The Kia Sportage is getting a dramatic makeover later this year. The 2022 Sportage packs in a lot of features for its price, but few would call it the most stylish in its class. The 2023 Sportage, though, is an attractive car with high-tech touches like curved display screens and wireless Apple CarPlay (on some trim levels).
The Sportage is also getting a pair of optional hybrid powertrains. The company dropped details on the hybrid model back in November. This week, it did the same for the plug-in hybrid.
A refresher, if you need one: Hybrid cars pair the typical gasoline engine with an electric motor. The electric motor carries the car up to a certain speed, above which the gasoline engine takes over. Hybrids get better gas mileage than cars powered by gasoline alone.
Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) are different animals entirely. They also have a gasoline engine and an electric motor. But thanks to a larger battery, they can travel at highway speeds on electric power alone. Their gasoline engines kick on only after a certain distance.
In the case of the 2023 Sportage PHEV, Kia says, that distance is 32 miles. Since the average American drives less than 25 miles a day, owning a 2023 Kia Sportage PHEV should be like owning an electric car most days. But, when owners need to take a longer trip, they can do so using gasoline.
Kia hasn’t revealed pricing for any version of the 2023 Sportage yet. We expect the Sportage PHEV to be the most expensive version and to start in the mid $30,000 range.
The Sportage PHEV is also probably the most powerful option in the Sportage lineup. Kia hasn’t revealed a final power figure. But the company says the PHEV uses a 1.6-liter, 177-hp turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, supplemented by a 66.9-kW electric motor. That’s the same powertrain found in the larger Sorrento PHEV, which means it likely gets the same 265 horsepower.
All-wheel drive is standard. Kia says the 2023 Sportage PHEV will come in “two comprehensively equipped trim levels: X-Line PHEV AWD and X-Line Prestige PHEV AWD,” but has provided no details on what separates the two. We’ll bring more details when we have them.
