Kia presents the Sportage Hybrid in Los Angeles
If the American manufacturers are discreet in Los Angeles, the South Korean brands dominated the floor of the Convention Center. Kia and Hyundai each control the buildings on the site, with two intriguing electrical concepts, the EV9 and the SEVEN. Through it all, the industrial giant took the opportunity to present production models, such as the Kia Sportage Hybrid 2023, scheduled for our market next year.
The introduction of a Kia Sportage Hybrid comes without any surprises, as this vehicle shares most of its technical components with its cousin, the Hyundai Tucson Hybrid. It is nevertheless good to see a fourth player appear in this category. Remember that the offer of hybrid SUVs in our market remains meager, with the Ford Escape hybrid, the Toyota RAV4 hybrid and the Tucson hybrid as serious players. It’s a shame, because the compact SUV category deserves more electrified powertrains.
So, the Kia Sportage hybrid 2023: it arrives with a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder thermal engine, paired with an electric mini-engine with a power of 44 kilowatts. It is powered by a battery with a capacity of 1.49 kilowatt hours. Total combined power comes in at 226 horsepower and torque at 258 pound-feet.
This Sportage is based on the same N3 architecture of the Hyundai group – just like the Tucson – and will only be marketed with the manufacturer’s E-Handling all-wheel drive. This uses the electric motor to better distribute the torque available to each wheel and thus simulate a torque vector.
In terms of design, the hybrid version does very little to differentiate itself from an ordinary Sportage, other than a few notable badges on its body. Ditto for the interior which sports the same stylistic theme and the same general presentation as its colleague, except for a few fuel economy observation features that have been added to the multimedia system.
Speaking of consumption, Kia has yet to release official figures, but we would expect data comparable to the Tucson hybrid, which is 6.4 liters / 100 km combined city / highway. The prices will also be confirmed a few weeks before its arrival on the market, within a few months. And later in the calendar, a plug-in hybrid version, offering up to 50 kilometers of electric autonomy, will be added to the range.
