The fourth-generation Sorento is built on an all-new platform that Kia says is lighter, yet it has a 1.4-inch longer wheelbase to bring more interior room. The styling quotient has been ramped up with sharper lines that give it a bolder, more rectangular look. Lower trims come with a 191-hp, four-cylinder engine, and higher trims get a new 281-hp, turbocharged four-cylinder. There’s also the first-ever Sorento Hybrid, which combines an electric motor with a turbo four-cylinder and gets a thrifty EPA rating of 37 mpg combined. The non-hybrid Sorento models range between 24 mpg and 26 mpg combined, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, depending on the engine choice and whether front- or all-wheel drive. Kia says a plug-in hybrid version is coming for the 2022 model year.
Prices for the Sorento start at $29,390 (before the $1,170 destination charge) for the base front-wheel-drive LX and top out at $42,590 for the SX Prestige X-Line 2.5T with all-wheel drive. Pricing for the Sorento Hybrid, which comes with only front-wheel drive, begins at $33,590. We bought a 2021 Sorento EX AWD priced at $38,725 for our test program and rented a Sorento Hybrid from Kia to add to our first impressions.
If you’re a Consumer Reports member, our initial expert assessment of the Sorento EX AWD we purchased for our test program is available to you below. After we log more than 2,000 break-in miles on our Sorento, we’ll put it through more than 50 tests at the CR Auto Test Center, including those that evaluate acceleration, braking, fuel economy, handling, car-seat fit, and controls. CR members will get access to the full road-test results as soon as they’re available.
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