By admin 
Our adventure began with the Sorento Hybrid, fully loaded with three sets of ski gear, six pieces of luggage, and enough remaining space to allow for comfortable naps in the second-row captain’s chairs during the three-hour drive from Denver into the majestic Rockies. We had already navigated beyond the Mile High City, reaching altitudes where the air noticeably thinned. A necessary bathroom break at a dizzying 10,000 feet in Fairplay, Colorado, preceded our arrival in Salida, nestled at a still-considerable 7,200 feet. Despite our conscious efforts to hydrate, the insidious onset of altitude sickness struck me late that first night – a first-time experience marked by a relentless headache, debilitating body aches, and persistent nausea. The irony was not lost on my teenagers, though mercifully, they refrained from pointing it out as they headed off to ski with the rest of the family while I remained sidelined, as idle as the parked Sorento below my window.
A Bold New Face for Adventure: The 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid’s Exterior Redesign
From my temporary convalescence, the Sorento’s updated exterior looked up with an almost eager plea to hit the slopes. Its new face, a significant departure from its predecessor, presented a broader, bolder "dogbone" grille that now dominates a more vertically oriented front fascia. The stacked headlights and distinctive boomerang-shaped running lights collectively conveyed a readiness for holiday adventuring. For 2025, the Sorento Hybrid benefits from the same comprehensive updates applied to the gasoline-only model in 2024, aligning its aesthetics with Kia’s contemporary design language, "Opposites United." This philosophy seeks to blend natural elements with modern, high-tech features, and in the Sorento, it manifests as a rugged yet refined appearance.
The blockier, more upright ends of the Sorento Hybrid evoke a sense of classic, old-school SUVs, a nod to utility and robust capability, yet it retains its fundamental crossover body structure. This design choice sets it apart from some of its more aggressively angular competitors. While it shares some familial traits with the related Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid, which recently earned this publication’s Best Car To Buy 2025 award, the Sorento carves its own visual identity. The Santa Fe leans into a more "Lego blocky" aesthetic, emphasizing its adventurous, boxy persona. The Sorento, by contrast, strikes a more balanced chord, offering a robust presence without fully abandoning the sleekness expected of a modern family crossover. The redesigned taillights, mirroring the vertical theme of the front, further enhance its updated, cohesive look. This exterior refresh isn’t just cosmetic; it signals Kia’s commitment to evolving the Sorento’s appeal to families seeking both style and substance in their adventure vehicle.
An Elevated Sanctuary: The Sorento Hybrid’s Smarter Interior
Thankfully, with ample fluids and a day of rest, I was back on my feet and joining the family the next day, the six-passenger Sorento once again loaded with family and gear. The true brilliance of the 2025 Sorento Hybrid, however, unfolds inside its cabin. Kia has masterfully addressed previous criticisms of a somewhat busy center stack, replacing the dual vent towers and an array of physical buttons with a streamlined, minimalist design. The centerpiece is a panoramic display featuring a seamlessly integrated 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster flowing into a vibrant 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system. This expansive digital real estate not only looks premium but also enhances functionality, offering wireless smartphone compatibility for both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – a crucial convenience for navigating unfamiliar mountain roads and keeping connected on long journeys.
After the discomfort of illness, I found myself appreciating the "little things" even more. Below the impressive screens lies a cleverly designed haptic menu bar. This innovative control surface elegantly toggles between climate settings and hot buttons for the infotainment system, reducing clutter while maintaining tactile feedback. This dual-functionality is a thoughtful touch, demonstrating Kia’s understanding of driver preferences for physical controls over solely screen-based interactions for frequently used functions. Moreover, the reintroduction of designated physical toggles for heated seats, rather than burying this function within the touchscreen menus, is a welcome ergonomic improvement that enhances user convenience and safety, allowing drivers to adjust comfort settings without diverting significant attention from the road. The overall effect is a cabin that feels more refined, intuitive, and unequivocally smarter, fostering a more relaxed and enjoyable driving experience – a sentiment particularly valued when recovering from altitude sickness.
