Facelifted in July 2023 for the 2024 model year, the Sorento has entered 2025 with little in the way of changes. For starters, Gravity Gray will be replaced by Panthera Metal in the color palette.
Panthera Metal is an interesting name if you're a Pantera fan, although there's nothing metal about dailying a front-biased Kia crossover with three-row seating. What else differs from the 2024 model? The answer to that question is badging.
As long as you get an X-Line or an X-Pro, badging comes in black for the Kia logos up front, back, and on the wheel caps, along with a black tailgate emblem that reads Sorento. That's it for 2025, which may come as a disappointment. However, it most certainly isn't because Kia refreshed this utility vehicle barely a year ago.
The South Korean automaker brings the point home with the Sorento's 15 standard collision avoidance and driver assistance systems, beginning with automatic emergency braking featuring pedestrian, cyclist, and junction turning detection. Blind-spot detection also needs to be mentioned, along with stop & go cruise control, rear cross-traffic assist, leading vehicle departure warning, and lane keeping & following assist.
Gifted with a feature-rich interior, the 2025 Sorento retains the 2024 model's recommended starting price of $31,990 (excluding the destination charge). Delivery also stays put at $1,375 across the board. Trims are split between four 2WD and five 4WD choices, beginning with the LX FWD and X-Line EX AWD grades.
Photo: Kia
Complementing the 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid and plug-in hybrid, the combustion-only Sorento can be had with either a 2.5-liter engine or a turbocharged version of said four-cylinder lump. Both combine multi-point injection with direct fuel injection. The naturally aspirated 2.5er is connected to an eight-speed automatic, whereas turbocharging means dual-clutch transmission.
The all-wheel-drive system of the Sorento uses a multi-plate clutch and electro-hydraulic actuation. Otherwise put, it's front-wheel drive most of the time in order to save fuel. Gas mileage ranges from 26 miles to the gallon (9.0 liters per 100 kilometers) to 23 mpg (10.2 l/100 km), which is perfectly fine for this displacement in a crossover with three-row seating. The hybrid nets 37 mpg (6.4 l/100 km) combined, with the plug-in hybrid netting 34 mpg (6.9 l/100 km) without any electric assistance from the hybrid system.
Available with second-row captain's chairs, the Sorento is a roomy vehicle as well, for it offers up to 75.5 cubic feet (2,138 liters) behind the front row. With all seats in place, cargo volume drops to 6.3 cubic feet (178 liters), which still is better than the Miata's 4.59 cubic feet (130 liters).
The Sorento moved a grand total of 47,663 units in the United States market in the first half of 2024, improving on the H1 2023 sales volume by 3,856 examples of the breed. However, the compact Sportage remains the marque's best-selling vehicle in this part of the world, clocking 79,853 deliveries in the first half of 2024.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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