2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid: No big changes expected for Kia’s best seller [Update]

Update: ‘Design,’ ‘Safety,’ and ‘Price’ sections updated.

For the first time in five generations, the Kia Sportage is available in a Hybrid variant. It’s been over a year since the Sportage Hybrid started rolling into U.S. dealerships. In the coming weeks, it should gain minor updates and become a 2024 model. Here’s everything you can expect from the 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid. Note that the details and pictures featured in this article are specific to the current model year, and we will diligently update this story as fresh information is available.

Design

Expected to be a carryover model, the 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid shouldn’t sport design changes. It’d embody the brand’s ‘Opposites United’ design philosophy, which has been well received in the American market.

Kia says that Opposites United consists of five pillars: Power to Progress, Tension for Serenity, Joy for Reason, Technology for Life, and Bold for Nature. The last pillar has influenced the design to a great extent. The company’s designers in South Korea, the U.S., Germany, and China contributed to shaping the fifth-gen Sportage and its derivatives.

Kia has designed the fifth-gen Sportage with a familiar silhouette but used aggressive and technical-looking elements. Except for the unique 17- or 18-inch wheels and the HEV badging, the Sportage Hybrid variant looks the same as the gasoline Sportage.

At the front, the compact SUV lets go of the bug-eyed look moving to its fifth generation. Sharp, vertically positioned LED headlamps with boomerang-shaped LED DRL and a significantly larger, sharper, and black radiator grille spans the entire face width for a dominating look.

With crisp character lines, muscular shoulder lines, and a reimagined greenhouse, the new Sportage looks noticeably different. A noteworthy change is the conventionally designed rear door frame, making the profile look more attractive. For the first time in a Sportage, customers can opt the roof painted with a different body color for a two-tone exterior.

The fifth-gen Sportage features what one can only describe as a quirky front end, but the rear is more or less conventional. It comes with razor-sharp LED rear combination lamps, an arching indent where the registration plate sits, and a large Kia logo right above. The bumper houses symmetrical secondary lights.

The U.S.-spec 2024 Sportage Hybrid, like the outgoing model, will likely be available in LX, EX, and SX-Prestige trims. The latter comes with LED multi-reflector headlights in the LX and EX trims and LED projection headlights in the SX-Prestige trim. Going by what has been announced for the gas model, the Sportage Hybrid is likely to feature LED projection headlights across the range.

Interior

The U.S.-spec 2024 Sportage Hybrid should look on the same on the inside as the today’s car. The standard equipment included in the carried-over trims might be a little different, though. The look and layout of the cabin should be no different from the outgoing model, though.

The fifth-gen Sportage features a thoroughly upgraded interior with a striking dual-screen cockpit, a sleeker dashboard design, and a center console with reduced physical buttons. Overall, the interior is a big step from the previous generation model.

A curved panel seamlessly merges a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment display, covering more than half of the width of the dashboard. The panoramic curved display, which Kia says is the “nucleus” of the all-new Sportage’s cabin, reduces distortion caused by viewing angles. It makes it easier to recognize information and minimizes driver distraction. A touchpad with climate and audio controls resides beneath the central display.

A 360-degree Surround-View Monitor with a 3D view is available for the first time in a Sportage. Multi-connection Bluetooth, included in EX and SX-Prestige trims, allows keeping two smartphones paired simultaneously. Customers can save their profile and store climate and infotainment preferences, and in the EX trim, even the phone connection pairings. Wireless charging and a Harman-Kardon premium audio system are other available interior features. We expect all these features to be carried over in the 2024 model year.

Slim vertical air vents hug the two screens of the driver’s cockpit. The center console also carries a more upscale design, and it houses a shift-by-wire transmission dial instead of a conventional lever.

The floor console of the fifth-gen Kia Sportage has a high-end gloss finish, providing storage space, cupholders, and soft-touch switches, with the latter positioned alongside the transmission dial. The front seats sport a slim shell design, and their headrests integrate hanger-type designs, which allows for hooking clothing and handbags.

Kia has included many new smart features in the fifth-gen Sportage. Kia Connect, a suite of connected car services, allows connecting the vehicle to smart home devices like lights and air conditioners. Amazon Alexa/Google Assistant-enabled smart speaker/smart device integration, cloud-based navigation route calculation, and stolen vehicle tracking and immobilization are some of the highlights of Kia Connect, which should be available to the 2024 model.

Specifications

Dimensions

Kia has developed the fifth-gen Sportage on its new N3 architecture. This is the company’s first model available in short-wheelbase and long-wheelbase versions depending on the market.

The U.S.-spec fifth-gen Sportage is the long-wheelbase version, which is 7.1 inches longer than the previous model, and its wheelbase is 3.4 inches longer. The all-new model is also half-inch taller and wider. Kia claims best-in-class rear legroom of 41.3 inches and best-in-class cargo capacity behind the rear seats of 39.5 cubic feet.

Aspect	2024 Sportage Hybrid Dimension
Length	183.5 in.
Width	73.4 in.
Height (w/o roof rails)	65.4 in./66.1 in.
Height (with roof rails)	65.6 in./66.3 in.
Wheelbase	108.5 in.
Cargo Space	39.5 cu. ft.

