Today, a study in high-mileage contrasts from Kia, demonstrating that not all vehicles are necessarily cut out for work in the High Country – or, perhaps, that full-blown EVs are not always the only answer.

A little more than a year after Kia brought the national launch of its Sorento SUV to Devil’s Thumb Ranch in Tabernash, Kremmling and the northern tip of Summit County, I retraced that route with both the 2025 Kia K4 subcompact sedan and the 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid, which I had back-to-back.

The K4 is one of the newest models in the company’s expansive lineup, a futuristic-looking and inexpensive vehicle whose name replaces the Forte. Like the newest Honda Civic, its primary competitor, the K4 does not look or even feel like its previous iterations, with ample and substantial space for five provided by a 107-inch wheelbase and 185 inches of overall length.

Its swept and angular style literally looks like a mix of modern Audi and Volvo shapes, with a long, swept hatchback rear end and cross-cabin brake lamps, uniquely angular and chrome-infused rear glass with rear door handles hidden in the glossy black upper window frame. 

Like the Sorento, it features loads of LED outline lamps up front and a triple-stacked array of headlamps. Inside, it’s equally stylish, with an ultra-wide pair of 12.3-inch digital instrument panels and touchscreens across the dash and a contrast-colored, almost rectangular steering wheel. Cabin air controls have permanently migrated to that screen but you might initially miss them, as they end up partially obscured behind the right side of the wheel. Thin, hard-backed front seating with futuristic-shaped headrests also provide more rear passenger legroom and visibility.

In pre-tariff America, K4 was posed as a bargain, with its most basic model retailing for just over $23,000, and the fancier and sportier-styled GT-Line model I drove priced at $28,000. The K4 lacks any optional all-wheel drive in any of its trims and is FWD only.

My advice for any interested parties in Colorado is to spend some extra money and seek out the GT-Line Turbo ($29,000 base price), as it replicates this vehicle’s looks but also adds a 190-horsepower 1.6-liter turbocharged engine and an authentic eight-speed transmission.

The K4 I drove had the standard 147-hp 2.0-liter four-cylinder and a one-speed continuously variable transmission, and while this was fine for cruising flat terrain along US 40, my trip eastbound up to the Eisenhower Tunnel was maybe the most power-challenged voyage I’ve had in any vehicle in over a decade. The engine’s meager 132 lb-ft of torque simply can’t comfortably handle high-altitude inclines at all, though smoother terrain can help it earn up to 40 mpg on the highway.

More promising for mountain use was the new hybrid rendition of the Sorento, a 190-inch-long, three-row SUV whose overall size is comparable to that of the always-hard-to-get Telluride SUV. It also makes a legitimate and more versatile case against the similarly sized, 197-inch-long EV9 all-electric SUV.

I got to drive the top-of-the-line SX Prestige model with standard AWD, with a pre-tariff base price of $47,000 and a final price that was $2,000 more, including the upscale powder blue interior leather color, plus carpeted floor and cargo mats. In its most basic form, the hybrid is available for about $39,000.

Curiously, while the Sorento Hybrid packs only 227 combined horsepower, just 80 more than the base K4 engine, it did not have a single uphill power problem during my subsequent mountain outings last weekend. 

The hybrid system here combines a 177-hp rendition of Kia’s 1.6-liter turbo-four with an electric motor and battery system, producing a pleasant 258 lb-ft of hill-climbing torque. And, 37 overall mpg for me (three higher than its city/highway/combined EPA numbers), as well as dips into the very high 40s during my less aggressive drive home on US 285. 

There’s a third option, that being the $49,000 plug-in hybrid version of the Sorento, which boosts overall power to 261-hp and gives the vehicle a fully electric range of just over 30 miles.  

The regular Sorento Hybrid offers four driving modes via a knob in the center console I kept mistaking for the volume control – there’s also a very Genesis-styled rotating gear knob – though you may tangibly feel the hybrid power trade-offs during in-town driving. In some circumstances, the Eco mode allows you to dial up stronger regenerative braking downhill with the paddle shifters, and in Sport mode, you get full control of the six-speed automatic transmission.

Again, it’s a beautifully rendered automobile, with chrome highlights on the windows and lower doors, triple-stacked headlamps and a spacious layout. A low dash is again dominated by the two-foot-wide instrument/touchscreen combo, and a busy center console features loads of black gloss and a hide-away phone charging tray and light-up USB ports, plus toggles for seat temperature. 

In this trim, there are two captain’s chairs in the second row and ample room, with a smaller third row designed for short trips.  

Andy Stonehouse’s column “Mountain Wheels” publishes Saturdays in the Summit Daily News. Stonehouse has worked as an editor and writer in Colorado since 1998, focusing on automotive coverage since 2004. He lives in Golden. Contact him at summitmountainwheels@gmail.com.