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What's the difference?
So, I accidentally climbed into the wrong Kia Sportage in the supermarket car park on Thursday. That’s never happened to me before. You know, actually opening the door of a completely random car and getting into it and putting my seat belt on.
But that’s how much the regular petrol version of the Sportage looks like this new hybrid version.
The owners had parked next to me in their Sportage, which was also silver, while I was in the supermarket. There are lots of questions: Why hadn’t they locked their doors? Why didn’t I notice their Sportage had big roof racks and a giant dent in the side of it? And, why am I telling you this?
As intriguing as those questions are, we’re not here to answer them right now because this investigation is centred on Kia’s first hybrid version of its Sportage.
Yep, finally after what seems like way too long Kia has a rival to Toyota’s RAV4 hybrid mid-sized SUV.
The Sportage Hybrid on test is the SX grade which sits lower in the range but still costs quite a lot, we think.
So, the questions we’re answering today are ones like, is the Sportage SX Hybrid worth the expensive price compared to its petrol twin?
I’ve even worked out how far you’d have to drive and how long you’d probably have to own the hybrid before you break even on the extra money you’ve spent.
And there are other questions, like how fuel efficient is it? And even others like how safe is it and how practical is it? Oh, and what it’s like to drive? That’s important, too.
The Nissan X-Trail has finally seen a proper restyling – one that has made it competitive on the design front with other medium SUVs, like Australia’s darling, the Toyota RAV4 and the sporty Mazda CX-5.
Both of which are heavy-hitters in their category and the broader family car market! However, this version of the X-Trail has a rare feature for the class and that’s an additional two seats in the rear.
Yep, it’s a seven-seater! It’s something that immediately sets it apart from most of its rivals but is it the ‘winning feature’? I’ve been testing this out with my family of three to find out for you.
Okay, this is pretty easy. That SX Hybrid is excellent - it’s fuel efficient, it drives really nicely, it’s practical, but it’s not great value when you consider it’s more than $8000 pricier than the SX petrol. If you want good value, get the GT-Line hybrid. It comes with more features for not that much more money compared to the petrol version.
Oh, and if you’re reading this in three years time and thinking about buying a second-hand Sportage SX Hybrid, then do it.
The Nissan X-Trail ST-L 7 Seat is easy to drive, has some great features and fit my family of three just fine. The on-road handling is solid and there’s enough power under the bonnet for longer road trips. On a car this size, I’m not sure those extra two seats are worth losing the boot space but if you occasionally need to ferry your kid's friend to a game or something, it will be worthwhile. There are a few little things that aren’t quite up to a standard I like to see but overall, we like this one and it gets a 7.5/10 from us.
The Sportage Hybrid SX is almost identical in looks to the petrol Sportage, which is why I mistook somebody else's car for mine. There’s a small badge on the tailgate of the hybrid which says HEV for Hybrid Electric Vehicle, but that’s really the only giveaway.
The Sportage is a more interesting looking SUV compared to less avant-garde rivals like the RAV4. I love the arrow LED running lights, the wide, mesh grille, and the tail-lights.
The cabin is also differently good looking and premium, apart from the blank panels on the centre console - the ones that remind you didn’t get the Sportage with heated seats…
Still, even with the blank panels it’s a premium-looking cabin with the 12.3-inch screen and black materials. It would have been nice if the synthetic leather seats were standard on this SX Hybrid instead of the cloth.
There was something robustly charming about the previous X-Trail shape and while the overall size has been maintained, most of the squared edges have been softened in the new model.
It makes it appear far more modern and it should maintain its kerbside appeal for years to come.
There’s quite a lot of chrome on the grille, making it look enormous. However, the black plastic moulding that wraps the car at its base helps it look sportier than it has the right to look. As does the dark privacy glass at the rear.
The interior hosts soft touchpoints, synthetic leather trims and wood-like grey panelling to create an upmarket finish.
I'm not a massive fan of the brown/black two-toned trim on the dashboard and doors; it just doesn't land with me.
But it does create a bit of interest for the cabin space.
The Sportage is a mid-sized SUV - it’s not as big as a Kia Sorento, but it is larger than a Kia Seltos.
There’s plenty of room up front with storage in the centre console, cupholders and door pockets.
The second row has directional air vents and great legroom and headroom even for me at 189cm tall. My nine-year old son reckons the window sill is too high to see out of.
He’s out of his booster seat now but he’s a tall kid and doesn’t have this visibility issue very often as we move from test car to test car.
The boot is also big at 586 litres (VDA) behind the second row. It’ll fit the three-piece CarsGuide luggage set with room to spare.
For my little family’s needs this week, I found it to be fairly practical most of the time. The front and middle rows have loads of space and even taller passengers will find comfort with the legroom and headroom in both!
The third row should be considered as ’sometimes’ seats for kids because the legroom is very tight. Besides two cupholders, there are also no amenities back there. Adults will curse you if they get stuck back there for long.
