Key Points:
- The Kia Sorento’s range-topping SX Prestige trim gets a standard X-Line appearance package for the new model year.
- Up to 31 miles of electric range.
- The 2026 Kia Sorento Plug-in Hybrid has a base price of $49,735 (all prices include $1,445 destination charge).
Kia is betting it all on black, making its X-Line appearance package standard equipment on the highest trim levels across the Sorento lineup — gas, hybrid and plug-in hybrid. The 2025 plug-in hybrid’s range-topping SX Prestige trim is renamed X-Line SX Prestige for 2026 and embellishes the three-row SUV with dark-gray and black accents on the front and rear bumpers, window trim and wheels. Otherwise, there are no major changes to the Sorento PHEV for 2026, and the base price increases only $300 from 2025.
Related: 2024 Kia Sorento Review: There Isn’t Only 1 Highlander
Release Date and Pricing
The 2026 Kia Sorento Plug-In Hybrid is on sale now. Like the regular Sorento Hybrid, the PHEV is only available in two of the priciest, most luxurious of the gas-only Sorento’s trims, EX and X-Line SX Prestige. Pricing for the Sorento PHEV is as follows:
- EX: $49,735
- X-Line SX Prestige: $54,935
For comparison, the gas-powered Sorento starts at $39,735 and the Sorento Hybrid at $40,335.
Trim Levels
While Kia asks nearly $50,000 for the Sorento PHEV, the three-row SUV does come well equipped, even in entry-level EX form. The EX rides on 19-inch wheels and features LED front exterior lighting, heated side mirrors, a power liftgate, keyless entry and starting, and remote start. Its cabin is upholstered in synthetic leather and boasts a 10-way power-adjustable driver’s seat and eight-way power passenger seat (both heated), dual-zone automatic climate control, wireless phone charging, six speakers, and a 10.25-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Kia’s Drive Wise safety suite is standard on the 2026 Sorento PHEV, but the exact contents vary depending on trim level. In the EX, Drive Wise includes forward collision warning with pedestrian and bicyclist detection, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-centering steering, blind spot monitors, rear cross-traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors, a driver-attention monitor and automatic high beams.
Buyers who upgrade to the X-Line SX Prestige get the black exterior trim including black 19-inch wheels, plus rain-sensing windshield wipers, a panoramic moonroof, LED taillights and Digital Key 2.0, which allows owners to use a paired smartphone as the vehicle key and to remotely monitor the vehicle. Inside, the X-Line SX Prestige includes perforated leather upholstery, 14-way power driver’s and 10-way passenger seats with ventilation, a heated steering wheel, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12-speaker Bose surround-sound system.
For the X-Line SX Prestige, Kia adds forward cross-traffic alert, blind spot intervention, emergency steering assist, side parking sensors, reverse automatic braking, a 360-degree parking camera and blind spot cameras.
Read More About the Kia Sorento Lineup:
- How Do Car Seats Fit in a 2024 Kia Sorento?
- 2025 Cars.com Affordability Report: Best Value New Cars
- Which 3-Row SUVs Offer Captain’s Chairs?
- Automakers Respond Quickly to New IIHS Front Crash-Prevention Test
- Research the Kia Sorento Plug-In Hybrid
Powertrain Specs and MPG
The Sorento PHEV combines a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine with a potent electric motor to generate a total of 261 horsepower and 258 pounds-feet of torque. (That’s the same torque output as the Sorento Hybrid but an additional 34 hp.) Like the hybrid, the PHEV routes its power through a six-speed automatic transmission, but all-wheel drive is standard.
Kia says the 2026 Sorento PHEV can travel up to 31 miles on electricity alone and returns the same EPA-rated 33/33/33 mpg city/highway/combined as the 2025 model with its gas engine running.
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