2024 Kia Sportage hybrid one step closer to Australia

April, 2024: Sportage Hybrid on sale in Australia

Kia has finally introduced a petrol-electric version of its Sportage midsized SUV to compete with the all-conquering Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.

February, 2024: Kia Sportage Hybrid pricing confirmed

October, 2023: Kia Sportage Hybrid approved for Australia

The 2024 Kia Sportage hybrid has been approved for local sale.

Due to arrive in Australia in the first quarter of 2024, the petrol-electric Sportage mid-size SUV will offer at least two variants locally, according to government documents.

The documents confirm that the hybrid will be front-wheel-drive only at launch.

An entry-level variant – likely to match the existing S or SX – will be fitted with 17-inch alloy wheels, while flagship Sportage hybrids – likely to match the SX+ or GT-Line – will have 18-inch wheels, down from 19-inch for aerodynamic purposes.

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Equipment levels are expected to match existing petrol and diesel variants – though Kia’s semi-autonomous Highway Driving Assist system is listed as a standard feature for the hybrid.

It is possible this feature to be added to all Sportage variants as part of a model-year update to coincide with the introduction of the more frugal hybrid powertrain.

Braked towing capacity for the hybrid matches petrol auto Sportage variants at 1650kg.

The Sportage hybrid was confirmed for Australia in July, with Kia Australia confirming it won’t dominate the line-up like the Toyota RAV4 has leaned into hybrid power across its range.

“We’ll add another powertrain to the Sportage and we expect to start selling it in Q1 next year,” said Kia Australia’s head of product planning and training Roland Rivero.

He confirmed that while supply will be more plentiful than that of the Sorento hybrid, it won’t exceed a couple of hundred units a month, against overall sales of around 1200-1300 per month.

The Sportage's hybrid powertrain mimics that of the Sorento hybrid, with a 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine linked to an electric motor, supplemented by a small 1.49kWh battery that can only be recharged by the petrol engine – not a plug.

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It has a 169kW/350Nm total system output, with a six-speed automatic transmission sending power through the front axle.

Sourced from Korea, the government documents confirm the Sportage hybrid will retain the same longer wheelbase offered on petrol and diesel variants. A shorter wheelbase variant is produced in Slovakia for the European market.

VFACTS new-car sales data reveals the Kia Sportage is Australia's sixth-favourite internal-combustion mid-size SUV with 11,113 sales year-to-date, behind the Toyota RAV4 (22,388), Mitsubishi Outlander (17,762), Mazda CX-5 (16,895), Hyundai Tucson (16,173) and Subaru Forester (12,113).