2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid Review: Styling Dialed Back, Features Dialed Up
Is the 2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid a Good SUV?
- The Kia Sportage Hybrid is a spacious, nicely balanced everyday hauler that sports a few unconventional styling touches and boasts a pleasantly upscale look and feel in its top trim level.
How Does the 2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid Compare With Other Compact SUVs?
- Among mainstream-brand hybrid compact SUVs, the all-wheel-drive Sportage Hybrid’s Kia-estimated fuel economy of 35 mpg in combined driving is on par with the related 2025 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid. However, its gas mileage trails class leaders like the 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid and 2025 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid by 2-4 mpg.
Kia’s current-generation Sportage compact SUV debuted for 2023 with upsized dimensions and its first available hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains. For 2026, the entire Sportage family receives a nicely executed refresh that brings updated styling and some welcome new standard and available features. For this review, I attended the 2026 Sportage Hybrid’s press preview event in Louisville, Ky., where I drove the top-of-the-line SX-Prestige trim level. (Per our ethics policy, Cars.com pays for its own airfare and lodging when attending such manufacturer-sponsored events.)
Related: What’s the Best Compact SUV for 2025?
2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid, front | Cars.com photo by Damon Bell
What’s New for the Refreshed 2026 Kia Sportage?
1 / 132026 Kia Sportage Hybrid, front | Cars.com photo by Damon Bell
The 2023 Sportage inaugurated an unorthodox front-end treatment that included boomerang-shaped daytime running lights and swoopy body-lines. A face-lift for 2026 brings a slightly blockier, more conventional look, with daytime running lights that make the Sportage look more like a downsized version of Kia’s mid-size Sorento SUV. If you found the previous Sportage’s looks to be a bit too much, the 2026’s mildly toned-down visage might be more to your liking, and it still stands out enough that you’re unlikely to have any trouble finding it in a crowded parking lot.
The gas-only Sportage’s 187-horsepower, 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine carries over unchanged, but both hybrid powertrains get a slight power boost thanks to upgraded electric motors. The conventional hybrid is up 5 hp, to 232 hp total, while the PHEV is up 7 hp for a total of 268 hp.
Among the new standard features are a two-spoke steering wheel with a squared-off shape, an updated panoramic dashboard panel with dual 12.3-inch displays and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (higher trim levels get an upgraded gauge cluster screen and infotainment system). Newly available features include a 10-inch multifunction head-up display, heated outboard rear seats, side parking sensors and an upgraded version of Kia’s Highway Driving Assist system.
In addition to the previous drive-mode settings, AWD Sportages get a standard Terrain mode with driver-selectable settings for snow, mud and sand. Additionally, the Sportage Hybrid lineup expands with new S and X-Line trim levels, both with dark-finish accents.
Related Video:https://players.brightcove.net/1578086878/HyOJ1bP6_default/index.html?videoId=6377263341112
How Does the 2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid Drive?
You’d probably have to drive a 2025 and a 2026 Sportage Hybrid back to back to notice any difference in power delivery, but the SX Prestige I drove supplied respectably peppy, if not instantaneous, acceleration. The Sportage Hybrid’s conventional six-speed automatic transmission might seem a little archaic on paper compared to the continuously variable automatic transmissions of other hybrid powertrains, but it performs well. Overall, the Sportage Hybrid’s power delivery is smooth and mostly seamless.
Unlike the squared-off steering wheels in some vehicles I’ve driven, the Sportage’s new steering wheel wasn’t awkward for me to use and didn’t introduce any instrument panel visibility issues. The steering feel itself is responsive but relaxed. Even among compact SUVs, the Sportage is no corner carver; it’s tuned for comfort more than crisp handling. The ride quality is comfortable and absorbent overall, but the Sportage’s composure can be upset by sharp bumps in the middle of a turn, as on a freeway on-ramp. Our test drives were entirely on pavement, so I didn’t get the chance to test the effectiveness of the Sportage’s new Terrain mode system.
How Is the 2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid’s Fuel Economy?
We haven’t had the chance to do real-world fuel-economy testing yet, either, but the best average fuel economy on the dashboard display during my driving was 34.2 mpg. That’s on par with estimates of 35/36/35 mpg city/highway/combined for AWD Sportage Hybrid trims, but it’s not outstanding for a hybrid compact SUV. It trails by 2-3 mpg the real-world numbers we achieved on a different drive route in a 2025 Honda CR-V hybrid and a 2024 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. Kia’s gas mileage estimates for the front-wheel-drive Sportage Hybrid are an impressive 41/44/42 mpg, but FWD comes only in the entry-level LX trim.
What Is the 2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid’s Interior Like?
1 / 122026 Kia Sportage Hybrid, cargo | Cars.com photo by Damon Bell
About the make
Kia
Kia’s focus on value puts many features for the money across its lineup of cars and SUVs that offer gasoline, hybrid and electric powertrains.
