to slow the vehicle and recharge the battery, wasn’t fully an option in its most aggressive settings. Furthermore, the modern gear dial, which replaced the more traditional mechanical shifter of preceding models, meant I couldn’t simply pop it into a low manual gear to leverage engine braking and preserve the friction brakes. However, Snow mode cleverly addressed this by shortening the first gear and seemingly delaying other shifts, allowing the engine to rev higher and generate more inherent engine braking and torque. This effectively served the same purpose, providing crucial control without requiring me to fuss with additional manual controls – a smart safety feature for unpredictable mountain driving.
We made it home safe and sound, the adrenaline from a challenging ski day combined with my newfound dedication to over-hydration effectively curing the last vestiges of altitude sickness. The 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid had been an exceptional partner throughout, easing the inherent stress of mountain driving and providing comforting, luxurious refuge during the eventual three-hour drive back down the range to Denver.
Over the course of 380 miles, encompassing significant elevation changes (nearly a mile of total ascent and descent), and loaded with three adult-sized passengers and all their ski gear, the Sorento Hybrid averaged a respectable 32.7 mpg. This figure was a mere shade off the EPA-estimated 34 mpg combined, an impressive feat given the challenging terrain and heavy load. With its generous 17.7-gallon gas tank, the Sorento required only one refill during our entire travels, and that was conveniently on the way to the airport for our departure. This exceptional fuel economy, coupled with its robust capabilities and luxurious appointments, helped neutralize the financial sickness often associated with any family vacation, with altitude or otherwise. The 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid proved itself not just a capable family hauler, but a resilient and smart companion for life’s most adventurous journeys.
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 (city/highway/combined)