The Kia Sportage vary lastly has a hybrid choice to go up in opposition to the Toyota RAV4.
Actually, there are two petrol-electric hybrid (HEV) fashions to select from – the SX, and this one, the GT-Line, which is the sportier wanting and extra richly specified mannequin of the 2.
It has an intriguing turbo-petrol-hybrid setup, however solely comes with front-wheel drive – and the worth premium is questionable consequently. So must you take into account it? Learn on to seek out out.
How does the Kia Sportage examine?
View an in depth breakdown of the Kia Sportage in opposition to equally sized autos.
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Sportage
How a lot does the Kia Sportage value?
At a look, the Sportage GT-Line Hybrid appears a bit expensive.
You realize, $55,420 earlier than on-roads is greater than you’d pay for a high-grade RAV4 Cruiser 2WD Hybrid ($51,410), and greater than an all-wheel-drive Forester Hybrid S ($50,140).
However it’s barely extra palatable than the Honda CR-V e:HEV RS ($59,900 drive-away), and that SUV can be solely obtainable in FWD. Nonetheless, you can be paying the same value, on the street, for this Kia.
So, you’re paying a whack greater than the all-wheel-drive GT-Line fashions, however you’re getting much less. Nicely, you get front-wheel drive, and also you get a decrease gas consumption determine and significantly better emissions figures, too.
2024 Kia Sportage pricing:
2024 Kia Sportage S 2.0 FWD 6MT: $32,9952024 Kia Sportage S 2.0 FWD 6AT: $34,9952024 Kia Sportage S 2.0D AWD 8AT: $40,3952024 Kia Sportage SX 2.0 FWD 6MT: $35,5502024 Kia Sportage SX 2.0 FWD 6AT: $37,5502024 Kia Sportage SX 2.0D AWD 8AT: $42,9502024 Kia Sportage SX HEV FWD 6AT: $45,9502024 Kia Sportage SX+ 2.0 FWD 6AT: $42,9502024 Kia Sportage SX+ 1.6T AWD 7DCT: $44,0502024 Kia Sportage SX+ 2.0D AWD 8AT: $47,4502024 Kia Sportage GT-Line 1.6T AWD 7DCT: $49,9202024 Kia Sportage GT-Line 2.0D AWD 8AT: $52,9202024 Kia Sportage GT-Line HEV FWD 6AT: $55,420
Costs exclude on-road prices
To see how the Sportage traces up in opposition to its rivals, take a look at our comparability software.
What’s the Kia Sportage like on the within?
That is probably the most premium model obtainable for the Kia Sportage, and it does have a high-end feel and appear to the cabin.
I notably just like the twin-screen show arrange – two 12.3-inch items in a curved housing – which seems to be terrific, and fortunately can be actually easy to make use of. The touchscreen media system sits alongside a brilliant and vibrant info-rich show for the driving force.
The latter additionally doubles as a show for a Blind-Spot View Monitor on this spec, so while you point out it is possible for you to to see what’s probably in your blind spot. There’s additionally different info on that driver’s display screen, together with issues like your digital speedometer, gas use, and lots extra.
The infotainment display screen has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, although it’s strictly by cable connection which is just a little bit disappointing – I would favor wi-fi each time. There may be additionally a wi-fi telephone charger, USB-A and USB-C ports, and a 12-volt.
The usability of the touchscreen is excellent, and you’ll simply get used to the menu format and construction of the controls on display screen. Fortunately there’s one other row of controls down under as a part of a switchable panel.
That management panel covers your local weather settings, together with fan pace adjustment and dials for temperature adjustment, however in case you flick a swap in the direction of the left of the panel you flip it right into a media management station as nicely, with a bunch of menus for sat nav, radio and setup menus all obtainable there. Additionally while you hit that swap, the local weather management knobs flip into quantity and tuning knobs.
Storage is sweet all through the cabin. With a pair of retractable cup holders you may flip the world close to the shifter right into a flat storage zone in case you choose. Forward of the gear selector there’s a wi-fi telephone charger with a canopy, and in every of the doorways there are bottle holders, plus there’s a coated centre console bin between the entrance seats.
I’m not an enormous fan of all of the piano black ending within the centre console space, however no less than there are buttons on your seat heating and cooling, and for the GT-Line Hybrid you additionally get a heated steering wheel. There’s additionally a rotary dial for drive modes, with Eco, Sport and Sensible modes obtainable – every of which change the show on the driving force’s cluster.
I like the actual fact you’ve received a button on the steering wheel to show off the lane-keeping system and this product fortunately doesn’t have the annoying pace restrict beep know-how that many different new Hyundai-Kia autos do – to me that’s an enormous plus.