Latest news
News
Cheaper Tesla Model Y Expected to Debut Oct. 7
By Jared Gall
October 6, 2025
News
What Does Half-Ton, Three-Quarter-Ton, One-Ton Mean When Talking About Trucks?
By Aaron Bragman and Joe Bruzek
October 6, 2025
News
Pickup Trucks 101: Gas Vs. Diesel, Which Is Better?
By Aaron Bragman and Matt Barnes
October 6, 2025
Learn more
Shop the Kia Sportage Hybrid2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid specs and reviewsCompare the 2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid
The cabin ambiance in the line-topping SX-Prestige trim is suitably upscale, helped by a full complement of comfort and convenience features. The easy-to-use rotary gear selector and clever retractable cupholders aren’t new, but they’re still among my favorite features. The combination control panel that toggles between climate and audio controls is another carryover feature; it takes a little getting used to because it’s easy to forget to change from climate to audio mode and vice versa. However, the Sportage’s cargo area and backseat space are still among the most generous in the class. I’m 6 feet, 6 inches tall, and I had decent comfort in the backseat with the front seat positioned all the way back.
1 / 92026 Kia Sportage Hybrid, charge pad | Cars.com photo by Damon Bell
Should You Buy a 2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid?
The Kia Sportage Hybrid was already a solid entry in a hotly contested class, and the updates it receives for 2026 enhance its standing. Its pricing remains highly competitive, too, especially considering the generous levels of standard equipment; including destination, prices start at $31,735 for the base LX trim and run to $41,835 for the SX-Prestige. The 2026 Kia Sportage lineup is arriving in dealerships now.
Shop the 2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid near you
2025 Mercedes-Benz E450 All-Terrain Review: Wearing Your Dress Shoes On a Hike
By Brian Normile
August 22, 2025
2025 Mercedes-Benz E450 All-Terrain | Cars.com photo by Christian Lantry
Is the 2025 Mercedes-Benz E450 All-Terrain a Good Luxury Station Wagon?
- The E450 All-Terrain is a joy to drive on pavement; it’s a roomy, comfortable and expensive vehicle, laden with overwrought technology that frustrates more than it impresses. Even so, it’s not just a good luxury station wagon, it might well be the epitome of the form.
How Does the 2025 Mercedes-Benz E450 All-Terrain Compare With Other Luxury Station Wagons?
- The Volvo V90 Cross Country and Audi A6 Allroad are the other luxurious and off-road-oriented station wagons on sale (for now), but the E450 All-Terrain is posher and more powerful. All three, however, including the Benz, may not be long for this world as automakers transition to SUVs and leave the wagon realm to performance vehicles.
Station wagons are a dying breed, but there are some encouraging signs of life from high-performance wagons, of all things. Mercedes-Benz announced its own return to the class with the coming AMG E53 Hybrid wagon, but even before that, the cupboard back in Stuttgart labeled “wagons for the U.S.” wasn’t bare: Meet the 2025 E450 All-Terrain, a luxury wagon cosplaying as an off-road vehicle.
Related: The Performance Wagon Is Back: 2026 Mercedes-AMG E53 Hybrid Wagon Revealed
The E450 All-Terrain wears plastic cladding on its fenders and below its rear bumper, with more cladding and a chrome strip on its rocker panels. It sports an adjustable air suspension with off-road settings, plus an off-road page in its touchscreen and the fanciest camera tech money can buy — including an “invisible hood” view.
Make no mistake, though: This is a luxury wagon meant to devour highway miles, with space for both cargo and you and your family (and maybe a friend, too).
Related Video:
How Much Does the E450 All-Terrain Cost?
The short answer to this question is a pretty penny. The E450 All-Terrain starts at $77,250 (including destination charge). Our test vehicle totaled $87,960 with its variety of options, and it was missing an available Multicontour Seating Package, which includes massaging front seats. A nearly $90,000 Mercedes that won’t massage me? Please. (That statement is more than a bit bougie, I know, but I stand by it.)
The E450 All-Terrain is more expensive than direct competitors like the Volvo V90 Cross Country and Audi A6 Allroad, but it costs significantly less than trendy performance wagons like the Audi RS 6 Avant and BMW M5 Touring. Its price tag also puts this wagon in a bit of an odd place in Mercedes’ own lineup: The similarly sized and capable GLE SUV starts more than $10,000 less, and the larger three-row GLS SUV has a starting price just a bit higher than our decently equipped E450 All-Terrain.
How Does the E450 All-Terrain Drive?
1 / 132025 Mercedes-Benz E450 All-Terrain | Cars.com photo by Christian Lantry
Let’s get our off-road impressions out of the way: During our time with the wagon, we took our test vehicle to Holly Oaks ORV Park in Holly, Mich. … and left it in the parking lot. It did very well on (maintained) unpaved roads, but we were at the park for a comparison test of more serious off-road vehicles.