Power and Poise: Navigating Mountain Roads with the Hybrid Powertrain
Our journey resumed, with the road ascending along the winding contours of a mountain river, cutting through valleys dotted with ranches and untouched wilderness. As we climbed higher into the treeline, the Sorento Hybrid’s 6-speed automatic transmission found its rhythm effortlessly in Smart mode, maintaining engine speeds around 3,500 rpm. This intelligent mode balances efficiency and performance, ensuring the engine was never unduly taxed, thereby preserving the cabin’s serene calm – a vital attribute for long drives and tired passengers.
The Sorento Hybrid shares its robust powertrain with the award-winning Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid. This setup combines a 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-4 engine with a potent 47.7-kW electric motor, strategically sandwiched between the engine and the 6-speed automatic transmission. The combined output is a healthy 231 horsepower, but more importantly for mountain driving, it delivers a substantial 271 lb-ft of torque. This torque figure is crucial for overcoming gravity on steep inclines and executing confident passing maneuvers. Indeed, when confronted with an old pickup truck laden with what appeared to be a day’s (or perhaps a lifetime’s) worth of work, the Sorento Hybrid proved its mettle. Dialing into Sport mode instantly sharpened throttle response and allowed for quicker access to the ample torque. Utilizing the paddle shifters to downshift, I effortlessly passed the pickup uphill, demonstrating the hybrid system’s robust capability without a second thought – a testament to its well-engineered power delivery.
The versatility of the paddle shifters is another noteworthy feature. In Eco or Smart mode, they transform into controls for the regenerative braking system, offering up to four distinct levels of recuperation. This ranges from a minimal level, allowing the vehicle to coast much like a traditional gasoline car, to the most assertive setting, L3, which provides significant deceleration upon lifting off the accelerator. While the L3 setting wasn’t as seamlessly smooth as the regenerative braking found in many pure electric vehicles – feeling a bit too grabby at times – I found the L2 setting offered a more refined and gradual transition between accelerating and braking, making for a more comfortable driving experience.
One aspect that might initially surprise drivers accustomed to single-geared electric vehicles or continuously variable hybrid transmissions (CVTs) is the presence of discernible gear shifts even when operating solely on electric power at low speeds (up to approximately 18 mph). However, for those familiar with this hybrid setup employed by Hyundai and Kia, these shifts quickly normalize and become largely unnoticeable. Beyond this minor characteristic, the intricate dance between the electric motor and the gasoline engine is remarkably seamless, transitioning between power sources with a smoothness that often renders the operation imperceptible to occupants.
Luxury and Practicality: Comfort for the Long Haul
For passengers, especially those in the top-tier SX Prestige trim, the Sorento Hybrid transforms into a quiet, comfortable sanctuary. Our specific model featured heated second-row captain’s chairs, a luxurious touch that contributed significantly to passenger comfort, allowing for considerable lengths of nap-inducing relaxation. On this particular leg of our voyage, however, all four heads were alert with excitement, anticipating the day’s skiing. With the third row folded flat, we easily accommodated three sets of skis extending from the rear cargo area through the captain’s chairs, leaving ample room for boots, helmets, and other essential gear. This practical cargo flexibility, combined with the comfortable seating, underscores the Sorento’s suitability as a family adventure vehicle.
The drive back down the mountain after a rewarding day of skiing, even without the customary après-ski beer, further amplified my appreciation for the Sorento Hybrid’s comforts and intelligent design. The SX Prestige trim, as expected, boasted a wealth of luxury-like appointments: a heated steering wheel, plush leather-trimmed upholstery, heated and ventilated front seats, and power lumbar and bolstering support designed to cradle occupants in nap-inducing comfort. The expansive panoramic sunroof, while offering breathtaking views of frosted trees and bluebird skies on the ascent, later provided a perfect vantage point to observe the incoming storm – a stark reminder of the dynamic and sometimes challenging conditions of mountain environments.
