There’s never been a better time for me to test snow mode in cars. Not only has it snowed multiple times in my area, but I also have a long history of testing cars in winter. Recently, I took the 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid out for a spin. The good news is that you should not take that word “spin” literally, because the Sorento worked much better than I expected.
It all started a few weeks ago when we were absolutely dumped on here in the Midwest. The last two winters have been incredibly light, to the point where I barely used my snowblower. Then, we had another blizzard and then another. It’s a winter wonderland.
The Sorento has a traction control system where you can easily switch to snow mode when you experience slick roads. It’s accessed with the click of a button.
The vehicle adjusts power delivery to lessen acceleration and reduce tire slip. The transmission also adjusts to make sure it is not being overly aggressive with gear shifts that can propel the car forward (which is nice for merging into traffic but is often the cause for fish-tailing).
I tested the 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid SX-Prestige AWD which also has good traction control and can monitor tires for slip as well, providing extra power to the tires that are not slipping to keep you on the straight and narrow (also known as, not driving into a snow bank).
I tested the Sorento several times during a week on a variety of roads. Near my house, there’s a windy road that was completely packed with snow and ice and the vehicle never slipped or lost traction. I gunned it a little on another road that was completely empty except for me and a few geese by a pond. Once again, the Sorento just kept going without any slip.
On a highway, the traction control is constantly monitoring for tire slip in ways you might not even realize. Basically, it is adjusting for any issues before they happen to keep the vehicle straight even if the ice and snow have other ideas.
I liked how the highway experience matched the side roads. The theme here is that snow mode worked exactly as I expected to the point where I wondered why every car doesn’t have this feature. It is becoming more and more common on many new cars. The problem is that it doesn’t always work, so I was impressed that the Sorento did a good job.
Would it work even in a heavy blizzard? I have a theory and a comment on that. First, no car on the planet can stay perfectly straight in every winter condition. There are times when any vehicle is going to slip. But I also feel there are some conditions when it is best to avoid driving altogether — as recommended by our state police just recently.
What snow mode does provide is peace of mind in normal winter conditions or if you do happen to get caught in a storm. The 2025 Kia Sorento offers a smart way to drive when the roads are not cooperative.