2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid Pricing (up) and Fuel Economy Revealed (down).
Posted by ClusterFugazi@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 9 comments
It looks like the price is up and fuel economy is down by 2 MPG. I wonder of this is because Kia overstated the previous MPG at 38? I noticed on the Kia subreddit many posters got nowhere near 38, and only got the low 30's for MPG. What annoys me the most is you can't get a FWD model higher trims, it's only available on the base trim, that makes no sense. 42 MPG would be pretty nice in a higher trim.
TrptJim@reddit
I wonder if it's related to the drive mode. I thought I noticed that my brother's Sportage Hybrids retains Sport Mode between drives. If the tests were done in Eco mode then I could see it needing to be re-rated to the worst "default" setting.
I_amnotanonion@reddit
I assume Kia is adjusting because there were either actionable complaints about lower-than-advertised MPG, or they made tuning adjustments to the engine for power or emissions standards or something.
In terms of FWD economy, it’s nice to have higher MPGs, but I guess they assume (probably correctly) that most people going for a higher trim Sportage are okay taking the MPG hit for AWD. Anecdotally, I live in southern VA and people here have a lot of AWD SUVs even though they realistically only need the two times a year it snows (if even twice). People will happily give up MPGs for peace of mind/capability generally speaking
longgamma@reddit
Kia, Ford and Honda have like proper AWD implementation and not the electric motor in the back like Toyota. So they can't manage to match up with Toyota in fuel economy. But it's something to consider if you live in areas with inclement weather or drive on unpaved roads a lot.
hehechibby@reddit
Toyota's electric rear motor implementation is pretty decent, it's outperformed even the kia/hyundai twin hybrids on driving sports TV's courses (rav4, tucson, sportage)
longgamma@reddit
But Toyoda bad /s
I_amnotanonion@reddit
Oh for sure, I mean, I have an AWD car and a 4wd pickup, so I made a similar calculus. It’s nice to have when needed. I drove FWD and RWD cars before a didn’t have issues, but the stability difference is noticeable.
The nice thing with snow here at least is that everything shuts down, so driving isn’t strictly necessary for most people at least, but if you have to, AWD is good
ClusterFugazi@reddit (OP)
I wouldn't be surprised if this is true. Kia has gotten in trouble in the past for overstating the fuel economy of some of their vehicles. I live in the Mid Atlantic, we rarely get snow anymore. I have no need for AWD. Many people don't realize there are all weather tires now that can handle snow and ice, and in turn will handle the snow better than AWD. 43 MPG would have been sweet.
Ok_Top55@reddit
2026 Sportage Hybrid got a little pricier but still solid. 42/44 mpg (FWD) is decent, though AWD drops it to 38. Not the best, but the tech and space make up for it.
ClusterFugazi@reddit (OP)
Kia dropped the MPG to 36 (this is a refresh, and not a major redesign for the exterior), my guess is Kia overestimated the previous year’s MPG.