The interior seat and trim color is a lovely contrast to the black and silver of the trim, even if the front is a bit busy with its design. The other facet of the X-Line is the additional level of luxury for the interior, and you can see it in this dash photo: The Hybrid? I saw 38.4mpg, a much more pleasant number when gas prices are going up. The cost is that fuel efficiency for this model is pretty poor, barely 22mpg in my experience, though it’s rated 21/28.
Generally speaking, the Sorento will surprise drivers who are expecting an underpowered Kia experience. This is a surprisingly peppy drive too, and I was impressed by its performance from a stop after having driven a number of cars that were sluggish getting up to speed. If you want to use the padel shifters, you can too, of course, though I suspect almost no-one does in anything other than a true sports car. The X-Line is powered by a 2.5L turbo engine and 8-speed automatic transmission. There’s also a medallion on the very back of the vehicle too, as you’ll see in a later photo. Also note the “X” just below the side mirror that’s how you can tell it’s an X-Line model (though you aren’t likely to see too many on the road). Most of the external details are upgraded for the X-Line, as I mentioned, including the wheels, bumpers, roof rack, mirrors and lots of other elements that you can only see inside the vehicle. Let’s start with the exterior of the 2021 Kia Sorento X-Line AWDin “Aruba Green”: My assessment was that “there’s a lot to like with this six-passenger hybrid SUV… definitely one to add to your shortlist if you’re in the market for a family SUV or just like the idea of being in a bigger vehicle while still getting very good fuel efficiency, all at a reasonable price.” While there’s no question that fuel efficiency dropped precipitously with the jump from Hybrid to X-Line, the X-Line Sorento really is a solid SUV option that demonstrates how Kia has mastered the art of a luxury performance vehicle in the last few years. I drove a Kia Sorento a few weeks ago, the 2021 Kia Sorento Hybrid SX, and really liked it. Why? Because the X-Line package takes a very nice SUV and makes it a category winner, a fast, fun, and very comfortable drive with more smarts and safety features than just about any other car on the market. That X-Line had been pre-ordered months earlier. It’s also semi-mythical at this point because of how incredibly popular this trim level is with Kia fans the local Colorado Kia dealer just told me that there isn’t a single X-Line unit for sale in the entire state and that the dealership has only ever seen one. It’s the top of the line for every component on the vehicle, from bumpers to mirrors, pedals to roof rails. Go to the Kia Motors Web site, check out the Sorento lineup and you’ll find that there are a lot of trim levels, ranging from LX, to S, EX, SX and SX Prestige, but the one trim level that isn’t listed is the “X-Line”.