KIA’S SPORTAGE PLUG-IN HYBRID – GOODNESS. GRACIOUS.

KIA’S SPORTAGE PLUG-IN HYBRID

GOODNESS. GRACIOUS.

Roughly 30 years ago, Kia’s Sportage landed in the U.S. market with a minimal footprint, body-on-frame construction and a dealer network that, at the time, was little more than sketchy. Three decades later, you can be damn sure that time still flies and, not unlike our politics, things change. Today’s Kia dealers are easy to find, and today’s Sportage is a viable alternative to the established players in the compact crossover category. Who’d a thunk?

At this point, Kia’s U.S. presence is large enough to no longer be a curiosity. You’ll see the Telluride 3-row at many intersections and (notably) in most carpool lanes. The Sportage is right up there in popularity, and while it may lag behind the better-established CR-V and RAV4 in sales, it deserves your attention – even if you live among the Honda and Toyota loyalists. Some will have to look beyond the styling affectation of its front fascia (I’m trying…), but once inside and behind the wheel – especially if driving the hybrid or plug-in hybrid variants – you’ll enjoy comfort, competence and a semblance of real value. Join me – puh-lease – for the ride…

In the walk-up, once getting past what I guess is a futuristic front end, the balance of the Sportage is clean and uncluttered, and could be from any number of other Asian manufacturers. Sitting on a wheelbase of 108.5 inches and stretching just over 15 feet (183.5 inches), the Sportage provides that ‘just right’ balance of a nimble footprint and surprising amount of utility. And its ride height, while in X-LINE trim suggests some offroad capability, is low enough for easy access, while tall enough to navigate the occasional logging road or fire trail. Slowly.

Inside, the top-of-the-line Prestige underpins the buttocks with Kia’s leather-like SynTex and – for front seat passengers – heated seats, while over the winter months your hands will enjoy a leather-wrapped steering wheel. In back, the rear seat splits 60/40 and, when folded, is flat. A smallish gravel bike fits easily into the cargo hold, while with the rear seat upright you can carry up to 35 cubic feet of more conventional gear. 

Beyond the numbers is the just-right feel of sitting in the Sportage with family, friends or just stuff. The driving environment is dominated by the touchscreen, and while it’s eventually intuitive I’ll continue to have a preference for traditional gauges and time-tested buttons. And given how piano black collects both dust and fingerprints, I look forward to the time when this particular trend has lost its grip on design teams. 

Of more import – at least to me – is how the Sportage PHEV (Plug-in hybrid) drives, and on this I was both surprised and delighted. In the Sportage lineup you have your choice of a non-descript 2.5 liter four with 187 horsepower and a 0-60 time – according to Car and Driver – of just over nine seconds. And if you have absolutely no more to spend than about $30K, this is the one (and only one) to buy. Much better are the drivetrains given to the Hybrid and PHEV models. Those benefit from 1.6 liters of turbocharged four; the Hybrid – with a modest electric assist – delivers a combined output of 227 horsepower, while the plug-in hybrid boosts that to 261 horsepower. Both, notably, get the power to the roadway via a 6-speed automatic. The Sportage Hybrid is available in both front-and-all-wheel drive, while the plug-in hybrid is all-wheel drive only. 

In combination with the credible acceleration times of the hybrid and plug-in hybrid (0-60 in just over seven seconds for the hybrid, just under seven for the plug-in) is an almost sublime way of going about its business, an impression that gets accentuated when engaging the all-electric mode of the plug-in. With a full charge, which I did via a 240V outlet in my garage, the Sportage PHEV offers 34 miles of all-electric range, a number that should get most commuters to and from the office on that one charge. If, however, you’ve run out of battery and are running on gas, mileage in the low-to-mid-30s falls a bit short of the 35 miles per gallon combined that the EPA estimates. 

The efficiency of a hybrid drivetrain is above debate, but there’s a helluva debate going on whether to plug-in, enjoy the relative simplicity of a hybrid, or go all-in on all-electric. With the conventional hybrid you’re always burning gas, although less of it; the Sportage Hybrid with all-wheel drive gets an EPA-estimated 38 City/38 Highway and 38 Combined (you could call it 38…). That’s reasonably efficient within the context of its comfort, utility and footprint. And if you don’t have a garage or easy access to charging at your workplace, this is the no-brainer. 

And if you don’t have the $40K – and up – for the plug-in Sportage, it’s also a no-brainer. As much as I like the plug-in, at $45K for the X-Line Prestige I might be finding another showroom for that same $45,000. But you can buy a Sportage Hybrid in mid-level EX trim for under $35,000, get that 38 miles per gallon, and enjoy the same level of comfort and utility. 

Driving 10,000 miles a year, that’s 260 gallons of gas at roughly $3.50/gallon – or $900 per annum. When comparing your outlay to that of the plug-in at $40K, and if assuming you never buy gas, it’ll take you six years to break even. And I gotta’ tell you – you’ll probably buy gas.

If shopping tomorrow for a compact crossover, a Kia Sportage hybrid would be on my shortlist. For that $35,000.