Powertrain

The Kia Sportage Hybrid uses a 1.6-liter turbocharged gasoline engine (177 hp/195 lb.-ft.) assisted by a 44.2 kW (59.3 hp)/195 lb.-ft. electric motor. The total power and total torque resulting from this combination are 227 hp and 258 lb.-ft., respectively. A 1.49 kWh battery pack stores the energy for the electrical assist functions.

A six-speed automatic transmission with a rotary-style shifter and paddle shifters sends drive to the front wheels in the Sportage Hybrid. Kia offers a mechanical AWD system optionally, which allows powering the rear wheels as well, for more grip and light off-road capability.

The driver can select from four drive modes: Eco, Sport, Smart, and Snow (AWD-only). An ‘E-Handling’ system improves agility and stability during cornering using the electric motor. Kia claims that the U.S.-spec Sportage Hybrid offers a class-leading 2,000 lb towing capacity. All these specifications should remain unchanged with the MY2024 update. The company may bring efficiency enhancements to improve over the current EPA-est. ratings, though, which stand at 42 mpg (city)/44 mpg (highway)/43 mpg (combined) in FWD and 38 mpg (city/highway/combined) in AWD.

Aspect	2024 Kia Sportage Specification
Engine Type	1.6 Turbo Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) engine
Displacement (cc)	1,598 cc
Bore x stroke (mm)	75.6 x 89
Configuration	Inline 4-cylinder
Compression Ratio	10.5:1
Max. power (hp @ rpm)	177 hp @ 5,500 rpm
Max. torque (lb-ft @ rpm)	195 lb.-ft. @ 1,500-4,500 rpm
Block	Aluminum
Head	Aluminum
Oil-pan	Steel
Valve system	16V DOHC CVVT with Hydraulic Lash Adjuster
Fuel Injection	Direct Injection
Fuel requirement	Regular Unleaded (87 or higher)
Coolant Capacity (L)	4.8 L
Emission Control System	WCC + UCC
Fuel tank capacity	13.7 gal.
Hybrid Starter Generator	–
Type	Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor
Power (hp)	17.4 hp
Torque (lb-ft)	31.9 lb-ft
Electric Motor	–
Type	Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor
Power (hp)	59.3 hp @ 1,600 – 2,000 rpm
Torque (lb-ft)	195 lb-ft @ 0 – 2,100 rpm
Electrical System	HEV
Hybrid Battery System type	Lithium-ion (Pouch)
Voltage	270 V
Capacity	5.5 Ah
Energy	1.49 kWh
Power	64.0 kW
Weight (kg.)	37.5 kg
Weight (lbs.)	82.7 lbs
Towing Capacity
Braked Towing Capacity	2,000 lbs.
Unbraked Towing Capacity	1,653 lbs.
EPA-est. Fuel Economy
FWD	42 mpg (city)/44 mpg (highway)/43 mpg (combined)
AWD	38 mpg (city, highway, & combined)

Safety

The 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid should come with a new passive safety feature – rear seat-mounted side airbags. The advanced driver assistance safety systems are likely to be the same as those of the current model. The following ADAS equipment could be standard for MY2024:

• Driver Attention Warning (DAW)
• Lane Following Assist (LFA)
• Lane Keeping Assist (LKA)
• Lane Departure Warning (LDW)
• Forward Collision Avoidance Assist (FCA) car/pedestrian/cyclist detection
• High-Beam Assist (HBA)
• Parking Distance Warning – Reverse (PDW-R)
• Backup camera

Below are the ADAS features that will likely be optional on the 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid:

• Blind Spot-Collision Avoidance Assist-Rear (BCA-R)
• Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Avoidance-Assist (RCCA)
• Forward Collision Avoidance Assist (FCA) car / pedestrian / cyclist detection and junction turning
• Highway Driving Assist (HDA)
• Smart Cruise Control (SCC) with Stop and Go
• Navigation-based Smart Cruise Control-Curve (NSCC-C)
• Parking Distance Warning – Forward (PDW-F)
• Parking Collision Avoidance – Reverse (PCA-R)
• Safe Exit Warning (SEW)
• Surround View Monitor (SVM) with 3D View
• Blind View Monitor (BVM)

Price

We reckon that prices of the 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid in the U.S. will start at around USD 28,000 and go up to USD 37,000. We expect an official announcement soon, as the gas-powered 2024 Kia Sportage has just been released.

Sales

The launch of the fifth-gen model has improved sales of the Sportage in the U.S. Kia sold 125,245 units of the compact SUV in 2022, which marked a 32% year-over-year growth (2022: 94,601 units). Between January and July 2023, the company delivered 83,742 units of the compact SUV. Compared to the 64,341 units it sold during the same period in 2022, that was a growth of 30% (19,401 units).

Globally, over its life of 30 years, the Sportage has recorded over 7 million units in sales. Given its immense popularity worldwide, Kia might be motivated to convert it into a fully-electric model in the future. The company hasn’t announced or indicated such a plan yet, though. We don’t see the Sportage going all-electric before the second half of the decade.

Also Read: Previewing the 2024 Kia Sportage Plug-in Hybrid: What to Expect

TopElectricSUV says

The MY2024 update may bring a few revisions in the standard equipment included in its trims (LX, EX, and SX Prestige), to maintain its appeal, but nothing more.

2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid FAQs

Featured Image Source: Kia