The current-generation Kia Sportage is entering its fourth model year. For that minor-milestone birthday, most vehicles get new front and rear facias and perhaps an interior tweak or two. For the Sportage Hybrid, though, Kia did a bit more.
For 2026, there are five trim levels instead of just three. The LX, the EX, and the SX-Prestige used to comprise the hybrid lineup, and they still represent the low, middle, and high points. But now you can choose an S (medium-low) or an X-Line (medium-high) hybrid.
The most controversial part of the 2023–25 Sportage was the styling, particularly the front end. Kia’s own staffers had a hard time describing it, saying it had a tiger nose with boomerang lighting. Wisely following in the footsteps of the dramatic new Telluride, the 2026 Sportage adopts a Telluride-style grille, which totally transforms the little SUV and gives it a chiseled front visage.
The new nose integrates nicely into the existing bodywork, which is otherwise unchanged. Well, the rear taillights have reshaped LED elements, and our SX-Prestige test car and the X-Line now have 19-inch wheels instead of 18-inchers. The only miss is the styling of those wheels, because four spokes just doesn’t quite cut it.
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Kia also made some changes on the inside, but here it’s a mixed bag. The dash loses the previous air vent that gave it a bit of character and bracketed off the screens. There’s also the odd squircle of a steering wheel, which seems more like someone dropped it down the stairs. When you spin the wheel and reach for a handful of rim, it seems you never quite know what you’ll get. Also, it’s now a two-spoke affair, which is unusual.
But Kia has done some things correctly. Gloss-black plastic has been banished, replaced by a matte-gunmetal tone. The terrain- and drive-mode switches are now on the wheel, and the infotainment screen measures 12.3 inches for all models, up from 8.0 inches on the previous LX. Heated rear outboard seats have been added to the SX-Prestige. By far the most noticeable addition is the head-up display, which is now standard on the SX-Prestige. Also, the updated adaptive cruise system will execute automated lane changes and has improved lane centering that will shift the vehicle’s position in response to crowding by other vehicles.
Steer for yourself, and you’ll find there’s a bit too much friction when going straight, making it difficult to feel exactly what’s going on. But as you arc into a bend, the steering builds up nicely and gives decent feedback. As for the ride, it’s very smooth, but it also seems to be slightly underdamped, putting a bit too much spring in the Kia’s step. You notice this more when you hit a sizable bump, where the impact can cause a bit of shudder. It’s almost as if Kia bolted 19-inch wheels onto a car tuned on 18-inchers. It works, but it doesn’t feel quite in sync. This was born out at the test track, where the new SX-Prestige on 19s fell short of the old SX-Prestige on 18s, with 0.79 g of grip, down from 0.83 g. Braking improved, though, as our stop from 70 mph was just 172 feet instead of 176.
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The bigger news is that the Sportage Hybrid also has a revised powertrain. The gasoline engine is unchanged, but there’s a more powerful primary electric drive motor that now puts out 64 horsepower instead of last year’s 59. That raises total combined horsepower to 232, which is, yes, five more than last year. What does this accomplish? The car’s 60-mph time now falls within the six-second bracket (just barely) at 6.9 seconds. That’s notably better than the 7.4 seconds we did with a 2023 model. The new Sportage also beats the old one in the quarter-mile, with a time of 15.3 seconds at 92 mph compared with 15.6 seconds at 90 mph.
Welcome though that may be, most buyers will be unhappy with the trade-off in this compact hybrid’s fuel economy. The EPA’s combined rating for the hybrid has dropped by 3 mpg, from 38 to 35 for the AWD models. We can’t say whether this is due to the powertrain changes, the switch to 19-inch wheels, or the modest 45-pound weight gain for the SX-Prestige, but the already so-so fuel economy of this hybrid just got more disappointing.
The price for the SX-Prestige is also a little dearer. It now goes for $42,085, whereas the 2025 model was priced at just $39,185. You have to factor in the extra content, such as the 19-inch wheels, the head-up display, and the heated rear seats, for starters, but the fact remains that the SX-Prestige is $2900 more expensive than last year. What’s a shopper to do? Well, you could side-step that price hike by dropping down a level. The new X-Line is $37,185. That saves you $2000 over the 2025 SX-Prestige. Ups and downs—that seems to be the theme with the newest Sportage.
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Specifications
Specifications
2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX-Prestige AWD
Vehicle Type: front-engine, front-motor, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $42,085/$42,305
Options: all-weather floor mats, $220
POWERTRAIN
turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 1.6-liter inline-4, 177 hp, 195 lb-ft + 2 AC motors, 17 and 64 hp, 32 and 195 lb-ft (combined output: 232 hp, 271 lb-ft; lithium-ion battery pack)
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/multilink
Brakes, F/R: 12.8-in vented disc/11.8-in disc
Tires: Hankook Dynapro HP2
235/55R-19 101H M+S
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 108.5 in
Length: 184.4 in
Width: 73.4 in
Height: 66.3 in
Passenger Volume, F/R: 52/50 ft3
Cargo Volume, Behind F/R: 74/40 ft3
Curb Weight: 3950 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 6.9 sec
1/4-Mile: 15.3 sec @ 92 mph
100 mph: 18.6 sec
Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.4 sec.
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 9.4 sec
Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 4.6 sec
Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 5.1 sec
Top Speed (gov ltd): 120 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 172 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.79 g
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 32 mpg
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 35/35/36 mpg
Dan Edmunds was born into the world of automobiles, but not how you might think. His father was a retired racing driver who opened Autoresearch, a race-car-building shop, where Dan cut his teeth as a metal fabricator. Engineering school followed, then SCCA Showroom Stock racing, and that combination landed him suspension development jobs at two different automakers. His writing career began when he was picked up by Edmunds.com (no relation) to build a testing department.