There’s no denying – Kia has stepped up tremendously in the last couple of years. Its gas-powered and all-electric cars look great, feel fine, and many customers are thinking about switching from premium brands to this member of the Hyundai Motor Group. But let’s find out if the popular Sportage makes proper use of its hybrid powertrain.
Not every American wishes to own an all-electric vehicle, even though Tesla’s newest pricing policy is enticing. But that does not mean that electrified vehicles lose their appeal. Some may want to get the best of both worlds. So, they must decide if a hybrid or a plug-in hybrid suits their lifestyle best.
Searching for the next new car might result in shortlisting the 2023 Kia Sportage Hybrid. That is, of course, if you didn’t get confused by the new logo. Google Trends shows that many Americans look for the inexistent “KN” automaker.
But enough kidding around! The Sportage comes from a manufacturer that offers a 10-year or 100,000-mile (160,934-kilometer) powertrain warranty and other types of similar five-year coverage. But that’s not all. Last year, the Korean brand was ranked in the top spot by J.D. Power’s dependability study and the 2023 Sportage Hybrid received the Top Safety Pick rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Add the starting manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) of $27,490, and things are shaping out great.
But there are some choices for you to make when it comes to picking the perfect powertrain. You can go with the classic internal combustion engine (ICE) version, the hybrid variant, or the plug-in hybrid. In our case, the tested unit is the 2023 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige which costs $38,000.
With an EPA-estimated consumption of 44 mpg (6.4 l/100 km), this midsize SUV fares a tad bit better in this department than its ICE counterpart which gets up to an EPA-rated 32 mpg (7.3l/100 km).
But can the 227 hp (230 ps) 1.6-liter turbocharged engine and the 44-kW (59-hp/60-ps) electric motor work together efficiently to power up the all-wheel-drive Sportage without needing too much gas? Well, this real-world test reveals that it does not live up to the EPA rating. However, it’s not all bad.
At an average speed of 70 mph (113 kph), with an outside temperature of 48 degrees Fahrenheit (nine degrees Celsius), the A/C running inside, and with the tires inflated to 35 psi, the Sportage Hybrid returns 31.3 mpg (7.5 l/100 km) per the onboard calculator. That’s similar to what the 2023 Hyundai Tucson can do in terms of fuel consumption.
Now, would you choose the hybrid or are you going to rethink the buying process by considering the plug-in hybrid option as well? Let us know down below.
Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one. Full profile
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