Kia’s Best-Seller Remains Competitive
The Sportage is immensely popular, selling some 87,172 this year and helping Kia to the best six months in its history. Because it’s so popular, Kia’s marketing department has been clever enough to drip-feed us pricing for the 2026 lineup, ensuring motoring scribes like myself keep writing about it. A month ago, we learned that the 2026 Sportage plug-in hybrid would start at $40,490, and now the mild-hybrid has been priced at $30,290, which, as usual, excludes the destination fee of $1,395. This time a year ago, before the facelift, the 2025 Sportage Hybrid started at just a little less than $29,000, but for 2026, much more significant changes translate to a bump of at least $1,000, depending on the trim.
2026 Sportage HEV Tops Out Where The PHEV Starts
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The lineup has been adjusted slightly. Previously, the base LX, which powers the front wheels as standard, was also available as an AWD trim for $1,800 extra, but for 2026, the cheapest way to power all four wheels costs $32,590 – $2,000 more than the LX AWD did for 2025. This is with the newly added S trim, which also benefits from heated seats. At the opposite end of the range, Kia has added the rugged X-Line trim between the EX and the SX-Prestige, the latter of which has seen a $2,600 price hike. Still, that’s
|
Sportage HEV trim |
MY2025 (excl. dest.) |
MY2026 (excl. dest.) |
Difference |
|
LX |
$28,790 (AWD +$1,800) |
$30,290 (FWD only) |
+$1,500 |
|
S |
– |
$32,590 (AWD std.) |
– |
|
EX |
$32,590 (AWD std.) |
$33,590 (AWD std.) |
+$1,000 |
|
X-Line |
– |
$35,490 (AWD std.) |
– |
|
SX-Prestige |
$37,790 (AWD std.) |
$40,390 (AWD std.) |
+$2,600 |
More Power, Same Towing Capacity
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Along with new looks and a higher price, the 2026 Sportage HEV now makes 232 horsepower and 271 lb-ft of torque from its 1.6-liter turbo-four and revised 47.7kW motor, up 5 ponies and 13 lb-ft of twist from the pre-facelift figures of 227 hp and 258 lb-ft. Towing capacity remains at a maximum of 2,000 lbs, but that’s good enough for the compact crossover segment. For reference, the 2025 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid ($32,600), 2025 Ford Escape Hybrid ($32,490), and 2026 Honda CR-V Hybrid ($35,630) can tow up to 3,500 lbs, 1,500 lbs, and 1,000 lbs, respectively. The 2026 Escape is unavailable in six states due to an emissions compliance issue, while the new generation of RAV4, which is only available as a hybrid, has not yet been priced for 2026.
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