KIA SORENTO

Did our PHEV make it out of this unfamiliar setting in one piece?

- PIERS WARD

As anyone with a vague memory of being five will know, curious minds are rewarded when buttons are pressed. And so it is that we find ourselves perched on top of what feels more like a cliff than a steep off-road slope, Kia Sorento primed to descend, with buttons being prodded and Terrain mode knobs being twirled.

We’ve reached here entirely silently, creeping through a lower section of the quarry on electricity, with the only sound the crunch of rock under tyre and the occasional ‘bong’ from the car. The Sorento does like to announce itself with plenty of synthesised warning noises.

Creep up the slope, watching where the nose and tyres head, as there are plenty of sharp boulders around and we’re most definitely not running on tough-sidewalled off-road tyres. Get to the top of the scree, with a great view out over the quarry and elements of the downhill section in front, the detail hidden underneath the Sorento’s bonnet. Hold it on the brake, wait for the guide to say I’m good to go…