Kia Sorento Hybrid To Be Priced Well Above Mahindra XUV 7XO
The seven-seater SUV segment in India has seen a lot of action in the last five years. We have SUVs like the Hyundai Alcazar, Kia Carens & Clavis, and also the Mahindra XUV 7XO and Tata Safari. After the mid-size SUV segment, this is one segment where we have seen a rise in demand, and Kia also wants to join this bandwagon with their latest SUV, the Sorento, which is expected to be launched in the market this year. However, we have now learned that Kia is aiming to position the upcoming Sorento as a premium product and it might be priced above the Mahindra XUV 7XO.
Kia Sorento is going to be a new product for the Indian market; however, it is already on sale in many other markets. The Sorento, when it comes to India, will see a few changes, maybe on the outside and also on the mechanical front.
Kia might make minor changes to the exterior of the Sorento to give the SUV a fresh look and also to make it suitable for Indian conditions. As mentioned above, this is going to be a premium SUV, and we expect to see features like a larger touchscreen infotainment system, a fully digital instrument cluster, a panoramic sunroof, electrically adjustable seats, seat ventilation probably for both the front and second-row seats, leatherette upholstery, a multi-function steering wheel, cruise control, Level 2 ADAS, connected car features, multi-zone climate control, and so on.
Internationally, the Kia Sorento is available with a variety of engine options. There is a 2.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, a 1.6-litre turbo petrol hybrid engine, and a 2.2-litre diesel engine on offer. It also gets AWD as a feature in many markets. In India, however, things are going to be different. At the moment, we know that the Sorento will be the first SUV in Kia’s line-up to get a hybrid powertrain, and it will not be the same as the international versions.
Kia will drop the 1.6-litre turbo HEV engine seen in the international version and offer a brand-new strong hybrid engine based on the 1.5-litre NA petrol engine specifically designed for the Indian market.
Whether we will be getting a regular petrol or diesel engine is something that we may have to wait and watch. The strong hybrid petrol engine in the Sorento’s Indian version will be offered with an automatic transmission only. Kia might offer AWD as it is being positioned as a premium model. The power and torque figures of this new 1.5-litre hybrid engine for India are not known at the moment.
This is going to be the most important aspect that most people would be interested in. Kia is known to offer or launch products at an aggressive price tag. The Sorento is likely to follow the same path. The Sorento 7-seater SUV will rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV 7XO and Tata Safari in the segment. However, Kia is probably going to launch the SUV at a slightly higher price than its rivals.
At the moment, the Mahindra XUV 7XO starts at Rs 13.6 lakh, ex-showroom, and goes all the way up to Rs 24.92 lakh, ex-showroom. The Hyundai Alcazar, which is a seven-seater SUV from Hyundai, Kia’s sister company, is offered at Rs 14.50 lakh, ex-showroom, and goes all the way up to Rs 21.20 lakh, ex-showroom.
The Kia Carens Clavis, which is an MPV styled like an SUV, is also a seven-seater vehicle that falls in this same segment. It is actually offered at a much lower starting price than the Alcazar, and the top-end variant of the Carens Clavis costs around Rs 20.71 lakh, ex-showroom.
Now Kia will have to price the upcoming SUV very cautiously because they already have a product in this segment. The Sorento will be slightly bigger than its rivals, and it will be offered with a spacious cabin and premium features.
The SUV is sold internationally in the Rs 29–31 lakh price segment. In India, we expect the Kia Sorento to be priced a bit more aggressively as we would be getting a smaller engine and probably missing out on a few features that the international versions get.
There is also a possibility that Kia will offer the Sorento hybrid only in limited, feature-rich variants in order to justify the price. Looking at all the factors, we feel that the Kia Sorento Hybrid will have a starting price of somewhere around Rs 15 lakh and go all the way up to Rs 29 lakh, ex-showroom.