The front row enjoys the most storage options with a deep middle console, a phone/utility tray and glove box. There are also large storage bins in each door and two deep cupholders. The sunglasses holder in the roof is a bonus, too!
The middle row gets a couple of map pockets, drink bottle holders in each door and a couple of cupholders in the fold-down middle seat, which doubles as an armrest. The practical, easy-to-clean trim on the back of the front seats is great, too.
The charging options are good for the first two rows, with each one getting an USB-A and USB-C port, while the front also gets a 12-volt socket.
It is easy enough to connect to the wired Apple CarPlay and the 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system is responsive.
I found the digital radio cuts in and out every few seconds, which makes that feature a bit useless. There’s no satellite navigation but with your smart phone attached, it’s easily forgotten.
My six-year old had no trouble getting in and out of the car and really enjoyed the tall seating position. He also liked having directional air vents and a reading light on our little road trip this week.
The boot is 465L and that puts it on the smaller side compared to its rivals, with only the CX-5 being smaller. I like the level load space and retractable cargo blind, but after my big grocery shop the boot was full.
You’d have to get strategic with gear loading on a full-scale road trip.
This has a temporary spare tyre but to access it, you have to remove the third row (after sliding the second row forward) and that would be an pain to access if you had a full car load of gear and child seats.
Being a lower grade this doesn’t have a powered tailgate and I did miss it this week because the boot is heavy to close.
Let’s get straight to the price because this could be a deal breaker if you’re on a budget and the only reason you’re thinking of buying the hybrid is to save lots of money on your petrol bills.
The Sportage SX Hybrid lists for $45,950. That’s $8400 more than the list price of the same car with a petrol engine.
When I say “same car”, I mean the same SX grade, in front-wheel drive, like the hybrid. The petrol engine in the hybrid is better in every way than the engine in the petrol SX, and that’s probably part of the reason why you’re paying so much more.
Toyota’s pricing on the RAV4 appears more reasonable with hybrid versions costing about $2000 more than the petrol versions of the grade they’re based on.
Do you get more features than the petrol SX? Nope. Same equipment, but there's plenty of it.
Coming standard on the SX Hybrid are 18-inch alloys wheels, LED headlights, and LED running lights. The silver roof rails are standard, too.
Inside the SX Hybrid the seats are cloth and the 12.3-inch media display is standard. So is sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and there’s dual-zone climate control.
That’s not bad if this car was $35K like the petrol version but the hybrid SX is more than $45K and you’re not getting proximity unlocking or push-button start, nor power-adjustable driver’s seat nor power tailgate.
Really, you could buy the SX+ petrol variant for $42 grand and get all of those things, plus a Harman Kardon sound system and synthetic leather seats.
Sure, petrol is expensive these days and a hybrid uses far less, so you’ll make the money back, right? Well, if that’s the reason you’re buying the Sportage Hybrid SX brand new, then don’t. I’ve worked out how far you’d have to drive the hybrid to save $8400 in fuel below.
The only hybrid grade offered is the GT-Line, which is the top of the range and the most expensive Sportage at $55,420. But that’s only $5500 more than the petrol GT-Line and therefore better value in comparison to the SX Hybrid and its petrol twin.
Our model is the part-time four-wheel drive ST-L with seven seats and it is $46,290, before on-road costs.
That makes it more expensive compared to its key rivals with the Mazda CX-5 AWD Touring costing $43,700 and Kia Sportage SX+ Petrol DCT AWD at $43,850. Only the Toyota RAV4 Edge tops it with a $53,020 price tag.
However, for a model that sits second from the bottom in its own line-up, it’s well-specified.
There are eight paintwork colours to choose from and none of them cost extra. This grade also enjoys an upmarket interior with two-toned synthetic leather trims, heated front seats, dual-zone climate control, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto plus those two extra seats.
The driver also enjoys four-way electric lumbar support and electric seat adjustments. The exterior isn’t forgotten with 18-inch alloy wheels, full LED lights, electric folding side mirrors and an auto dimming rear view mirror.
Normally we cover the design and practicality before we get under the bonnet but you’re on a fact-finding mission and I’m your guide, your guide to cars. That would be a good website name.
Okay, the Sportage SX Hybrid has a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol sporty and fuel-efficient engine making 132kW and 265Nm. There’s also an electric motor producing 44kW and 264Nm. Their combined output is 169kW/350Nm.
The hybrid variants are front-wheel drive only and have a six-speed automatic transmission.
It’s a great engine, smooth transmission and the way the motor interacts is almost seamless.
This isn’t a plug-in hybrid, either. The batteries recharge automatically through regenerative braking. Really, for Australia, this type of hybrid is the way to go, offering superb range and no anxiety about charging.
Excluding the ePower hybrid, the X-Trail shares the same 2.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine across its models. It has max outputs of 135kW and 244Nm, which means it’s not super powerful but it doesn’t really whine at you, either.
I’m not a massive fan of continuously variable transmissions and this one can get a little jerky when you put your foot down. It's smooth otherwise.
