2021 Kia Sorento Hybrid: This is your ‘Green’ Car

As many of you know, I am not completely sold on electric cars. But, I do see the value in hybrid cars, which have come a long way since they first entered the mass market at the turn of this century. So, if being green is important to you, even a little, the 2021 Kia Sorento is definitely worth a look.

U.S. News and World Report ranks this years’ Sorento as tops in the Midsize SUV category. It has been completely redesigned for 2021, and I must say, I did enjoy driving it.

It’s a big car, to be sure. I think it’s a fine line between ‘midsize’ and ‘large’ SUV, so if you do rely on street parking, please keep that in mind. I tested the hybrid, as I mentioned, and mileage comes in at 39 city / 35 highway.   

Technically (again), the hybrid model is considered a small SUV.  It does indeed get crazy when trying to figure out just what category this year’s Sorento fits into. (This is why I always suggest you get in and test drive and not just order a new car online). For the gas-only models, you will average 23 city / 27 highway. 

The Sorento technically has a third row of seats, but, yeah, well……

The interior is really quite nice and the first and second row of seats have plenty of room, so, well, there you go! 

The base S trim comes standard with some really neat stuff like keyless entry, push-button start, six-speaker audio, power driver’s seat, simulated leather upholstery, roof rails, blind-spot monitoring, parking sensors (which I just love), forward collision mitigation, lane-keep assist and 17-inch wheels — to name a few.

It’s a sharp looking car, and as you can see, it gets attention. And, to be perfectly fair, even this ‘small SUV’ is pretty big. With the roof rails, I did not attempt to park it in an underground garage with a stated clearance of 6-feet-2-inches. The last thing I need is to damage the automatic lift-up gate and incur the wrath and bills from both Kia and the building management company.

I will admit, I am not a huge fan of the infotainment system that Kia has but it’s not all that bad. You have to go through a number of screens and use a certain logic that I apparently don’t possess.  Other manufacturers (Ford, GM, for example) have systems that are far more simple and so intuitive that all I have to do is whip it out and before you know it,  Harper Valley P.T.A.  (all 8 versions of the song that I know of) in all its glory is in the queue and ready to play. But, hey, you will be fine with Kia’s infotainment system once you get the hang of it.

Prices for the gas-only Sorento start at $29,390 US.  For the hybrid: $33,590 US. And IMHO, if you need a really big SUV, check out the Kia Telluride. It was lifesaver for me in 2019 when I got caught in a Rocky Mountain blizzard.  Wow, I am so glad I had it! It really is one of the best new vehicles to hit the market.

As always, please get in and test drive. I know it is so much easier to order online and have it delivered. But try to remember the last time you had a Door Dash or Uber Eats meal delivered that didn’t quite meet your expectations.