New Kia Sorento hybrid 2021 in-depth review – why it’s the best large SUV | What Car?

But is there more to this car than its practicality? Well, yes, there is, and in fact in this video we're going to explain why it's the best large suv you can buy before we start, it would be great if you subscribe to the channel and go to whatcar.com to save thousands of your next new car Music. First let's discuss how different the new sorrento looks to the car that came before it. You can see. It'S had a pretty radical makeover with this angular design in the new model and it's, perhaps a reflection of it being tailored to american taste, because the car traditionally has better sail success over there than it does in europe. But while the looks are very different from before the new sorrento is up against the same set of rivals. So if you're looking at this car, that probably means you're looking at other seven seat, suvs like the peugeot 5008, the skoda kodiaq, the land, rover, discovery, sport and the mercedes glb. But perhaps the biggest news is that the new sorrento gets a hybrid option, which is the car that we're driving today there's also a plug in hybrid model coming along to the lineup soon. But it isn't just a look and the engines that are different, because the sorrento is based on all new underpinnings which make it better to drive and even more spacious than before, let's discuss just how big this car is. Now, on our reviews on whatcar.

com, we give star ratings out of five to individual areas of cars. So, for example, we'll give performance a star rating out of five or handling running costs in the kia sorento front space. Five stars rear space, five stars, seating, flexibility, five stars, but the boot only gets one star. No, that also gets five stars. So what that all means is that this clearly is an extremely practical and massive car by large suv standards and therefore by any car on the road standards. So you can see in the middle row loads of leg room to stretch out in loads of headroom as well. I'Ve got a nice cup holder up here and another door bin for a bottle there's a usb port down here, but there is also, if you look a couple of usb ports on the back of the seat as well, along with a 12 volt socket. Now these middle row seats can also slide very far forwards to maximize the room available behind it. If you want to be extremely generous to those sat behind you and they can also recline pretty far back as well in the very back of the kia sorento, you still have a lot of room there's plenty of leg, room really for a third row seat and Headroom is only a problem if you want to sit right back and up straight because then you will feel your head on the roof lining if you're of an adult size, but really this is certainly comfortable enough for long journeys.

Even if you are around six foot tall, so very few cars can offer that kind of space in the back and when you compare it to a discovery, sport or a 5008, they are much more cramped in these seats. You also have these trays up here and some air conditioning, which is very helpful in the back, as well as some usb ports plus it's great, that all these seats are very easy to move because of the extra buttons around to help there's, not much of a Load lip to contend with when loading items into the sorrento's, cavernous boot and the load area is a usefully square shape, with recesses for extra width right at the back of the car in five seat mode, there's at least as much space for luggage as there is In the 5008, both fit up to 10 carry on suitcases below their tonneau covers, even when the third row of seats are in use, there's space in the sorrento for a couple of carry on suitcases, but the old kia sorrento was also an extremely practical car. It was just in other areas where it didn't all quite add up to make it a class leader like the interior, which had good fit and finish, but it certainly was looking pretty dated by the time it went off sale with the new sorrento, just like the Exteriors had a radical makeover, so has the interior, so you have this kind of space, age layout and actually it's really helpful having things quite high up on the dashboard, because it means it's within really easy reach for the driver, and not only does it look quite Appealing but the build quality is decent as well all feels robust and sturdy.

The materials are mostly pretty good, although further down on the center console here, this area does feel and look a little bit cheaper. So it might not quite be a class leading interior, because, if you think for the money, you could also have a discovery. Sport, which just feels like a step up in plushness, but it is still very impressive in this entry level trim, you get an eight inch touchscreen with apple carplay and android, auto the graphics, aren't, the sharpest, but the screen responds quickly to prods and it's a bit Better in that regard to the peugeot 5008 system, that also has air controls hidden within the touchscreen, whereas here in the sorrento, you get easy physical controls, but there are still some slightly fiddly touch sensitive buttons to control. Some of the other functions go for three trim and you get a bigger 10.3 inch screen with sharper and more attractive graphics, but whichever one you go for it's, one of the best systems in the class all versions also get a 12.3 inch. Digital driver display with sharp graphics and the driving position is properly high up what's. The sorrento like on the road we'll start with the engines now we're in the hybrid, which gets a 1.6 litre, petrol engine, an electric motor and a tiny battery, and it has 226 brake horsepower, which sounds like a fair amount. But this is a big heavy car that weighs more than 2 000 kilograms, so acceleration is brisk rather than rapid, but still it's, certainly strong enough for motorway journeys and the electric motor gives a bit of zip off the line which you do notice around town.

The only slight drawback is the automatic gearbox, which does tend to dither around if you want a quick burst of acceleration, it's fine for the most part, but on the motorway. If you're just at a steady cruise – and you want a bit more pace, then even then it will kind of hunt around for a gear finally decide on one and the process just takes a bit longer than would be ideal, but still it's, not enough to detract From what is a pretty good car in terms of performance there's also a really strong 2.2 litre diesel engine, which offers the same amount of power as this hybrid, but because it's so much stronger from low down in the rev range. It means you don't have to work that engine quite so hard to get the same level of performance as you would from this hybrid. Obviously not everyone's going to want a diesel engine right now. But if you do a lot of miles, it's, definitely worth considering compared to its rivals. The sorrento can match the punchiest versions of the 5008, but it's worth knowing that the kodiaq and the discovery sport have a broader engine lineup with some engines that are more powerful than what the sorento offers it's worth. Knowing that the diesel has an impressive 2500 kilogram. Maximum towing capacity, and if you go for a three or four trim sorrento, you get self leveling rear suspension, which is especially handy for towing.

The towing capacity does, though, drop to 1 650 kilograms in the hybrid. The sorrento also offers a really nice ride to get the best from it, though. You want to go for two trim, because that gives you the smallest wheels, which are the 17 inch alloys that we're riding on now. And if you go for the higher trim levels and the bigger wheels, then the difference in ride is more around town, where the sorrento just feels a bit more fidgety and unsettled. But no matter what one you go for. It'S a really nicely controlled ride, with no kind of unwanted float for such a big car. You know you're not suddenly going to be bouncing up and down along these broken back roads here, it's really well controlled, very well planted, especially on the motorway, it's really comfortable. So you can totally imagine loading this car up with seven people doing a very long journey and everyone feeling comfortable along the way. So the sorrento is great on the road and massive inside. But what else do you need to know it's very good, but it isn't cheap, four wheel drive comes as standard there's, no wedi engines and all the trim levels are very well equipped, so the starting price is higher than the 5008, the kodiaq and even the discovery. Sport it's also relatively expensive, on a monthly pcp finance deal as well. The diesel is a very good engine in the sorrento. If you're going to be doing lots of miles, but the hybrid is the better pick.

Overall, we managed to get 38 miles per gallon in real world driving conditions. No sorrento is badly equipped. Even 2 trim gets you 17 inch, alloys, dual zone, climate control, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and adaptive cruise control. We'D stick with this trim. You can't add any options either apart from metallic paint. Sorrento ownership has a good chance of being relatively stress free, because kia has a fantastic reliability record and every sorrento comes with their class leading seven year warranty. So the kia sorento is a brilliant massive, large suv. That'S good on the road and nice inside, if you need a really seriously big suv, then look no further to read more on the sorento go to whatcarl.com, where you can also save thousands of your next new car and if you've enjoyed this video, make sure you Give it a like do, let us know what you think of the car in the comments below and please subscribe to our channel, because we'll have new car reviews coming out.