It is probably less likely that a driver would choose a Sorento PHEV if they were primarily looking for a plug-in drive from Hyundai-Kia. Most buyers are likely to choose the body of the Sorento because of their roominess requirements and then choose the matching powertrain. To cut a long story short: spaciousness is the big argument in favour of the Sorento. The load area rises slightly and is not completely flat, but due to the enormous interior height, this space is still usable for most applications. If the seat backs in both rows are folded down, just over 2,000 litres fit in the Sorento. Our test car was such a seven-seater, then the load compartment could even shrink to 187 litres if seats six and seven are actually used. This is a few litres more or less, depending on whether the Sorento was ordered as a seven-seater and the small compartment under the boot has fallen victim to the folded rear seat backrests. With five seats in use, the boot volume is around 700 litres. Here, too, the class difference is noticeable. Even when the sliding rear seat is moved to the most forward position, there is still enough room (depending on how the front seats are adjusted) for adults to travel comfortably in the Sorento over longer distances.Īnd last but not least, of course, is the boot. Not all of the 31 extra centimetres have ended up around the back seat, but some. In the Sorento, it would probably be more the cowboy hat to stick with the horse trailer example.Īnother place with ample room is the back seat, much the same as the front in terms of height, but also plenty of legroom compared to the Sportage. If we were talking about a sports car, you might mention at this point that there’s plenty of headroom, even with a racing helmet. The significantly higher bodywork means that even at 1.85 metres, the head area is decidedly airy. The first additional space is at the front: the driver and front passenger sit very similarly to the Sportage in terms of ergonomics (felt, not measured). The reasons for choosing the Sorento are probably space, space and more space. And if you do happen to want to move a horse trailer across muddy meadows, you need to make sure it is a small one – the towing capacity is limited to 1.5 tonnes, whereas the Sorento with diesel can tow 2.5 tonnes. If you don’t have to move a horse trailer across muddy meadows on a regular basis, you will probably use the off-road driving in the Sorento just as often as in the Sportage – almost never. The Sorento could actually be seen as an off-road vehicle rather than an SUV, with 18 centimetres of ground clearance, all-wheel drive and elaborate off-road driving modes. Although this maximises the space in the seven-seater interior, it is at the expense of aerodynamics at both the front and the rear. The high front stands steeply in the wind, and the roof extends without any significant slope to just before the rear, only to end in a steep rear section. While the Sportage has a few curves that add a few extra centimetres here and there, the Sorento is relatively angular and evokes American-style cars. On paper, the supposedly small differences in width and height don’t adequately indicate just how much larger the Sorento actually is. At 4.81 metres, the Sorento is 31 centimetres taller than the Sportage, 3.5 centimetres wider and five centimetres taller. The drive is therefore the same, but the body is significantly larger. Like the Sportage plug-in, the Sorento PHEV is based on Kia’s N3 platform. We’ll be back in a few weeks to test the Niro EV in everyday use. Kia, therefore, sent the big Sorento as a plug-in hybrid at short notice. Unfortunately, the car we were supposed to test was involved in an accident shortly before our scheduled run. Instead, we were waiting for the Kia Niro EV. We weren’t actually planning to test drive a plug-in hybrid with mostly known technology since the Kia Sorento PHEV resembles Kia’s Niro and Sportage plug-in hybrids. Although the hybrid offers ample space, our driving report shows that this space also has drawbacks. Until the market launch of the all-electric EV9, Kia’s flagship SUV is still the Sorento, and the plug-in hybrid is this model’s top motor.
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