- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 7 seats
- Engine
1.6T/44kW Hybrid, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
213kW (comb), 264Nm
- Fuel
Hybrid (91) 5.4L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
7 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
5/5 star (2020)
2024 Kia Sorento GT-Line Hybrid review
Buyers are snapping up hybrid vehicles at an unprecedented rate, so can a refreshed Kia Sorento hybrid capture a slice of the market?
2024 Kia Sorento GT-Line Hybrid
While electric vehicles have been grabbing all the headlines, it’s hybrid cars that are the real quiet achievers of the new car sales charts.
Simply, more people are buying hybrid vehicles of all kinds than ever before. As sales of petrol-powered cars continue their downward trend, and as electric vehicle sales have seemingly plateaued for now, hybrid vehicles of all shapes and sizes are enjoying unprecedented growth.
So far this year, Australians have bought over 80,000 hybrids, representing an increase of 113 per cent when compared with the same time last year. It’s into this arena that the 2024 Kia Sorento HEV GT-Line (to give it its full and proper title) enters the battle.
Like the broader Sorento range, the Kia Sorento hybrid has benefitted from a midlife update that not only brings some dramatic exterior design changes, but also technology and equipment upgrades, ensuring the brand’s seven-seater family SUV stays fresh and contemporary in a competitive segment.
So will it pay off? And is the Kia Sorento GT-Line Hybrid any good? Let’s find out.
How much is a Kia Sorento?
The Kia Sorento hybrid vaults straight to the top of the broader Sorento range, both in terms of pricing and specification.
Kia offers just a single highly specified GT-Line variant, albeit with the option of either front- or all-wheel drive.
Pricing starts at $70,330 for the front-wheel-drive hybrid (which is the SUV we are testing here) and $73,330 for all-wheel-drive models. All prices are before on-road costs.
That pricing represents a near-$5000 premium over non-hybrid GT-Line models in the Sorento range, the GT-Line petrol front-wheel drive starting at $65,590 (plus on-road costs), while the GT-Line diesel all-wheel drive asks for $68,590 before on-road costs.
As you’d expect of a range-topping model, the equipment list is long and big on premium touches.
Standard equipment highlights include heated and cooled front seats and a heated steering wheel, heated outboard seats in the second row, keyless entry and start, 19-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, panoramic sunroof, and nappa leather upholstery.
Tech highlights include a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen, wireless (and wired) Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation, a 360-degree surround-view camera, a 12.3 digital instrument display, and a premium Bose 12-speaker sound system.
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A comprehensive suite of advanced safety and driver assist systems, set out in detail later in this review, is also included.
Large seven-seat SUVs that are also hybrid are thin on the ground. There’s the venerable but arguably ageing Toyota Kluger and Kia’s sister brand, Hyundai, has just launched three new hybrid models in its updated Santa Fe range.
The Kluger hybrid has long been a mainstay in this category, so much so that earlier this year the Toyota axed all non-hybrid variants from the range. Pricing for the hybrid-only Kluger range starts at $60,920 and tops out at $82,860 plus on-road costs for the range-topping Grande. All are all-wheel drive.
The all-new Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid range undercuts its Kia sibling, starting at $55,500 for the entry-level two-wheel-drive model and maxing out at $75,000 for the all-wheel-drive Calligraphy variant, before on-road costs. A left-field choice might be the GWM Tank 500 Hybrid that comes in two trim levels, the Lux 4x4 from $66,490 drive-away or the all-you-can-eat Ultra 4x4 priced from $73,990.
Key details | 2024 Kia Sorento GT-Line Hybrid FWD |
Price | $70,330 plus on-road costs |
Colour of test car | Mineral Blue |
Options | Premium paint – $695 |
Price as tested | $71,025 plus on-road costs |
Drive-away price | $76,697 (Sydney) |
Rivals | Hyundai Santa Fe | GWM Tank 500 | Toyota Kluger |
How big is a Kia Sorento?
The Kia Sorento looks bigger in the metal than its actual dimensions suggest. Stopping the tape at 4815mm long, 1900mm wide and 1700mm high, and on a wheelbase of 2815mm, the Sorento is actually the shortest – in length – among its immediate competitive cohort.
For context, the GMW Tank 500 measures in at a mammoth 5078mm, while the Toyota Kluger falls just short of the five-metre mark at 4966mm. Even the Sorento’s erstwhile twin under the skin Hyundai Santa Fe, at 4830mm, is a touch longer than the Sorento.
But despite giving way millimetres to its main rivals, the Sorento still offers a good amount of space inside in the first two rows.
