The first month with the hybrid Sorento has passed like a breeze, so we can share the interim results with you. The decisive factor is the consumption of gasoline and electricity, as well as the practical experience we gained during charging. In addition, January temperatures below zero tested how much energy we use for heating.
Unlike the Ford Kuga tested last year, the Kia Sorento is also sold as a diesel. Those interested can be on the lookout. The plug-in hybrid is 145,000 crowns more expensive, but at a price of 1.35 million crowns this may not be decisive. Even the EL signs that allow you to park in Prague for free have their price. In addition, some companies require the purchase of low-emission cars as part of green commitments. What awaits the user then?
The manufacturer indicates a usable battery capacity of 13.8 kilowatt-hours and a range of 57 kilometers per charge in the WLTP cycle, which results in an irresistible consumption of 1.6 l/100 km in the official tables. Probably no one believes in it, but the range turned out to be realistic. We achieved it even in hilly Prague.
A value of around 13.5 kilowatt-hours means energy taken from the grid. How much of it reaches the battery cells after losses in the converter and cooling cannot be determined from the on-board computer.
Less encouraging is the single-phase charging with a power of 3.6 kilowatts, which takes almost four hours. You will therefore get a full range when charging at home or at work. During an hour’s shopping, the Sorento will charge up to 15 kilometers. For some shorter stops, pulling out the cable isn’t even worth it.
Nevertheless, the first 45-liter tank of gasoline lasted us for a thousand kilometers of mixed traffic. We charged on average every eighty kilometers, which resulted in a consumption of 4.2 liters and 12.9 kilowatt-hours per 100 kilometers.
Did you expect less gas? We don’t anymore. That is, at the latest since last January, when we tested the Ford Kuga PHEV. It’s around zero outside, the car has to be heated, and all hybrids charged from the socket have a problem with that. If they heated only with electricity, their range would drop by another third and that would not be enough.
Therefore, even with a fully charged battery, the gasoline engine starts soon after starting to heat the water and help the electric element with the supply of heat to the cabin. When it’s running, it spins the generator at the same time and facilitates electric starts.
The heat consumption is logically the highest after the start, and thus the paradox arises that the plug-in hybrid has the highest consumption precisely on the short journeys for which it was designed. We tried it on a fifteen-kilometer route from Prague’s Kobylis to Liboca. At a temperature around zero, the computer showed a consumption of 3.5 l/100 km, at ten degrees 2.6. This is not much, but the total consumption of 4.2 liters already looks more favorable in this light.
In the following weeks, there were more long routes, so the average for the whole of January stabilized at 8.8 kilowatt hours of electricity and 5.9 liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers. These are not bad figures either, as well as driving around town with a fully charged car for 6.7 liters. Regeneration during braking and electric assistance during start-up are known.
Kia Sorento PHEV
Dimensions: 4810 x 1900 x 1700 mm
Engine: petrol 4-cylinder, 1598 cm3 + electric
Power: 132 kW at 5000 rpm + 67 kW
Torque: 265 Nm at 1500 rpm + 304 Nm
Battery: Li-Ion, 13.8 kWh
Charging: 3.6 kW, 3:45 hours
Electric range (WLTP): 57 km, in the city 70 km
Top speed: 193 km/h
Acceleration 0-100 km/h: 8.7 s
Volume of the luggage compartment: 693 / 2077 l
Price: from 1,354,900 CZK
The only thing the hybrid Sorento can’t excel at is driving on the highway. The combination of the aerodynamics of a tall SUV and a small gasoline engine under full load is reflected in the nine-liter consumption at 110 km/h. At one hundred and thirty, it rises to 10.4 liters.
Diesel eats at least one liter less on the highway, on the contrary, it is two liters thirstier in mixed traffic. But even electricity is not as cheap as it used to be. In our country, a kilowatt hour – mostly at public chargers – cost an average of 7.90 crowns.
In total, the 2,400 kilometers traveled in January cost 5,360 crowns in gasoline and 1,670 crowns in electricity. For a diesel with an eight-liter consumption, we could theoretically add 7,300 crowns, so the saving looks rather symbolic.
But unlike in the past, the difference in the purchase price is not that big either. If an annual card for Prague’s blue zone costs 30,000 crowns and the hybrid parks for free, then the diesel will lose its lead in five years.
