The beloved Kia Sorento is coming to us hot and fresh out of the kitchen for 2021. Just about everything from toe to tip is new and improved for the 2021 Sorento. From a new style to an all-new electric platform, Kia is playing for keeps. Along with all the other newness of Sorento, there is also new pricing. 

The 2021 Kia Sorento is both more and less expensive

Motor1 reports, even that we can expect with all its new features, that the Kia Sorento will be more expensive than the previous model, the new base model is much more expensive. The cheapest base model Sorento is now $30,560, which is $2,450 more than the previous base model. 

There’s more here than meets the eye

It’s not as simple as Kia raising the prices. Previously, the L trim package was the cheapest, most basic verison of the Kia Sorento. That is no longer the case because Kia has scrapped the L trim, and now the base model starts with the LX. If you look at the predecessor’s cost, the LX has only gone up in price by $1,350. 

The strange pricing continues with the even higher trims, too. The new Kia Sorento S used to be powered by a peppy little 3.3-liter turbocharged V6. The new one ditched the cool motor for a pokier 2.5-liter naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine. As a result, the S trim is now $1,250 less than the previous year. 

So where should you land in this price mixup?

It would seem the 2021 Kia Sorento EX is the happy medium in this year’s model lineup. With a starting price of $36,160, the EX is $450 cheaper than last year’s version. This model also marks the cheapest entry point to the new 2.5-liter turbocharged motor. The flagship SX trim is $2,050 cheaper than last year’s model. So if you want to shoot for the top, you can actually save a little bread. 

New features for the 2021 Kia Sorento

There is an all-new look for the 2021 Kia Sorento. It seems like a mixture between the smaller Seltos and the K5. There is an angular truck-ness about it while still giving off a sporty sedan vibe. 

The interior 

The interior thankfully takes cues from the Kia K5, which sports the nicest interior of the entire lineup. There are quilted leather seats, brown leather, pops of silver throughout the dash, matte wood sections, and a 10.3-inch touchscreen infotainment unit. This is a proper up-scale interior. 

The 2021 Kia Sorento plug-in hybrid
Kia is promising a new powertrain option in the form of the new Turbo Plug-in Hybrid. The hybrid will get 27 mpg combined. The hybrid with the turbo will get 25 mpg. As hybrids two there are two power sources at work here, a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder with a 44-kilowatt electric motor and a 1.5-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery to generate 227 total horsepower. That should be enough power to boogie when you need to, all the while saving money on gas.