Kia has certainly thrown the full catalogue of nice things at the Sorento’s interior. There’s leather seating with contrast stitching and piping that looks sharp. The seats are heated and cooled, power-adjustable up front, and after spending a week behind the wheel, they're very comfortable on longer drives.
There’s plenty of storage too with a large central bin with a nicely padded lid, cupholders, good-sized door pockets that can hold water bottles and the like, and the obligatory glovebox.
Kia hasn’t scrimped in the second row either, with seat heating for the outboard seats, separate air vents, a fold-down armrest, some USB charging points, and cupholders in the doors. There’s plenty of space back here too, especially if no one is occupying the third row.
The second-row seats do slide fore and aft to free up some much-needed space in the third row, although it comes at a cost in terms of passenger comfort. Still, that’s the trade-off in having a seven-seater, where with a full load on board, not everyone will be luxuriating in business-class comfort.
Access to the third row is easy with a one-touch button that moves the second-row backrests and slides the base forward to open up an aperture that is easy to manoeuvre through.
Once ensconced in the third row, there’s seating for two, and while it remains acceptable back there in terms of space for an adult, it really is a place best reserved for kids or folks of smaller stature. My 10-year-old was perfectly comfortable back here, and actually preferred sitting in the third row even when row two was empty, but I suspect she just wanted to be as far away as possible from me and my silly dad jokes. She’s at that age.
Amenities in row three run to controls for fan speed (nice) as well as air vents, USB ports and cupholders.
A powered tailgate provides easy access to the Sorento’s cargo area which, with all three rows of seating in place, measures in at 179 litres. Folding the third row away via one-touch buttons located in the boot frees up a total of 608L, while turning the Sorento into a de-facto van by stowing the second row of seating liberates a total of 1996L in cargo capacity.
And Kia should be congratulated for equipping the Sorento with a full-size alloy spare wheel, increasingly rare in today’s new car landscape.
2024 Kia Sorento GT-Line Hybrid FWD | |
Seats | Seven |
Boot volume | 179L to third row 608L to second row 1996L to first row |
Length | 4815mm |
Width | 1900mm |
Height | 1700mm |
Wheelbase | 2815mm |
Does the Kia Sorento have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?
Twin 12.3-inch screens, housed inside a single widescreen frame, host the Sorento’s infotainment and digital driver's display. And straight off the bat, it’s a cracking set-up with an easy-to-use interface, crisp graphics, and a wealth of features and functions that make living with the Sorento a breeze.
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, both wired and wireless, are standard and the integration of smartphone mirroring is faultless. It’s quick to pair to your phone and the connection remained stable throughout our time with the Sorento.
Satellite navigation is standard as is digital (DAB) radio, while niceties like ambient lighting and Sounds of Nature audio tracks provide a calming environment in the cabin, if that’s your thing.
A 12-speaker premium Bose audio system offers decent sound clarity for when you want to blast some tunes on long road trips.
The 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster provides a wealth of driving and trip data, augmented by a crisp colour head-up display that projects crucial driving information, such as speed and traffic sign recognition, directly onto the windscreen.
A small, slimline touch panel housed under the air vents in the dash serves two masters. One, it’s the Sorento’s climate-control hub where you can adjust temperature settings, fan speed, and turn on seat heating. But, press the little up arrow icon and it transforms into a shortcut menu bar for the 12.3-inch infotainment screen, making it easier to access critical functions like satellite navigation or the home screen. It’s a clever use of technology.
And perhaps after listening to too many car reviewers decrying the gradual disappearance of physical knobs and dials, the Sorento is fitted with volume and tuning dials. That’s if the shortcut menu bar is selected on that slimline touchscreen. Toggle it back to climate controls (by pressing the small fan icon) and the dials now allow you to control fan speed and temperature settings.
It’s a clever meld of digital technology and analogue practicality, and for us, one of the real highlights of the practical and functional cabin.
Keeping devices charged up and connected are six USB-C points, two each in the front, second and third rows. The are also two 12V power outlets, one in the centre console and one located in the cargo area, while a wireless charging pad provides even more options for those running low on battery juice.
And as part of this 2024 update, Kia has introduced Kia Connect to the GT-Line, an app-based system that allows remote access to the Sorento via your smartphone. It can be used to switch on climate controls remotely, lock or unlock the doors, provided fuel information, preload route guidance in the Sorento’s sat-nav and even start the engine.
Is the Kia Sorento a safe car?
All variants of the Kia Sorento, including the updated hybrid models, wear a five-star ANCAP safety rating awarded under 2020 testing criteria.
It scored 82 per cent for adult occupant protection, 85 per child occupant, 63 per cent vulnerable road user, and 89 per cent for its safety assist systems.
