2023 Kia Sorento Hybrid Gets New SX-P Trim Level, Priced $43,685

Those who want the Kia Sorento Hybrid 2023 model will have to pay a little more than last year. The trim level shuffling takes the SUV well beyond the $40,000 mark while also increasing the base MSRP by $2,500.

New for 2023 is the Sorento Hybrid SX Prestige, or SX-P for short. It serves as the flagship of the line, featuring standard edition all-wheel drive with center locking differential. The high-end SX-P also gets standard 17-inch alloy wheels, leather seats, second-row captain seats, a powerful rear liftgate, a high-end Bose stereo system, and a 12.3-inch instrument cluster, among others.

In terms of technology, the SX-P has navigation-based cruise control, a 360-degree camera, and is equipped with Kia’s Drive Wise driver assistance suite. That includes lane-keep assist, forward collision warning with emergency braking, blind spot and rear traffic collision avoidance assistance, and radar cruise control. Passenger systems such as safe egress assistance and rear passenger warning are also part of the package, and in fact, this suite is standard on all Sorento slashed.

Speaking of other trims, there are still two. With the addition of the SX-P, the entry-level S trim is gone. The EX is now the new entry point for Sorento Hybrid buyers, which is the reason for the aforementioned $2,500 base MSRP increase. The price of the EX has gone up $500 year over year – not a huge jump and it comes with an 8-way front passenger seat. There are also frameless mirrors.

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All 2023 Kia Sorento Hybrids have the same 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine connected to a 44 kilowatt electric motor. The combined output is 227 horsepower (169 kW) and 258 pound-feet (350 Newton-Meters) of torque. It reaches the wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission, driving the front wheels of the EX with optional all-wheel-drive.

The facelifted Kia Sorento is expected to arrive in 2024.