2021 Kia Sorento Hybrid: A Great Bear SUV

The Sorento Hybrid is an all-new model for 2021(what’s left of the year) and all around the reviewers’ desks, it is highly regarded as one of the better hybrid SUVs on the lot (as it were).

For starters –- and this is always important for our readers here at Bear World –- there’s lotsa interior room for you and your friends inside the 2021 Sorento, and the Hybrid is even more of a gem because the miles per gallon is estimated at 39 city / 35 highway (yeah, it took me awhile to adjust to the ‘reverse’ logic of a hybrid and mileage and how all that braking regeneration works and… oy!).

Trunk space for purchases and equipment is indeed ample. Mind you, this is an SUV with 3 rows of seats, so, well, yeah… Careful how you use that third row.

If you read all the literature about trunk space with the third row up, all you get is 12.6 cubic feet, but put everything down (literally, not in a Mean Girls way) and you get 75 ½ cubic feet to load ‘em up and move ‘em out. Always a good thing when you are trying to get where you are trying to get.  Wherever that may be.

There is quite a bit of standard equipment, all starting at $33,590 US (assuming you can actually find one in this current crazy car market): keyless entry, push-button start, power driver’s seat, heated front seats, six-speaker audio, roof rails, tinted rear windows, 8-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto — just to name a few.

Standard safety includes forward collision mitigation, lane-keep assist, parking sensors (admit it, bears, we all need these), driver-attention warning (and this too), and blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alerts.

Yes, men, this is indeed a good midsize SUV, but be careful: this could be a challenge to park. When we go out, we go out.  And we need room.  And sometimes, not everyone is on board, especially those who design parking spaces. Just saying’.

An update: the upcoming new car year is (surprise) going to be even worse than we thought it was going to be. Apparently, there is a shortage of all kinds of auto parts (including foam!), not just chips.  That means that prices will remain high for the foreseeable future and will continue to go higher.  Yikes.

What does that mean for you, the new car buyer?  I wish I had some good news for you.  It is supposed to get better by New Years.  Maybe.

Oy!