We have great news today out of Kia for anybody who was hoping the Sorento PHEV would make it to the U.S. It’s officially coming here as a 2022 model!
Kia was stingy on U.S. market information back when the Sorento PHEV was announced for Europe, declining to comment on the possibility of it coming here. We figured there was a fighting chance it would be announced for American consumption in our original post, and that prediction has come true today. Just like the European Sorento plug-in, our version will be making a combined 261 horsepower from its 1.6-litere turbocharged four-cylinder and electric motor. A six-speed automatic transmission will handle shifting duties, and It’s coming standard with all-wheel drive.
As for the electrics, Kia says it has a 13.8 kWh battery pack. An estimated 32-mile all-electric range is what Kia is claiming, but this is not the official EPA-tested number. We’ll have to wait for the official figures before making concrete comparisons, but if Kia can get it to 32 miles, that’s an impressive figure. With the combined strength of the battery and gasoline reserves, Kia says the car’s total range is about 460 miles.
That big battery pack comes with tax incentive advantages, too. Kia says the Sorento PHEV will be eligible for a $6,587 federal tax credit, which is excellent for a plug-in hybrid. Tha said, an actual price for the PHEV was not made available yet. Expect it to be on the higher side, as the PHEV will only be available in Kia’s higher SX and SX-P trim levels. That also means the three-row crossover will come standard with the second-row captain’s chairs with no bench seat available. Kia is keeping potential disadvantages like a smaller cargo capacity to itself for now, so we don’t know if/what the penalty will be for adding a giant battery yet.
As for when you can buy a Sorento PHEV, Kia says it’s planning on having vehicles begin to arrive in showrooms during the third quarter of this year. Detailed pricing is meant to come sooner to the car’s arrival.
Related video:
.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }
