2025 Kia Sorento EX Turbo Hybrid: Fettucine alfredo in SUV form
Have you cooked fetuccine alfredo lately?
It only has three major ingredients – fetuccine pasta, butter and parmesan cheese. Mix all these together with some hot pasta water, salt and pepper (no milk or cream, if we follow Italian tradition) and you have a light lunch when eaten on its own or a sumptuous meal when paired with chicken or fish.
Despite being one of the simplest pasta dishes in all of human history, fetuccine alfredo is also one of the most timeless – it is named after Roman restauranteur Alfredo Di Lelio, who would serve it tableside using a golden fork and spoon. However, the combination of pasta, butter and cheese in Italian cuisine dates back to, at least, the 15th century.
This delectable pasta recipe somehow came to mind after I sampled the all-new 2025 Kia Sorento EX Turbo Hybrid – this is the cheapest variant of the South Korean carmaker’s entry into the country’s midsize sport-utility vehicle (SUV) stakes, where ancient models like the Toyota Fortuner, Mitsubishi Montero Sport and Nissan Terra reign.
Sharp styling
Compared to its pickup-based rivals, the Sorento Turbo Hybrid features a much lower stance because of its unibody chassis.
The latest Sorento also gets styling cues shared with the EV9 battery-electric SUV and the absolutely excellent Carnival minivan, namely the powerful, upright LED headlights with LED daytime running lights that extend into the prominent “Tiger Nose” front grille. Silver trim on the lower bumper is a nice balance to the protective matte-black cladding.
But it’s the side profile where the Sorento really attracts attention – while its Japanese rivals look like wheeled townhouses, this big Kia uses its generous length and high beltline to express an elegance befitting such a large car. This is amplified by the silver trim on the fenders and the dramatic two-tone, 19-inch alloy wheels.
Out back, the two-bar LED taillights complement the kink in the rear-quarter window, while the rear windscreen is framed by the subtle spoiler and the large protrusion from the tailgate. Overall, the Sorento Turbo Hybrid is big without looking like a block or a blob.
Enormous interior
That aforementioned unibody chassis means this big Kia has a much lower floor than traditional body-on-frame SUVs.
This not only makes getting in and out considerably easier, but also results in the most spacious cabin in its class – five passengers can run a marathon inside (useful if you’ve had too much fetuccine alfredo). Meanwhile, the airy color palette is combined with soft-touch materials for a truly premium feel, although the extensive use of white cloth upholstery can be unnerving.
Speaking of the cloth trim, there really aren’t much toys in this entry-level variant – you get manual seats, a manual tailgate, no moonroof and no wireless charging pad. This puts the Sorento EX Turbo Hybrid in the same class as other lower-variant turbodiesel SUVs as the Fortuner V, Montero Sport GLS and Terra VE.
Despite this, it comes standard with a fully digital gauge cluster and a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system. The latter not only comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but also offers a level of clarity and responsiveness still unknown in the equivalent Toyota, Mitsubishi or Nissan.
Other nice features include the powerful dual-zone climate control with third-row fan controls, as well as the very crisp reversing camera with rear parking sensors. However, this big Kia falls short in its third-row accommodation – the rather low cushion makes for an uncomfortable seating position for anyone over 5 feet tall.
In other words, the Sorento Turbo Hybrid is on-par with its rivals by being more of a “5+2” seater rather than a full-bore seven-seater like the Geely Okavango. You do get a positively cavernous cargo area when you fold away the third row, which can be expanded further by the one-touch-folding, second-row seats.
Sparkling performance
Where the Sorento Turbo Hybrid absolutely sends its rivals into the weeds is its stellar hybrid powertrain.
The punchy 2.2-liter turbodiesel has been dropped, with all variants now packing a turbocharged 1.6-liter, twin-cam, 16-valve inline-4 gasoline engine mated to an electric motor. Combined output is a stout 232 horsepower and 367 Newton-meters of torque, coursed to the front wheels using a six-speed automatic transmission.
The turbocharger and traditional torque-converter gearbox mean two things – relentless, almost-instant acceleration across the entire powerband, as opposed to non-turbo hybrids and turbodiesels that lose power near the redline. Indeed, Kia needs to retune the front suspension because there is noticeable torque steer at full throttle.
But the South Korean carmaker can leave the rest of the suspension alone – it is easily the most supple among the midsize SUVs, working with the unibody chassis to offer a comfortable ride and secure cornering ability. At low speeds, Electric Vehicle Mode offers refined progress that would make you ditch diesel forever.
The fuel economy figures are quite interesting, too – we got a superb 13 to 16 kilometers per liter in the city, easily outdoing the turbodiesel competition that we once considered frugal. However, the 13 to 16 kilometers per liter that it got on the expressway was only average among the oil-burners.
Nonetheless, this is the finest hybrid-electric powerplant that I’ve ever tested as it finally combines electrified frugality with truly exciting performance. Adding confidence at speed are the strong brakes with a well-weighted pedal, as well as light and quick steering that could use more feel.
Sensible, yet sensational
Overall, the 2025 Kia Sorento EX Turbo Hybrid at P2,188,000 fares very well against its rivals.
The considerable price premium over the P1,899,000 Mitsubishi Montero Sport GLS, the P1,969,000 Nissan Terra VE and the P2,015,000 Toyota Fortuner V is justified by its unparalleled space, refinement, performance and fuel economy – no diesel clatter, juddering ride and prehistoric mechanicals here.
But at this price, I would have liked Kia’s excellent DriveWise advanced driver-assistance system as standard, as some may be swayed by the smaller P2,100,000 Honda CR-V V that offers 5+2 seating, full leather upholstery and the brilliant Honda SENSING active-safety suite.
A few ingredients executed well – this is what makes the 2025 Kia Sorento EX Turbo Hybrid the fetuccine alfredo of midsize SUVs. Delizioso!