The part-time 4WD drivetrain is an interesting feature for this size SUV but I didn’t test its capabilities this week. You can choose between five modes - 'Auto', 'Eco', 'Sport', 'Snow' and 'Off-Road' but I kept it in Auto.
Kia says that after a combination of open and urban roads the Sportage SX Hybrid will use 4.9L/100km. The petrol SX with the 2.0-litre engine and front-wheel drive uses 8.1L/100km.
In our own fuel test we recorded 6.9L/100km which was mostly urban with a couple of motorway trips during the week.
Getting back to our earlier question regarding the money you’ll save in fuel. I’ve worked it out using actual maths.
So, using Kia’s official fuel economy of 4.9L/00km, that’s 3.2L/100km less than the 2.0-litre petrol SX and if fuel is $2 per litre you’re saving $6.40 for every 100km you drive in comparison.
Now, $6.40 goes into $8400 (the extra you’ve paid for the hybrid) 1312.5 times. Multiply that by 100 to get the number of kilometres you’ll need to travel. So, that’s 131,250km you’ll need to go to save the $8400 in fuel.
Most Aussies do 10,000 kays a years on average. That means you’re looking at over 13 years. Tell you what, the person who buys it second hand will get the best deal because they really will save money on fuel.
It’s true the Sportage Hybrid is fuel efficient and I’ve scored it very well for that, but if it was me I’d be looking to buy one second hand so I wasn’t getting hit hard with the new car hybrid price premium.
The official combined cycle fuel figure is 7.8L/100km and real-world testing saw my average at 8.1L. That’s pretty good for an SUV of this size and it was after a lot of open road and urban driving (think school and grocery runs).
The X-Trail has a 55L fuel tank and based on the official combined figure, you should be able to get around 705km of driving range. Perfectly respectable for the odd road trip or family vacay.
Nissan recommends a minimum of 91 RON petrol and adds that it is E10 suitable.
The Sportage SX Hybrid is better to drive than the petrol SX with the 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engine. It starts silently thanks to the electric motor and will coast away serenely until you need to move faster and come to a hill where you need the power of the engine.
The brake pedal feel is better than I’ve experienced in many hybrid cars and the transition from engine to motor is almost seamless.
The ride is comfortable, there’s no jiggle over potholes and handling isn’t bad for this type of family SUV.
The only negative point to report is that because the hybrid Sportage is front-wheel drive, there can be a loss of traction if you accelerate hard from a standstill on a wet road or while climbing a steep hill.
If you’ve never driven a hybrid before, you’ll be absolutely fine - the only thing you'll need to get used to is turning the key and not detecting any engine noise.
The X-Trail ST-L delivered a solid performance in all the situations I put it in this week.
I was just as happy tackling the open-road as I was in stop-start traffic in the city.
It has enough power to get up to speed quickly and keep you there but you don’t feel like you have heaps left in reserve. The engine can sook a little when you get too aggressive with the accelerator but otherwise works without complaint.
The ride comfort is great! I took my dad on a road trip this week and he was singing its praises as a passenger. As a driver, I like how cushioned the suspension feels but it’s not at all floaty on the road.
The cabin space is very quiet, even at higher speeds. However, I wasn’t super impressed with the sound system and reckon it could be better.
Despite, looking like a big car, it doesn’t park like one. It’s actually stupidly easy to park and that’s a winning feature for me. Especially with the crisp 360-degree view camera, too.
In terms of safety the Sportage was awarded the maximum five-star ANCAP rating in 2022. The SX Hybrid has pretty much the same safety tech as the GT-Line. So there’s AEB, lane keeping assistance and a rear cross-traffic alert. There are also front and rear parking sensors
For child seats there are two ISOFIX points and three top tether anchor mounts across the second row.
Disappointingly Kia has swapped the full-sized spare alloy wheel you’d get in the petrol and diesel variants for a space saver spare in the hybrid.
The X-Trail has been fitted with a good list of safety features, with the following being standard: LED daytime running lights, lane departure alert, lane keeping aid, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, 360-degree view reversing camera, dynamic parking guidelines, front and rear parking sensors, rear occupant alert, intelligent seatbelt monitoring and a driver fatigue monitoring system.
It also features adaptive cruise control with lane keeping assist; meaning, so long as you have your hands on the wheel, the car essentially steers itself. It's great to minimise fatigue on longer journeys.
It has AEB and forward collision warning with car, pedestrian and cyclist detection which is operational from 10-80km/h (5.0-130km/h for car detection). It is usual to see it operational from 5.0km/h, though.
The X-Trail was awarded a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2021 but it is based on its stablemate, the Qashqai. I think it’s worth mentioning that ANCAP’s individual assessment scores were all fairly high (hitting the 90 per cent range for all but one) which is great to see on a family car.
It only has seven airbags but that includes a front centre airbag and curtain airbags covering all three rows.
There are ISOFIX child seat mounts on the outboard seats in the middle row, along with three top-tethers. You could get lucky in fitting three seats side by side but two will fit best. There's just enough room when a 0-4 rearward facing child seat is installed.