A Week With: 2025 Kia Sorento HEV SX-Prestige AWD

When it comes to SUVs, flexibility is king! If you’re looking for a smaller 3-row midsize SUV, you’ve got plenty of options from Hyundai, Mitsubishi and others. However, the best of the group may be the 2025 Kia Sorento HEV SX-Prestige AWD.

The South Korean automaker’s been making big inroads with its impressive lineup of sport-utility vehicles during the past decade. Its flagship model, the Telluride, remains among the most popular 3-row utes on the market.

As a result, the Sorento, which is basically a smaller version of the Telluride, often gets lost in the shuffle. The Telluride is a class-leading model, but the Sorento borrows all of its good points to be a leader in its own right — starting with the exterior design.

Our test vehicle came in a very attractive Mineral Blue with charcoal gray 19-inch alloy wheels. Kia tweaked the design last year, squaring off the edge and making hood sit a little more upright. It gives the Sorento a boxier look that is simple, but not boring. It also makes it look like it can handle a little more than the school pickup lane.

Cool cabin

That boxier shape also makes way for the third row, which can handle a couple of adults — for a short distance anyway. However, if you fold it down, the cargo space is enormous.

I took the Sorento HEV on a weeklong trip to Florida. I packed two sets of golf clubs, two beach chairs, two large suitcases, four smaller bags, and a 12-pack of Diet Coke in that space — and could still see out of the rear window.

This thing gives the larger Telluride a run for its money when it comes to usable space.

Once you’re inside the cabin, you’ll notice the impressive quality of the materials, including our Dusty Blue, which is a mix of blue and black Syntex, seats and door panels that are soft and comfortable.

Impressive technology

With a curved display, everything is easy to read and within quick reach of the driver. The 12.3-inch panoramic display makes using the wireless Apple CarPlay a snap. The wireless phone charger in the center console does a fine job of keeping the device from moving, thus it consistently charges.

The large screen makes everything simpler, whether selecting a radio station or navigating unfamiliar parts of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Also enjoyable is the Bose Premium Audio System that provides clear, rich sound … even if it’s really loud — or just a podcast. Siri sounds really good giving directions.

Since it’s the top-of-the-line model, it’s loaded with every bit of advanced driver assistance technology available. Kia’s Highway Driving Assist 2 was especially helpful. It’s not Ford’s BlueCruise or GM’s Super Cruise, but it’s not designed to be, and I felt very comfortable with it.

Additionally, Kia offers blind-spot view monitors, which may be the most helpful safety tech you’ll never hear about.

When you use the turn signal, a small screen shows up in the driver’s gauge window showing you a live feed of the blind spot on your left or right, depending upon which way you’re indicating. This is so unbelievably helpful when merging or changing lanes. It inspires confidence and comfort, especially at night.

Under the hood

While it’s important to know if a lane is clear, it also helps to make sure you have enough power to make a quick lane change or merge when necessary. The Sorento hybrid is powered by a 1.6-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder mated to an electric motor, which put out a combined 227 horsepower.  While that may not sound overwhelming, I can tell you it made traversing the Blue Ridge mountains problem-free.

As a result of those mountains, I can tell you we did not meet the 34 miles per gallon combined fuel economy rating the EPA gives the Sorento. However, with a range of nearly 600 miles, our 28 mpg didn’t seem too bad.

The Sorento comes as a gas-only model as well as a plug-in hybrid and is available with all-wheel drive, as our SX Prestige model was. We didn’t have to put the all-wheel drive to the test in any way, but it did snow as I left Michigan on this trip so I would have been ready.

Final thoughts

It’s not often I enjoy the “smaller” SUV in a family as much as the larger model, but that definitely happened in this case. The Sorento was just the right size for just about everything I needed that week. A trip to the golf course would have allowed me to take four adults and their clubs.

It was easy to get around town in and parking in urban environments, whether in parking garages or metered spots on the street, was very simple.

With the average price of a new vehicle at nearly $50,000, our Sorento hybrid tester’s sticker price of $49,090 seems pretty reasonable.