2023 Kia Sportage PHEV can travel 51 km on electric power

If there’s one crossover from Kia that we cannot wait to arrive in the Philippines, it’s the all-new Sportage. Now on its fifth generation, the compact crossover has received one of the most stylish and radical redesigns, inside and out.

What also impressed us is its wide array of engine options. There’s a 1.6-liter turbo-gasoline that makes 180 PS with 265 Nm of torque, a 2.0-liter turbo-diesel that puts out 186 PS with 417 Nm of torque, and a 1.6-liter turbo-hybrid version that generates 226 PS, making it the most powerful out of the bunch.

But what if you prefer your Sportage to have the ability to run on electric power on days you feel green? Worry not as Kia has just revealed the first images and details of the 2023 Sportage plug-in hybrid (PHEV). Serving as the brand’s latest eco-friendly model, the Sportage PHEV combines the efficiency of a hybrid model, with the zero-emissions capability of an electric vehicle (EV).

Powering the 2023 Sportage PHEV is a 177 PS, 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-four that is supplemented by a 66.9-kW (90.5 PS) electric motor with a 13.8 kWh lithium-polymer battery. Power is then routed to a six-speed automatic transmission with selectable drive modes as standard. Kia has yet to reveal its combined system output, but we won’t be surprised if it will be more powerful than the Sportage Hybrid revealed last November 2021.

Recharging the Sportage PHEV is made possible via a 7.2 kW onboard charging system. When connected to a Level-2 charger, Kia claims the Sportage PHEV can fully recharge its battery in approximately 2 hours. Kia has yet to reveal the plug-in hybrid’s total driving range or its fuel economy ratings, but they did say that it can travel for 51 km on just pure electric power.

To keep the driver and passengers safe while inside Sportage PHEV, the crossover comes with a wide array of intelligent features. Some of these include driver attention warning, LED headlights with high-beam assist, lane-following assist with lane-keeping function, forward collision avoidance, blind-spot collision avoidance, and rear-cross traffic alert.

Kia plans to have the Sportage PHEV on sale in Q3 of this year in global markets. With that, expect more details and specifications to be revealed as the vehicle’s on-sale date draws closer. Assuming Kia Philippines brings in the all-new Sportage, we’re hoping that they bring either the Hybrid or PHEV variants.