KIA SORENTO

SINCE its launch in 2002, the Kia Sorento has been a dependable, if a little staid, spacious family SUV, throughout its first three generations.

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It wasn’t until the Mk4 edition was launched in 2020 that the model was injected with a little more style, adopting an American-inspired look from the US-market Telluride. A facelift in 2024 tweaked its look ever so slightly, bringing the design more closely in line with the brand’s electric range, including the EV3 and EV9.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE 3.7/5★

IT’S common to see electrification throughout many large SUV models' engine lineups these days, and there is still the occasional diesel option around, too. Kia is rare in offering buyers a choice of a diesel, full hybrid and plugin hybrid all in one vehicle. There’s no fully electric version, because the EV9 covers that in Kia’s range.

The Sorento Hybrid has a 1.6-litre T-GDi turbocharged petrol engine, a six-speed automatic gearbox and a 1.49kWh battery pack - mounted under the front seat - feeding a 59bhp electric motor for a combined output of 212bhp and 367Nm of torque. The 0-62mph sprint is covered in 9.7 seconds, before topping out at 113mph.

Above that sits the Sorento PHEV. The plugin hybrid powertrain uses the same petrol engine and gearbox as the HEV, but the battery grows to 13.8kWh and the electric motor offers a 90bhp boost. That makes for a combined output of 248bhp, with the same 367Nm of torque. The 0-62mph dash takes 8.8 seconds and the top speed is 113mph.

The 2.2-litre diesel option responds smoothly and gently eases the power in, with the engine only getting loud at the top end of its rev range. The eight-speed gearbox works very well; its changes are a little lazy, but all but imperceptible most of the time.