The 2023 Kia Sportage Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) checks an awful lot of boxes. But you’ll need about $40,000 to start checking them in a new Sportage PHEV yourself.
Specifically, $38,490, plus $1,295 for delivery.
The price is a bit dearer than we had expected but still undercuts the segment sales leader, the Toyota RAV4 Prime, which starts at $40,300. If you want a small crossover that drives like an electric car around town and uses gasoline for longer trips, you can get one for less from Ford. But the Escape PHEV, though about $36,000, is less powerful than the Sportage and lacks the Kia’s standard all-wheel-drive.
The Sportage was redesigned from the wheels up for 2023. The new model is one of the largest compact SUVs, with an extensive list of standard features. It’s distinctive-looking, with boomerang daytime running lights beside a wide black grille and a sharp-edged design theme Kia calls “digital tiger.”
Inside, it wears a clean, modernist look, with the central touchscreen and driver’s instrument screen housed in a single unit, so it looks like the Sportage has one big flat screen.
The plug-in part of the Plug-In Hybrid means the Sportage can drive 32 miles on electric power before its gasoline engine starts. That engine – a 1.6-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder – combines with the electric motor to give the Sportage PHEV 261 total horsepower.
2023 Kia Sportage PHEV Pricing:
Kia also charges a $1,295 delivery fee on Sportage PHEVs.
Also worth noting, the Sportage PHEV no longer qualifies for federal tax incentives meant to help Americans buy electric cars. A recent change to the law requires that vehicles be assembled in North America to qualify for the discount. Kia builds the Sportage PHEV in Gwangju, South Korea.
Gas-powered Sportages sold in the U.S. are built in West Point, Georgia. We’ve reached out to Kia to find out if the company plans to move final assembly to the Georgia factory to qualify under the new rules. We will update this story if they respond.
| Trim Level | MSRP |
| Sportage PHEV X-Line AWD | $38,490 |
| Sportage PHEV X-Line Prestige AWD | $42,990 |