Conquering the Elements: Sorento Hybrid’s AWD System in Snow and Ice
The second half of our ski day proved to be an exercise in resilience. The resort, battered by 60 mph winds, was forced to shut down all but two lifts. Swirling clouds rapidly erased the majestic 14,000-foot peaks, severely chopping up visibility on both the slopes and the winding roads. The panoramic sunroof, which had offered such pleasant views that morning, was now prudently shaded. Temperatures plummeted, and the descent home became a test of the Sorento Hybrid’s all-wheel-drive capabilities as snow and sludge began to hide treacherous ice patches.
In response to the deteriorating conditions, I engaged the Sorento’s Snow mode, a specialized setting designed to optimize traction in slippery environments. Simultaneously, I pressed the center locking differential button. This action evenly apportions torque between the front and rear axles, ensuring maximum grip and balance – a critical feature when navigating treacherous, low-traction surfaces like snow and ice, albeit at the expense of peak fuel efficiency. However, given our downhill trajectory, the hybrid system was primarily utilizing electric power, making fuel efficiency a secondary concern to safety.
Interestingly, with the battery full from regenerative braking on the descent, using the paddle shifters to engine brake wasn’t an option. This highlights a nuanced aspect of hybrid powertrains: when the battery is at capacity, the system cannot recuperate further energy, thus limiting engine braking through regeneration. Furthermore, the modern gear dial, which replaced the mechanical shifter of the preceding model, meant I couldn’t simply pop the vehicle into a lower manual gear to let the engine rev higher and preserve the friction brakes. However, Kia’s engineers anticipated such scenarios. Snow mode implicitly shortened the first gear ratio and seemed to delay shifts otherwise, allowing the engine to rev higher and generate more torque, effectively serving the same purpose of providing engine braking and control without requiring manual intervention. This intelligent system design allowed us to maintain control and descend safely, mitigating the need for me to "futz about with the controls" in challenging conditions.
We arrived back at our lodging safe and sound, the adrenaline from the ski day and continued over-hydration having seemingly conspired to fully cure the lingering altitude sickness. The Sorento Hybrid had been an invaluable partner, easing the inherent stress of mountain driving and providing comforting solace for the eventual three-hour drive back down the range to Denver.
Efficiency in Altitude: Real-World Fuel Economy
Over the course of 380 miles, encompassing significant elevation changes (nearly a mile of total ascent and descent), and consistently loaded with three adult-sized passengers and all our ski gear, the 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid delivered an impressive real-world average of 32.7 mpg. This figure is just a shade off the EPA-estimated 34 mpg combined. Considering the demanding conditions – sustained high-altitude driving, heavy cargo loads, and numerous uphill climbs – achieving such close proximity to the EPA rating speaks volumes about the hybrid system’s efficiency and Kia’s engineering prowess. Altitude notoriously diminishes internal combustion engine efficiency due to thinner air, making this observed mileage particularly commendable.
Equipped with a generous 17.7-gallon gas tank, the Sorento Hybrid only required a single refill during our entire journey, which conveniently occurred on the way to the airport for drop-off. This extended range not only minimized stops but also helped to neutralize some of the "financial sickness" that can often accompany family vacations, whether battling altitude or simply managing the budget.
Final Thoughts: A Hybrid for the Modern Adventurer
The 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid, particularly in its SX Prestige AWD trim, emerges as a compelling option for families and adventurers alike. Its refreshed exterior offers a bolder, more contemporary aesthetic, while the completely redesigned interior provides a sophisticated, technologically advanced, and ergonomic cabin experience. The robust hybrid powertrain delivers a commendable balance of power and efficiency, proving its capability even in challenging mountain environments. Coupled with its intelligent all-wheel-drive system and a suite of comfort and convenience features, the Sorento Hybrid stands out as a versatile, reliable, and comfortable companion for any journey.
From navigating urban landscapes to conquering snowy mountain passes, the Sorento Hybrid blends practical utility with refined luxury. Its ability to handle demanding conditions while maintaining passenger comfort and respectable fuel economy makes it a standout in the competitive three-row crossover segment. The personal experience with altitude sickness merely served to underscore the vehicle’s inherent comforts and thoughtful design, making even recovery a more pleasant affair. The 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid truly enriches the journey, allowing families to focus on the adventure, hydrated and comfortable, no matter where the road takes them.
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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