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The all-new 2023 Sportage HEV.

Courtesy photo

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The all-new 2023 Sportage HEV.

Courtesy photo

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Inside the all-new 2023 Sportage HEV.

Courtesy photo

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Inside the all-new 2023 Sportage HEV.

Courtesy photo

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Inside the all-new 2023 Sportage HEV.

Courtesy photo

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As SUVs continue to be all the rage, the new Kia Sportage became the company’s best-selling model back in 2015, at the time taking the glitz away from the popular Rio model. Many would have thought with the big splash the Telluride made upon its debut a few years ago it would now lead the way.

The Telluride does lead the way in its category with national sales, but the Sportage continues to be the company’s No. 1 performer. Along with the all-new design this year came a hybrid version and also a plug-in hybrid, to round out Kia’s offerings. This will allow the company to compete with the likes of the Rav4 Prime or Honda CR-V Hybrid.

We have concluded, in a very nonscientific way, that having a hybrid or plug-in hybrid would be a fantastic choice for those living in the mountains like us, especially if they have a wanderlust like we do. With a hybrid, you are going to experience much better gas milage or even no gas mileage on the everyday drive, but still have the option to get lost on a weekend and not have to worry about finding a pesky charger.

A charger may or may not be occupied or may not work at the time. We do think that they will get better, and the electric grid and infrastructure will hopefully get adequately upgraded to make an all-electric option better. But for now, being able to fuel up in five to 10 minutes — and in pretty much any town across the nation — still has an appeal to us.

The all-new Sportage is an attention getter right form the get go, as gone are many of the curvy and round lines once dominate on the exterior, being replaced by some futuristic designs that are anything but boxy and curvy. To us, it appeared as an upscale luxury-type look that really set the Sportage off in our driveway.

With this new look, we looked forward to getting in for the everyday and even coming up with excuses for just taking for a ride. It worked for us and even had the neighbors asking questions about the new SUV on the cold days of winter.

Kia claims to have “best in class” second-row leg room, so we figured what better way to prove that than by Deanne having a girls’ night out and three other adults in the Sportage for a trip to dinner? So out she went with a loaded-up Sportage, letting her friends be the judge.

There was not a complaint to be had from the rear occupants, and when she asked if they felt comfortable in the back seats, they were very impressed with the ease of getting in and out and the comfort of the ride for the 30-minute trip to dinner.

The 41.3 inches of space even beats her current everyday driver, the Jeep Cherokee, by over an inch of space along with others in the mid-sized SUV segment such as Subaru, Ford and GM.

Speaking of space, the new interior design of the Sportage is not just about more space, it is about being a leader in technology and sophistication also in this segment. The EX trim level comes standard with both a 12.3-inch high-definition LED screen that basically transitions moving left to right into the 12.3-inch high-definition LED infotainment touch screen.

We have seen some large screens over the years and love the fact that driver information screens are now going all-digital. But the fact that consumers can now get almost 25 inches of display at the price point of the Sportage is awesome, just like adding whipped cream to the top of a chocolate sundae!

Along with being a stunning display of technology, we found it quite easy to navigate around in. Our only request would be for Kia to add wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to the mix to enhance it even further. There were, however, dual charge points upfront and two in the back for smartphones and other device’s.

After that, our next favorite feature up front was the way Kia has designed the controls for the HVAC and radio that lived below the touch screen. Instead of having controls for both, they have combined them with the touch of a button to be either HVAC or entertainment buttons.

In other words, the control for temperature that was a dial on the driver’s side would become the volume dial and the passenger side dial would become the tuning dial. All the other buttons would also go from controlling the creature comforts to controlling the entertainment functions by just touching one button. The display would also change to indicate which function was being used.

It was almost like the minimalist approach to creating a more functional dashboard, and we loved the decluttering of that world.

Being the hybrid version of the Sportage, it did come with more power under the hood with the addition of an electric motor. Combine that with the 1.6-liter turbocharged engine and the outcome is 227 horsepower. This proved to be the perfect amount for us when accelerating into traffic or just getting around town. The spirit of this car continued to impress us.

On the safety side, the Sportage of course comes loaded with options, including blind spot monitoring, rear cross path detection, forward collision avoidance, lane departure warning, a parking distance warning and a very cool driver attention alert if the SUV feels that the driver is maybe not paying enough attention, recommending a driving break. Our only regret was it did not come with adaptive cruise control. Hopefully that will make the standard features list in the future.

It was a fantastic week with the Kia and we would recommend it for anyone looking for the perfect small SUV that comes loaded with technology and will not break the budget.

Base price: $30,990

Destination charge: $1,215

Price as driven: $33,860

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