2024 Kia Sorento GT-Line Hybrid FWD | |
ANCAP rating | Five stars (tested 2020) |
Safety report | ANCAP report |
What safety technology does the Kia Sorento have?
Kia hasn’t scrimped on safety in the Sorento, the entire range benefitting from the Korean brand’s full gamut of advanced driving assist and safety technologies.
Bundled into the Sorento are autonomous emergency braking (with car, pedestrian, cyclist, and junction assist), lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, blind-spot camera view that projects images from behind the car into the digital instrument cluster, driver attention monitoring, parking collision avoidance assist (reverse), rear cross-traffic assist, lane following, speed sign recognition, and adaptive cruise control.
The systems work nicely too, and not overly intrusive like some systems we’ve experienced across a range of brands.
Airbags cover the first two rows of occupants including a front-centre airbag that deploys between the front seats and protects against head clashes between front-seat occupants in the event of an accident. However, it’s worth pointing out there is no airbag coverage for those seated in the third row.
For those with little kids, there are four ISOFIX child seats anchors (two each in the second and third rows), as well as a total of five top-tether mounts.
Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) | Yes | With pedestrian, cyclist, junction assist |
Adaptive Cruise Control | Yes | With stop-and-go function |
Blind Spot Alert | Yes | Includes alert, camera view, and collision avoidance |
Rear Cross-Traffic Alert | Yes | Alert and assist functions |
Lane Assistance | Yes | Lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, lane-centring assist |
Road Sign Recognition | Yes | Includes speed limit assist |
Driver Attention Warning | Yes | Includes fatigue monitor |
Cameras & Sensors | Yes | Front and rear sensors, 360-degree camera |
How much does the Kia Sorento cost to run?
Kia covers the Sorento with its standard seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, which remains among the best in the new car landscape.
Service intervals are every 12 months or 10,000km, whichever comes first. Those distance-based intervals are on the slim side in an era where 15,000km is the average. And that means, if you cover more than 10,000km per year driving, you’ll be visiting the service centre more than once per year.
Kia does offer capped-price servicing for the duration of the warranty period (seven years or 70,000km). The first three years or 30,000km will set you back a total of $1510. Things get a bit pricey after that, with years four and five asking for a total of $1458, while stretching your ownership out to the full seven years will add another $1577 to your total ownership costs.
All up, if you hang onto your Sorento hybrid for the full warranty period, you’re looking at a total of $4545 in maintenance costs, an average of around $650 every year or 10,000km.
For context, Toyota charges just $265 per visit to the workshop over the first five years, with intervals spaced at 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.
Comprehensive insurance for the 2024 Kia Sorento HEV GT-Line FWD costs $1698 per year based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male driver living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates will vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.
Using the same parameters, we ran the numbers on some of the Sorento’s rivals too, the Toyota Kluger Grande costing $1684 to insure, while the range-topping Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Calligraphy will set you back $1994 in annual insurance premiums.
At a glance | 2024 Kia Sorento GT-Line Hybrid FWD |
Warranty | Seven years, unlimited km |
Service intervals | 12 months or 10,000km |
Servicing costs | $1510 (3 years) $2968 (5 years) |
Is the Kia Sorento fuel-efficient?
Kia claims the Sorento HEV GT-Line in front-wheel-drive trim like we have here will use 5.4 litres per 100 kilometres of 91-octane regular unleaded on the combined cycle. All-wheel-drive models will use a little more, Kia quoting 5.7L/100km.
We couldn’t quite match Kia’s claim over our week with the big family hauler, a week spent over a variety of typical driving conditions – from suburban commuting to city traffic snarks and long highway lopes – we saw an indicated 6.2L/100km.
That dropped as low as 5.2L/100km following a long stint on the motorway, but crept up again once normal transmission on Sydney’s snarling streets resumed. The fuel tank measures in at 67L.
Fuel efficiency | 2024 Kia Sorento GT-Line Hybrid FWD |
Fuel cons. (claimed) | 5.4L/100km |
Fuel cons. (on test) | 6.2L/100km |
Fuel type | 91-octane regular unleaded |
Fuel tank size | 67L |
What is the Kia Sorento like to drive?
Let’s start with the basics. The Kia Sorento GT-Line hybrid is very good at doing what it says it will. The 1.6-litre inline four under the bonnet isn’t the most powerful engine on the block (on its own it makes 132kW and 265Nm), but it's helped along by a decent hybrid system that provides enough urgency when you need it along with decent fuel economy.
A small 44kW/264Nm electric motor bolsters total outputs to 169kW and 350Nm, and in tandem provides decent acceleration from standstill or while on the move for an overtake, say.
