You know an ascent is going to be tricky when it's called 'Hell's Gate'.
This is the name that off-roaders have handed to one of the toughest sections of the most aggressive pieces of 4x4 real estate at Moab in Utah. It's called 'Hell's Revenge', and it's supposedly not recommended for stock vehicles.
They sure love their hell references in Utah.
It's exceedingly easy these days to be cynical of marketing exercises in the motoring space, but from the outset this Kia Sorento promotion seems transparent and innocent enough. Take one stock Kia Sorento SX Limited, add all-terrain tyres and a skid plate underneath the oil pan, and disconnect the sway bars ... then see how it does (with a bit of help from a few Moab experts and spotters).
Do new tyres and protection for the skid plate mean it's no longer stock? Maybe another question for another day...
The Sorento doesn't get through things unscathed, as its overhangs crunch on errand rocks and dips in the trail. But, after some labouring (and I suspect a whole heap of editing) it gets up to the top of Hell's Gate.
If the apocalypse happens tomorrow, it's nice to know that this SUV epidemic has injected the world with some incredibly capable cars — even at the most daddy-day-care of levels.