- The 2027 Kia Sorento plug-in hybrid now starts at $55,385—$5600 more than last year.
- The big price hike comes after Kia discontinued the PHEV’s entry-level EX trim, which started at $49,785 for the 2026 model year.
- For 2027, the Sorento PHEV is only available as the X-Line SX Prestige, and it now comes standard with a head-up display.
The Kia Sorento is one of the few mid-size SUVs that offers three distinct powertrain options. Along with gas-only and hybrid variants, with prices that start between $34,085 and $49,485, there’s a plug-in hybrid model that sits atop the pricing pyramid. And for the 2027 model year, the Kia Sorento PHEV’s cost of admission just went up by a significant amount, as it now starts at $55,385.
Of course, there’s a reason the plug-in hybrid Sorento’s starting price just jumped by $5600. It’s because Kia has discontinued the entry-level EX trim, which last year started at $49,785. Now, every version of the two-row family SUV is the top-of-the-line X-Line SX-Prestige trim (quite a mouthful, eh?). For only $400 more than its 2026 counterpart, this top-spec Sorento comes standard with a host of desirable features.
The X-Line SX-Prestige has a distinct appearance that’s highlighted by 19-inch wheels and Gun Metal trim on the bumpers, door bottoms, and grille. Inside, “X-Line” is embossed on the front seatbacks, and there’s machined wood trim. The SUV’s roster of standout standard features includes a 360-degree camera system, a semi-autonomous drive mode that Hyundai calls Highway Driving Assist 2, a leather interior, a microsuede headliner, ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, and a panoramic sunroof. New for 2027 is a standard head-up display, and Kia also replaced the Steel Gray paint color with Pale Gray.
Every 2027 Kia Sorento PHEV is powered by a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder and one electric motor, which together send 261 horsepower through a six-speed automatic transmission to all four wheels. While Kia hasn’t yet released EPA estimates for the ‘27 model, we expect it to maintain the same figures as before, so 33 mpg combined and an electric-only driving range of 30 miles.
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Eric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual '97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a '90 Honda CRX Si.