Revisiting Longer Range Test of Kia Sorento PHEV Sport Mode

In my initial test last year, going over the first of two mountain passes, Sport mode didn’t do what I thought it would do (add some extra charge to the battery), but I suspect that is because that first test was too short. The test basically turned into more of a test of the additional performance from the gas engine on a steep mountain drive, and on that note the Sorento PHEV proved to have more than sufficient power for the task. But because I really wanted to know if Sport mode might be able to be used in such a way as to get better fuel efficiency, I needed to keep testing, and I performed a 2nd test on the trip on a long stretch of flat to gently undulating highway. This time, my theory “proved” that Sport mode was not more efficient (in quotes because I don't consider that one test, or the two others I did before it, to be definitive). Because there are so many details that can affect one's fuel efficiency results though, this handful of tests I have done is only adequate for getting a general idea. Repeating this trip, and this time through going it toggling EV and HEV modes manually in one direction, and toggling between Sport mode and EV mode the other will hopefully give us a better reference (perhaps for results in demanding, higher altitude driving scenarios) and or more proof of the merits of one mode or the other when trying to get the best fuel efficiency. It will not be a perfect test, but it will give us more data.

My destination is once again, the beautiful Lake Chelan, which requires me to cross two mountain passes (Snoqualmie and Blewett), and a significant number of hills, to get to. In terms of challenging the capabilities of my Kia PHEV’s drivetrain, this trip is a good way to measure its fuel efficiency because all that hill climbing, mostly at freeway speeds, means I’ll use more gas and electricity than just driving around in the burbs. Here’s my results on the outbound trip, using up 6 miles of range at the start of the trip and then saving the remainder of the battery for slower, flatter or downhill sections of the 180 mile drive (using up the last of the battery’s charge a couple miles before we arrived). Miraculously, I was able to achieve about 44 MPG on outbound drive, besting my expectations by about 5 MPGs. Note, on this drive I had two adult passengers, about 250 pounds of cargo and my bare roof racks mounted (a slightly heavier load than in my previous tests). One thing that may have helped me get better than expected results was some heavy traffic on one of the passes. However, this was all on the downward slope, so it may have actually hurt my results since I may not have recaptured as much charge as I could have since I couldn’t coast as well as I otherwise would have for several miles. I’ll consider it a wash, but data is data.

For my return trip a couple days from now, I am going to toggle between Sport and EV mode the entire way home. I may end up taking a slightly different route home (to avoid the construction traffic that slowed us down on the drive over), but I will still be going over two mountain passes either way and driving on freeways almost the entire distance. Did I mention these tests aren’t perfect? 

Do you anticipate that I’ll beat my outbound results when I use Sport mode going home? Do you wonder why this even matters? Please leave any questions or comments below.

Images courtesy of Justin Hart.

Justin Hart has owned and driven electric vehicles for over 15 years, including a first generation Nissan LEAF, second generation Chevy Volt, Tesla Model 3, an electric bicycle and most recently a Kia Sorento PHEV. He is also an avid SUP rider, poet, photographer and wine lover. He enjoys taking long EV and PHEV road trips to beautiful and serene places with the people he loves. Follow Justin on https://www.torquenews.com/kia for regular electric and hybrid news coverage.