Kia Sportage News

Kia’s hybrid revolution is picking up pace.The South Korean giant is preparing its new Sportage mid-size family SUV for 2027, and it is likely to follow in the footsteps of the smaller Seltos.Kia’s new Seltos, which is due in Australia later this year, will only use hybrid power as it prepares to wean itself off petrol.The new Sportage is expected to follow suit and go hybrid only. It is expected to come as a conventional self-charging hybrid and as a plug-in hybrid.Now the new Sportage has been spotted testing wearing heavy camouflage in Korea by YouTube channel Healer TV, which puts it on track to enter production late next year.Digital artist AutoYa on YouTube has given a glimpse of what the next-gen Sportage could look like.It borrows heavily from the new Seltos, with its flush door handles, floating roofline and new rear taillight design. Its headlights are borrowed the bigger Telluride, but there is a strong chance it will grab the 'star map lighting' from the Seltos instead.It is also expected to grow in all directions, just like the Seltos, and because new-generation cars seldom get smaller.There aren’t any official details yet, but we can look at the incoming new Hyundai Tucson that shares the same platform as the Sportage.The Tucson is due to break cover this year and is expected to be available with only hybrid and plug-in hybrid options.The current Tucson comes with a conventional plugless hybrid set-up, which uses a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol and a motor to produce 172kW and 367Nm.Hyundai offers a plug-in hybrid version of the mid-sizer overseas already.It uses a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine that makes 185kW and 367Nm, paired with a circa 13kWh battery that delivers an electric driving range of about 50km.Buyers should expect driving range to at least double and performance to grow to match the new wave of Chinese rivals.We also know the Tucson, and likely the Sportage, will get a massive 17-inch central multimedia screen and a 9.9-inch digital driver display. This is a move away from the brand’s current dual 12.3-inch screens.Thankfully it appears the carmakers will resist the urge to move all the controls within the touchscreen and will maintain physical buttons and dials, as seen in spy shots of the new Tucson interior.

Kia’s head of global product planning has fired a cheeky shot at rival brands, said he believes no brand is as well-prepared as Kia for the world’s unpredictable automotive market.Spencer Cho, Kia’s Senior Vice President and Head of the Global Business Planning Subdivision, said it’s impossible to know what the industry might look like in the future, but being prepared for as many possibilities as reasonable is the best answer.Speaking with Australian media at the launch of the new-generation 2026 Kia Seltos, Cho said that he thinks no one can know how global events will affect the industry.Trying to predict the events that might change the way brands need to operate is impossible, he said, but understanding what needs to be done to respond can’t be known until after the fact.“Let me put it this way. If I can say that I can expect everything… that's not possible,” Cho said.The US-Israel war in Iran and the effects it has had on global oil shipping is front-of-mind for Cho.“No one can expect this kind of war will happen, and also a couple years ago for Russia and Ukraine, no one can expect that kind of thing.”"But what we are doing is we carefully monitor the market demand or market changes. And development of product takes quite some time. We should create very sound product strategies, and we have to maintain those strategies in a consistent manner.”Rather than scrambling to respond to changes in the industry, Cho said Kia has built enough options to be able to react quickly in a ‘here’s one we prepared earlier’ manner.“Thankfully, we studied the EV transition quite earlier than any other brand. There are also some ups and downs, but the transition and the trend stays the same, just the differences are a little bit of this slow down. So speed might be the difference.”He says the key is not drastically changing for short-term gain, rather slightly adjusting without removing options for the future. Essentially, giving EVs a boost shouldn’t mean forgetting to continue ICE development, he said.“But we stay in the course to maintain the development of the planned EV models entering each global market, step by step. Yet we're still developing the all new ICE models as well as you see in the new Seltos. “So one of the key strengths we have is all the technologies, the diesel or gasoline or hybrid and plug-ins and EVs.”“So we have all the options in our hands. “Certain market ups and downs… hybrid is rising, we can provide hybrid models. If EV is coming, we can provide EVs. So thankfully, we have all the technologies in our hands, and we have the all the product lineup as well.”Cho took a cheeky swipe at rivals, too, rare for a senior executive. He said Kia’s strength globally is its range of cars available from the budget end, Picanto for example, through to hybrids, plug-ins, and more expensive performance cars or large electric SUVS.“So that's probably one of the strengths Kia has compared to other brands. I don't know whether you can name any other OEMs better than us in the case of the product line-up as of today.”

