Kia Sorento hybrid models delayed

The Australian launch of the 2021 Kia Sorento hybrid models has been delayed again, with the revised arrival dates for the self-charging petrol-electric model and the more advanced plug-in hybrid (PHEV) now set back by more than a year since first announced.

Seen as a key rival to the all-new Toyota Kluger Hybrid that launched last month, the Kia Sorento Hybrid is now expected to arrive in February 2022, some 12 months beyond the original plan of early 2021.

The PHEV version of the latest Kia Sorento – which was crowned carsales’ 2020 Car of the Year – was also previously set for the first quarter of this year, only to have its launch date revised to around August before now blowing out to the final quarter of 2021.

“The Sorento PHEV is due quarter four, and the hybrid will be quarter one next year,” said a Kia Australia spokesperson today.

The related Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid was also slated for a mid-2021 launch, but has now been delayed until late this year at the earliest.

A spokesperson for Hyundai Australia said the seven-seat Santa Fe Hybrid is now set down for a late-2021 launch, but that could slip into 2022.

At this stage the spokesperson said there were no plans for the PHEV version, just the series/parallel ‘HEV’ model.

The non-plug-in Kia and Hyundai hybrid large SUVs are both powered by a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine (132kW/265Nm) augmented by a 44kW electric motor and a 1.5kWh lithium-ion battery for a combined output of 169kW/350Nm.

Using a six-speed automatic transmission, the 0-100km/h sprint takes 8.7 seconds and maximum towing capacity is listed at 1650kg in the European and Korean spec sheets, down on the 2.2-litre turbo-diesel models’ 2000kg tow limit.

Fuel economy is rated at 5.4L/100km for the Kia Sorento Hybrid based on specifications in New Zealand, where the model is already on sale.

The Kia Sorento PHEV uses a more potent 67kW electric motor and a denser 13.8kWh battery pack to deliver a pure-electric driving range of around 57km.

Peak power also rises to 195kW while torque remains the same at 350Nm, but it’s quicker off the line, accelerating from 0-100km/h in 8.4sec.

The Kia Sorento PHEV uses a conventional six-speed automatic transmission, has a 1500kg towing capacity and fuel consumption rated at a super-low 1.6L/100km, based on New Zealand data.

That compares favourably to the fuel use of the 2.2-litre turbo-diesel (6.1L/100km) and 3.5-litre petrol V6 (9.7L/100km) models sold in Australia.

Fully recharging the Sorento PHEV with a completely depleted battery is claimed to take around five hours via regular household power point, down to around three hours with a modest 3.3kW wall charger.

The plug-less hybrids are available in front- and all-wheel drive, while the PHEV is exclusively AWD.

Local pricing and specs are still to be released, but the Hyundai and Kia hybrid models could add a significant premium of around $4000 over equivalent diesel models, which are priced between $49,850 and $64,070 for the Sorento and $48,200 and $65,200 (all plus on-road costs) for the Santa Fe.

The Sorento PHEV will attract an even bigger premium.