Seat consolation is respectable and you’ve got adjustable lumbar assist. Some folks would possibly discover the seats just a bit bit flat nonetheless.
At 182cm/6’0” tall, and with the driving force’s seat set for my place, there’s ample room for me within the second row to comfortably slouch, and simply sufficient room for 3 folks throughout the again. In case you have kids, there are ISOFIX factors within the window seats, and three top-tethers.
Everybody within the again is nicely catered for, with directional air-vents, map pockets on the seat backs, in addition to a tough kick plate on the again of every of the entrance seats. On these seat backs you’ll additionally discover USB-C charging ports and purchasing/college bag hooks.
There are bottle holders within the doorways and a flip-down armrest with cupholders, plus one other small storage part under the air-vents, the place you would possibly retailer a telephone that’s on cost.
There’s a slight transmission tunnel intrusion within the again, but it surely’s not an enormous difficulty for area. There’s additionally a piece on prime of the seat backs the place you would possibly grasp a jacket, or possibly even wedge an iPad in.
Boot area is sweet. There’s 586 litres of cargo capability with the again seats up, and the cargo space consists of an LED mild, fast launch levers to drop the seats (1872L seats down), a 12V port, in addition to attachment factors for a cargo web which may be saved beneath the boot flooring, alongside the cargo cowl.
There’s additionally a space-saver spare wheel, and whereas there are purchasing bag hooks, they’re proper in the back of the boot and never that nicely positioned.
What’s beneath the bonnet?
Select the hybrid model of the Kia Sportage and also you get a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine producing 132kW of energy and 265Nm of torque, which is paired up with a 44kW/264Nm electrical motor, and a 1.49kWh lithium-ion battery.
Complete system outputs are 169kW and 350Nm, which is lots for any such utility.
Nonetheless, that a lot grunt is sufficient to overwhelm the entrance tyres at occasions. That’s proper, the hybrid Sportage solely comes with front-wheel drive in Australia, and that could possibly be a deal-breaker for some.
In contrast to different hybrid fashions from the Hyundai-Kia group which run a dual-clutch auto, there’s an ordinary six-speed computerized transmission fitted to the Sportage.
With regards to the official mixed cycle gas effectivity determine, the Kia Sportage HEV fashions declare 4.9 litres per 100km on the mixed cycle which for these taking part in alongside at house is 0.1 litres per 100km greater than a RAV4 2WD Hybrid claims.
In actuality, over days of the kind of driving that you simply’ll in all probability do in a Sportage Hybrid – city working, commuting, freeway stints, daycare drop-offs and even a few IKEA runs – I noticed a return of 6.0 litres per 100km. Coincidentally that’s what I noticed final time I drove a RAV4 Hybrid!
Now, for these aware of emissions, the HEV mannequin stacks up nicely. The Hybrid’s official mixed cycle quantity is 110g/km CO2, whereas the diesel is 163g/km CO2, and the turbo-petrol is 164g/km CO2. For eco-conscious clients or fleet patrons, that would get the petrol-electric model throughout the road.
Don’t go pondering that it could’t tow, both. It has a 750kg unbraked trailer ranking, and 1650kg braked trailer ranking – however remember that the utmost tow bar down weight is 100kg.
How does the Kia Sportage drive?
It’s a little bit of a novel strategy to hybrid tech, this powertrain.
Not fairly as novel because the Nissan e-Energy arrange, and maybe not as standard because the Toyota hybrid system, however as an alternative you do get a hybrid powertrain that’s each refined, highly effective, and environment friendly and equal measure.
The turbo engine aspect to this petrol-electric system implies that you do have just a little bit of additional urgency while you want it, and that’s most noticeable in Sport mode in case you ever select to drive in that setting.
The engine’s low-rev push and the electrical motor work collectively along side the traditional six-speed computerized transmission to make for a fairly fulfilling driving expertise by way of the powertrain.
It’s quieter than a RAV4, and it feels a bit stronger than one too. It is usually completely different in that the electrical motor is built-in into the transmission, so you may really feel the automotive change gears in EV mode, which is cool.
It has a pleasant transition between EV and standard driving modes and in my testing it used the EV mode fairly repeatedly, together with on the freeway in stints, and loads of city driving. There’s a pedestrian warning system with an exterior speaker to warn others of your presence, as in any other case it’s fairly silent.
Nonetheless, the large draw back with this hybrid powertrain is it’s strictly front-wheel-drive, and that implies that you’ll at occasions wrestle to get the entire torque to the bottom easily and successfully.
