2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid pricing announced

UPDATED 12/03/2024 5:15pm: Kia Australia has formally announced pricing for its new Sportage Hybrid, with the front-drive SX and GT-Line still starting at $45,950 and $55,420 plus on-road costs respectively.

More importantly, however, we now have the full specification details of each version and there are a couple of small differences to note compared to the equivalent petrol or diesel variants.

The SX Hybrid, for instance, loses its full-size spare wheel in favour of a space-saver to free up room for the battery pack, but gains a rotary gear selector – ditching the petrol and diesel’s chunky lever.

The rest of the SX grade’s equipment list is left untouched, with headline kit still comprising 18-inch alloys, a 12.3-inch infotainment screen, sat-nav, cloth upholstery, dual-zone climate control, manual seat adjustment, electronic park brake and dynamics lines for the reversing camera.

It’s the same story for the GT-Line Hybrid regarding the spare wheel, howeverm the new flagship also shifts from 19-inch alloys to 18s and scores a heated steering wheel on top of the plethora of other toys carried over from the petrol and diesel: 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, heated and ventilated leather seats with power adjustment, panoramic roof, electrochromic rear-view mirror, surround view monitor, blind spot view monitor and a smart power tailgate.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE PUBLISHED 26/02/2024 1:45pm: Kia has stayed true to its word and priced its upcoming 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid from less than $50,000 – and followed through on its promise to release two petrol-electric versions of its popular mid-size SUV and our reigning Best Mid-Size SUV.

Quietly announced over the weekend via Kia Australia’s online configurator, the 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid will start from $45,950 plus on-road costs in base SX trim, while the top-spec GT-Line version will cost $55,420 plus ORCs.

Both these figures are considerably higher than the equivalent turbo-diesel or turbo-petrol variants, which come with the added bonus of all-wheel drive whereas the hybrids will be front-drive only in this market due to factory availability.

Indeed, the 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid GT-Line’s price tag makes it the most expensive Sportage variant in the local portfolio and therefore the most expensive Sportage to date, just as the hybrid and plug-in hybrid Sorento variants are the dearest of their respective hierarchy.

And the first hybrid Sportage doesn’t quite match the price or variant breadth of its closest competitor – the top-selling Toyota RAV4 Hybrid – which is available in four front-drive variants priced between $42,260-$51,410 plus ORCs and five AWD variants priced between $45,260-$58,360 plus ORCs.

Powering the Sportage Hybrid is a 132kW/265Nm 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine and a 44kW/264Nm electric motor which combine for a total (self-charging) system output of 169kW/350Nm.

Up on power but down on torque compared to the diesel, the electrified Sportage has a braked towing capacity of 1650kg compared to the all-paw diesel’s 1900kg.

Transmission duties are meantime handled by a six-speed automatic as per the Sorento HEV, while the all-important combined fuel consumption is rated at 5.9L/100km – better than the Nissan X-TRAIL e-POWER (6.6L/100km) but not as good as the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid (4.7L/100km), Haval H6 Hybrid (5.2L/100km) or Honda CR-V e:HEV RS (5.5L/100km).

Nothing has changed in terms of the standard equipment for the Sportage SX Hybrid or the GT-Line Hybrid compared to their petrol and diesel counterparts, save for a couple of hybrid-specific displays and controls.

Headline gear on the SX therefore still includes 18-inch alloy wheels, tyre pressure monitoring, cloth seat upholstery, a six-speaker sound system, 12.3-inch infotainment interface, sat-nav, smartphone mirroring, dual-zone climate control, adaptive cruise control and a full-sized spare wheel.

Sitting two rungs above the SX, the GT-Line ushers in a plethora of extra kit including heated, ventilated and power-adjustable front seats with memory function for the driver, leather upholstery, 19-inch alloys, LED headlights, rotary gear selector, ambient lighting, wireless phone charging, eight-speaker Harmon Kardon sound system and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster.

Kia Australia is yet to officially detail the Sportage Hybrid for our market, but an official announcement shouldn’t be too far away given Australian vehicles entered production in October.

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