Kia Sportage hybrid could be a game-changer for the brand

Michael Jordan? Willie Mason? A Lamborghini Countach? These may have been on your wall as a kid, but the poster on every Australian automotive product planner’s wall today is a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.

With huge demand for the petrol-electric SUV, Toyota is the envy of all mainstream brands. And Kia Australia has its own dreams of playing alongside the RAV4 with a hybrid version of its own mid-size SUV, the Sportage. 

Problem number one is that the petrol-electric hybrid Sportage that’s available in Europe is built in Slovakia, which makes it too expensive to sell here. Problem two is that Europe’s Sportage model is smaller than the one we get here.

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The two models might look very similar, but the Euro-spec Sportage has a shorter wheelbase, and therefore wouldn’t fit into the line-up in Australia. It’d be too small, and too expensive.

The solution seems simple - build the version we get in Australia, the long-wheelbase Sportage made in South Korea, with the hybrid powertrain. But there’s a bit more to it than that, according to Kia Australia product planning general manager, Roland Rivero.

“We’ve made it very clear to headquarters that we want the hybrid. It’s very easy to demonstrate why it would be successful. It’s being reviewed - and we should have an answer very soon,” said Mr Rivero.

“The Slovakian factory was always going to do it, and the Slovakian-built product is on a shorter wheelbase. The challenge is getting our Sportage - which comes out of the Korean factory - to be done and developed for Australia,” he said.

For context, the Europe-spec Kia Sportage runs a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine and dual-clutch automatic transmission, but it includes a 1.5kW battery pack and integrated starter generator to help offer an EV boost from a standstill and recoup kinetic energy through regenerative braking. Total power outputs are 169kW and 350Nm, and it has a six-speed auto with the choice of front- or all-wheel drive. Fuel consumption on the WLTP cycle is around 5.7L/100km.

The Australian delivered Sportage GT-Line. (image credit: Dean McCartney)

“The whole business case was done for it, and it’s just a case now of getting the final sign-off,” he said. 

When that might happen remains to be seen, but buyers in the market for a hybrid Kia aren’t going begging for options.

If you can spend a little more and deal with a larger car, the Kia Sorento Hybrid model has arrived. It has seven seats and a circa $65K price tag.

If a smaller car isn’t a big issue, then the Kia Niro Hybrid might be right for you. It has five seats and a more compact footprint, and starts at $40K. There’s a new-generation version of the Niro due soon, too, so stay tuned for our coverage on that.