Kia has just launched a cheaper hybrid version of its popular Sportage family SUV.A Sportage hybrid can now be bought in the entry-level S grade, with the front-wheel drive variant starting from $44,450 (before on-road costs), while the all-wheel drive starts from $47,450. The brand has been rolling out hybrid variants across its Sportage range since mid-2025, with this latest S grade hybrid completing the set.Hybrids have become an increasingly popular choice for buyers in Australia, as many manufacturers move add them to product lineups. The Sportage S hybrid gives Kia a more affordable rival to the other big-hitters of the hybrid segment. The most affordable hybrid before the new S grade was the SX, which is $2000 more expensiveThe hybrid Sportage is now cheaper than a comparative Toyota RAV4, which is one of the best-selling cars in Australia, starting from $45,990, before on-roads. A Sportage hybrid is still more expensive than its sister car, the Hyundai Tucson, with its hybrid variant starting from $42,850 (before on-roads). The Sportage trails the outgoing RAV4 and the Tucson in the sales charts.  The Sportage hybrid employs a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine and electric motor, producing 169kW and 350Nm. The hybrid variants of the Sportage offer a big step up on fuel economy, with the FWD offering 4.9L/100km, while the AWD sits at 5.3L/100km.The Sportage was recently updated in Australia, resulting in a noticeable price increase across the range. Other purely internal-combustion options available on the Sportage are a 2.0-litre petrol, 1.6-litre turbo-petrol and 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engines. This latest Sportage update, has been part of a broader push from Kia to introduce hybrid offerings across its product lineup. Late last year, Kia unveiled several new hybrid models for its Sorento SUV. The incoming Seltos will feature a hybrid set-up for the first time when it launches in late 2026. 2026 Kia Sportage hybrid pricing Australia (before on-road costs)

It’s 2026, and this year will mark a decade since Ford ended manufacturing in Australia, with Holden and Toyota also ending local production a year later. So, who’s making the cars we love now? And by who, we mean which countries?Here are the top five countries that made our favourite cars in 2025.Australia’s love of European cars is ongoing but that appears to be coming off the boil slightly with 2025 sales of cars built in Germany dropping to 54,905, down by 2639 units on the year before.Doing the heavy lifting are models such as the Volkswagen Tiguan and Golf, along with the Mercedes-Benz GLC and GLA SUVs which are made in Germany for Australia.It’s unlikely Aussies will stop treating themselves to cars from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen anytime soon, if ever. But as you will see the gap between prestige-niche (prest-niche?) and mainstream models could grow increasingly larger as Chinese offerings head further upmarket while keeping prices low.Hyundai and Kia are the big two Korean carmakers, with KGM (formerly SsangYong) struggling but still hanging on. Between the three they made 149,966 of the cars bought by Aussies in 2025. That’s down from 157,760 in 2024.Australians love models such as the Hyundai Kona and Santa Fe and Kia Sportage which are all made in Korea for our market. The drop in the number of Korean-made cars we bought could be attributed to the biggest mover in the top five manufacturers. Enter China.Number three today, number two tomorrow? Possibly sooner. The popularity of Chinese-made cars accelerated dramatically from 2024 to 2025, the overall number going from 176,159 to 221,699. Yes, an increase of 45,540 cars (+26 per cent), almost the total amount of German-made cars sold in 2025. Impressive.Chinese-made models such as the BYD Shark 6 ute, GWM Haval Jolion and MG ZS SUV have been snapped up by Aussies in their tens of thousands.As with any race, the battle between third and second place is often more riveting than what’s going on in first and China is breathing down the neck of Thailand right now.It might surprise you (or not at all) to know that Thailand came in second place for 2025. But only just, with 249,958 cars made for Aussies, which is down from 272,139 in 2024.What cars does Thailand make? Pretty much every ute on sale in Australia and utes are hugely popular here.Yep, from the Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max and Mazda BT-50 to the Mitsubishi Triton, Nissan Navara and Toyota HiLux. Thailand is a ute powerhouse.Japan is our winner for 2025 as the country which makes more cars that we buy than any other nation. Japan made 358,981 of the cars Aussies bought and that’s up from 241,296 in 2024. Carrying the heavy end of this big number is Toyota with firm Aussie favourites such as the RAV4, Corolla, Camry, Corolla Cross, Land Cruiser and Prado.By now you know the Toyota HiLux is made in Thailand, but did you know the Kluger is built in the United States for Australia? You do now.