On its own, the electric side of the hybrid system will happily power the 1909kg (tare) Sorento in traffic, the happy hunting ground for hybrids in terms of maximising efficiency. When the petrol engine does kick in to do its share of the heavy lifting, the transition is smooth, almost imperceptible, the only giveaway being the telltale hum of combustion and a faint exhaust note.
It's an excellent hybrid system, whether powering the Sorento on battery juice alone or when assisting the petrol engine.
Out on the highway, and with the adaptive cruise control set to cruising speeds, the Sorento will mostly switch between both methods of propulsion depending on the conditions. On flat stretches in particular, the 1.6-litre petrol engine will power down and let the electric motor take over for short periods, only firing up again once the road inclines or when a burst of speed for an overtake is required.
It makes for a quiet and serene time in the cabin, the Sorento rarely feeling stressed, as if it’s working too hard.
The six-speed automatic transmission plays its part in keeping things smooth, with nicely calibrated gear shifts that never feel clunky or jerky. Instead, the transition between cogs is as smooth as butter.
When you need to kick it down a notch, for a burst of acceleration, the six-speed auto responds near instantly, shuffling back a cog or two and with the knack of intuiting which gear is the right one for the situation.
Kia has long invested in ensuring its Australian-delivered vehicles of any kind are suitable for our local road conditions. We’ve long been impressed by Kia’s local suspension tune that treads the line between comfort and dynamism with ease.
The good news here is that remains the case with the Sorento hybrid, which once again offers a commendable level of ride control, resulting in a comfortable driving environment.
Bump absorption remains impressive, the Kia ironing out small imperfections with ease while navigating larger obstacles, such as speed humps or unsighted potholes, with similarly cosseting comfort.
That body control is evident out on the road too, whether navigating roundabouts or driving along a stretch of winding country road. Despite its tall profile and large-size dimensions, the Sorento remains nicely poised with little in the way of body roll.
Steering is good too, with a nice lightness that never feels like you’re labouring too hard behind the wheel. That’s especially a boon around town and when parking. And a reasonably tight turning circle of 11.6m belies the Sorento’s overall size.
Key details | 2024 Kia Sorento GT-Line Hybrid FWD |
Engine | 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol |
Power | 132kW @ 5500rpm petrol 44kW electric 169kW combined |
Torque | 265Nm @ 1500–4500rpm petrol 264Nm @ 0–1600rpm electric 350Nm combined |
Drive type | Front-wheel drive |
Transmission | 6-speed torque converter automatic |
Power-to-weight ratio | 88.5kW/t |
Weight | 1909kg (tare) |
Spare tyre type | Full-size |
Payload | 629kg |
Tow rating | 1650kg braked 750kg unbraked |
Turning circle | 11.6m |
Can a Kia Sorento tow?
Kia says the Sorento hybrid is capable of towing up to 1650kg with a braked trailer or 750kg unbraked. That means you won’t be hauling your four+ berth caravan behind you any time soon, although a small boat, jet ski or box trailer with some bicycles or a load for the tip should be fine.
It’s worth bearing in mind, however, that the Sorento’s 629kg total payload includes any and all passengers, their luggage and anything else you pack, plus the downball weight of anything being towed (Kia doesn't supply a downball weight). That’ll fill up pretty quickly.
Should I buy a Kia Sorento?
The Kia Sorento HEV GT-Line ticks a lot of boxes for a large chunk of Australian new car buyers. At the top of the list is its hybrid drivetrain, which provides smooth, powerful and frugal motoring; the last unquestionably a priority for a lot of Australians in these financially constrained times.
Throw in a superlative list of standard equipment, an interior that nudges very close to the prestige players in the market, and it’s hard not to recommend the Kia Sorento hybrid.
If you’re in the market for a seven-seater hybrid-powered family hauler, the Sorento is definitely deserving of a place on your shortlist.
How do I buy a Kia Sorento? The next steps.
With the only choice to be made between front- or all-wheel drive, there’s not a lot of hand-wringing required when choosing which Sorento hybrid is right for you.
Unless you absolutely must have AWD for that extra peace of mind or for the ability to do some mild off-roading, we’d recommend the slightly more affordable front-wheel-drive variant.
Kia Australia says stock levels of the Sorento hybrid have improved in recent months and are now “sitting at around 80 to 100 per month (the pre-facelift model was around 20 per month). If you order one today, the wait time is approximately four months”.
If you want to jump the queue, you can check out dealer stock of new and used Sorentos on Drive Marketplace.
And if ongoing maintenance costs are a factor for you, we’d suggest taking the Toyota Kluger hybrid for a test drive. And the new Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is also worth having a look at.
If you want to find out more about the Kia Sorento, check out our latest news coverage.