Various occasions throughout my drive within the GT-Line Hybrid I discovered the entrance tyres scrambling for traction, even beneath what I believed was fairly reasonable acceleration. If you happen to’re a leadfoot, you would possibly discover that it’ll screech a good bit.
The opposite components of the drive expertise are typical of what we’ve come to count on of the Sportage, and that’s to say it’s good in most methods.
The journey is comfy, though it could nonetheless really feel just a little clunky over damaged surfaces. Fortunately you don’t have 19-inch wheels with even lower-profile tyres to exacerbate that mannerism.
The steering is correct and sufficient for this utility. There’s a good quantity of heft at increased speeds, and lightness at low speeds which helps with parking strikes (as does the surround-view digital camera system).
I sometimes flip off the lane-keeping help characteristic on the freeway or round city as I discover it may be just a bit bit too pushy for my liking.
The braking response and the pedal really feel is sweet too. Being an electrified automotive, it does have a regenerative braking system and sometimes that may result in less-than-ideal brake pedal really feel. However fortunately within the Sportage it’s sincere and it pulls up fairly nicely.
It’s additionally fairly quiet – there’s not a complete lot of engine noise intrusion at increased speeds, and even street noise is saved to a minimal on rougher surfaces.
If solely it had all wheel drive, this could possibly be a RAV4 killer.
What do you get?
The Sportage HEV is accessible in SX and GT-Line trim ranges, and specs largely mirrors the prevailing petrol and diesel equivalents.
Sportage SX HEV highlights:
18-inch alloy wheelsAuto LED reflector-type headlightsAuto high-beamRain-sensing wipersPower-folding exterior mirrors12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment systemWired Apple CarPlay, Android AutoSatellite navigation‘Fundamental’ digital instrument cluster with 4.2-inch screen6-speaker audioCloth upholsteryLeather-appointed steering wheelDual-zone local weather controlElectronic parking brake with auto holdSpace-saver spare wheelDial-type shift-by-wire selector
Sportage GT-Line HEV provides:
LED projector-type headlightsFull LED tail lightsLeather upholsteryKeyless entry, startElectrochromic rear-view mirrorHands-free energy tailgateWireless telephone charger64-colour ambient lighting8-speaker Harman Kardon premium audio12.3-inch digital instrument cluster8-way energy driver’s seat, 2-way energy lumbar8-way energy passenger seatHeated, ventilated entrance seatsHeated steering wheelPanoramic sunroofRear privateness glassAlloy sports activities pedals
Is the Kia Sportage secure?
As with the petrol and diesel fashions within the vary, HEV variations of the Sportage include the utmost five-star ANCAP security ranking based mostly on 2022 testing.
Which means it carries over the identical breakdown scores for Grownup Occupant Safety (87 per cent), Baby Occupant Safety (87 per cent), Susceptible Highway Consumer Safety (66 per cent) and Security Help (74 per cent).
Normal security tools consists of:
Autonomous emergency brakingVehicle, pedestrian and bicycle owner detectionJunction assistBlind-spot assistRear cross-traffic assistDriver consideration alertIntelligent pace restrict assistLane hold assistLane Following Help (lane centring)Secure exit warningFront, rear parking sensorsReversing cameraTyre strain monitoringFront, front-side and curtain airbagsFront centre airbag
Sportage GT-Line provides:
Blind Spot View MonitorSurround-view cameraParking Collision Avoidance Help – Reverse
How a lot does the Kia Sportage value to run?
This could possibly be the deal-breaker for some as a result of the servicing prices for the Sportage Hybrid fashions are large.
Firstly it wants upkeep extra repeatedly than different Sportage fashions, with intervals pegged at 12 months or 10,000km, whichever comes first.
Whereas there’s a capped-price servicing plan for seven years/70,000km, the typical annual value over that interval is $643 per go to. Ouch. Which means it prices extra to service this Kia than loads of luxurious SUVs that value 3 times as a lot to buy.
Nonetheless, you would possibly need to take into account this. Resale values are the most important value of possession, and in case you resolve to promote after 4 years, you’ll nonetheless have a automotive that also has a good guarantee and capped-price servicing cowl. It could possibly be a profit.
A minimum of you continue to get a seven-year/limitless kilometre guarantee which continues to be good for the category, and there’s as much as eight years of roadside help in case you keep your Kia inside the model’s dealership community.
CarExpert’s Tackle the Kia Sportage
It’s so near being the hybrid SUV we’ve been hoping for, however an absence of all-wheel drive, frankly foolish servicing prices and quick intervals make it much less compelling than it might have in any other case been.
Even so, this can be a nice household SUV for many who can cope with front-wheel drive and don’t thoughts paying just a little extra for his or her upkeep. If that’s you, I’d positively advocate you go and test it out.
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