One of Australia’s most popular SUVs is gearing up for a new-generation changeover in the next 12 months, and now we have an idea of what it might look like.

Mazda has globally revealed its new third-generation CX-5 mid-size SUV ahead of it arriving in Australia in 2026.

Kia Australia has detailed the pricing and specifications for its updated 2026 Sportage mid-size SUV ahead of imminent customer deliveries.

Ford Australia has axed so many of its cars over the past two years that it almost has nothing left on sale. It’s just lucky that one of the few cars left that it does sell — the Ranger ute —  does so in enormous numbers. So what’s missing from Ford’s line-up? A lot. Here are the cars we think Ford really needs in Australia right now.Ford lacks a rival, to not just to hardcore four-wheel drives like the Toyota LandCruiser and Nissan Patrol, but to more domesticated Aussie family favourites such as the Toyota Kluger, Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe.Yes, the Ford Everest seats seven and can go off-road with the best of them, but a more plush and comfortable suburban cruiser would fit nicely in the line-up.Now this might hurt a little bit and I apologise in advance, but in South Africa you can buy a Ford Territory. I know, what the Ford!?So, the South African Ford Territory is made in China and sold in other countries but it’s made in right-hand drive, which means there’s no reason why we can’t have it here.This new Territory isn’t as big as the Santa Fe at 4.63m long so it’s not really a large SUV but still, what a shame.What Australia really needs is a Ford Explorer, as in the petrol-powered version form the United States, not the UK electric version. The US Explorer is a a five-metre long seven seater, while the UK version is 4.4m and smaller than an Escape.Nope, bigger is better in this case and while the Explorer is currently only made in left hand drive, there is a chance a right hand drive might get the green light for the next-gen model.Ford axing the Escape is the car company equivalent to throwing away your only pair of pants just because you don’t like the colour of them.OK, that’s a terrible analogy but the point is mid-sized SUVs are the bread and butter of car brands and they sell all year long in large numbers and they’re kind of an essential item to car manufacturers. Ford axed the Escape because it didn’t sell enough of them. But it could easily bring back the Escape because it’s sold in the right-hand drive in the UK.Ford should seriously consider it, the mid-sized SUV segment is increasing in size at 19.6 per cent market share and Ford’s not able to join in the spoils. Toyota has the RAV4, Kia has the Sportage, Nissan has the X-Trail and Ford has nothing. No pants to wear at all.If there’s something Australians love almost as much as mid-sized SUVs it’s a small SUV. We’re talking the likes of the Toyota Corolla Cross, Hyundai Kona and the MG ZS. And Ford did have the Puma, but axed it in 2024 just four years after it arrived.The Puma was a high-quality feeling and premium looking SUV, but it was overpriced compared to its rivals and so sales struggled. People want premium looking at budget prices apparently.The Puma is sold in the UK as a hybrid and a fully-electric vehicle, so bringing it to Australia wouldn’t require anything other than a trip on a boat from Romania where they’re made.So there you are, Ford has pretty much all the cars it needs in right-hand drive to take the fight to rivals such as the Toyota RAV4 and Corolla Cross, the Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe.Will we see the Territory again? Will Aussies be OK with a Chinese made Territory? Given the the shift in attitudes and growing maturity towards Chinese brands and their rapid take-up there's no reason they wouldn't be.Sure bringing back the Territory nameplate, plus the Puma and Escape could be a risk for Ford, but would it be as big a risk as having all your eggs in the Ranger basket as it does now?

Kia will no longer offer purely petrol and diesel engines in its Sportage range as the brand alters the line-up to be hybrid-only, a new report reveals.

CarsGuide’s data analytics team has crunched the numbers to find out how well popular mid-sized SUVs hold their value. This insight means you can buy a new car now knowing it’ll likely be a resale winner when the time comes to sell it.