A refreshed Kia Sportage unveiled at the LA Auto show, soon after a reveal in Korea.
Styling features now more closely match those of the electric line-up, such as EV9, 6, 5 and 3.
Read our review of 2024 Kia Sportage Earth Hybrid.
So there are new vertical headlight stacks and a horizontal grille that seems to be composed of groups of blocks. At the rear are new lights and a more prominent bumper.
The cabin now features a 12.3in curved IFT touchscreen that runs a refreshed version of Kia’s ccNC operating system. A two-spoke steering wheel is also new while LED mood light spans the dashboard.
Extra sound deadening should make the car operate in an even more hushed fashion.
Under the hood is a carryover 1.6-litre turbopetrol. However, the mild hybrids now come with an eight-speed automatic gearbox rather than the seven-speed dual-clutch unit.
The full-hybrid retains its six-speed gearbox. However, its electric motor is slightly more powerful for smoother acceleration. Regenerative braking is adjusted by paddleshifters. An ‘Infant’ driving mode makes power delivery smoother to minimise motion sickness for kids.
The turbopetrol output is 132kW and 265Nm, while the hybrid is good for 169kW and 350Nm. At this point it is unclear what other powertrains will be available here.
Pricing locally spans the $40k-$58k region and should be broadly similar when the facelift arrives next year.