On the highway and around town, however, the E450 behaves beautifully. Its mild-hybrid, turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six-cylinder powertrain produces 375 horsepower, which dwarfs the V90 Cross Country’s 295-hp output and exceeds the A6 Allroad’s 335 hp — and that’s not counting the Mercedes’ boost mode, which unleashes an extra 23 hp and 151 pounds-feet of torque when called upon. Mercedes says the E450 can go from 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds, and that certainly feels believable — perhaps even a little conservative. Power delivery is pleasantly linear, and the standard nine-speed automatic transmission usually finds the right gear without issue, though it can be hesitant when you put the accelerator to the floor.
With two adults and luggage, we observed fuel economy in line with the E450’s EPA rating of 22/31/25 mpg city/highway/combined. The wagon thrives on the highway, and the standard Airmatic air suspension makes for a comfortable and composed ride. As an added bonus, in its Comfort setting, the suspension automatically lowers the car by 0.6 inch at speeds above 75 mph for improved efficiency. The ride firms up in Sport mode, and with our test vehicle’s optional 20-inch wheels and tires, impacts over bumps and highway seams were a bit too harsh for my taste. My preferred driving setting was the Individual program, which allows drivers to pick and choose a variety of settings to their liking. I had the steering and powertrain set to Sport, for improved responsiveness and the weightier steering feel I prefer, but the suspension in Comfort, for a cushier ride.
Judged on driving experience alone, the E450 All-Terrain is worth every penny.
2025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray Review: Grand Sporting, Grand Touring
By Conner Golden
August 21, 2025
2025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, front | Cars.com photo by Conner Golden
Is the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray the Quickest Corvette?
- It’s not quite the fastest, but the E-Ray’s 655-horsepower hybrid drivetrain puts it right in the middle of the Corvette lineup in terms of straight-line performance, with a 0-60 mph run that beats both the standard Stingray and the Z06.
What Does the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray Compete Against?
- In terms of direct analogs, there isn’t much in the E-Ray’s price range. The recently hybridized Porsche 911 Carrera GTS is the closest match, but it comes with a price that’s nearly $60,000 higher.
Remember the Corvette E-Ray? Not that it’s a thing of the past, just with all of the recent headlines focusing on the Corvette ZR1 and new ZR1X’s performance on the famed Nurburgring racetrack — along with the sustained hype of the wild ’n’ wonderful Z06 — the E-Ray seems a bit underdiscussed for a 655-hp, mid-engine V-8 hybrid supercar.
Yes, supercar. Beyond the E-Ray’s supercar-standard 2.5-second 0-60 mph scramble, good luck convincing regular passersby that a black-over-orange E-Ray like my test car is any less visually exotic than a similarly black Ferrari 296 or McLaren Artura. The blacked-out E-Ray I drove was downright sinister, with its monochromatic scheme muffling some of the more awkward angles of the C8 Corvette’s profile.
2025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, rear angle | Cars.com photo by Conner Golden
How Is the Corvette E-Ray Different From a Stingray?
The E-Ray’s hybridized drivetrain certainly makes it greener than other versions, but hardware from the Z06 also makes it substantially meaner. The E-Ray cribs the Z’s widebody profile, stretching some 3.6 inches wider than the Stingray and sporting a similarly sharpened front end. Filling the deepened wells are a set of wheels and tires sharing dimensions with the Z06 and ZR1, with the rear rubber smooshing pavement with its 345-width tread.
Related: 2026 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X: An Electrified Track Monster
Brembo carbon-ceramic discs are standard on the E-Ray, as are Chevy’s fabulous magnetorheological shocks, which are also shared with the Big Z. What you won’t find in the E-Ray, however, is the Z06’s ear-splitting, 5.5-liter flat-plane crankshaft V-8; it’s replaced by the E-Ray’s hybridized 6.2-liter V-8, which represents the current pinnacle of pushrod performance.
In many ways, this is a soft return of the Corvette’s vaunted Grand Sport bloodline: Stingray heart, Z06 weaponry. It’s the Vette to pick for an extended road trip, particularly if either the journey or the destination cuts through squiggled country roads — perhaps somewhere in rural Texas? Maybe … the famed Texas Hill Country? Wow! How’d you guess?
Texas’ automotive press fleet rarely offers up anything hotter than a pickup truck’s top trim, so when I had a chance to pilot an E-Ray, there was no way I was going to tether it to Dallas’ sprawling urban grid, which is just one great latticework of concrete — all right angles and highway until you’re well into the countryside. Honestly, even the flat plains outside the DFW metroplex offer little more than unpoliced straights, so it was seemingly divine providence that my time in the E-Ray fell on the same week I was set to drive some Maseratis at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas.
2025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, front row | Cars.com photo by Conner Golden
How Does the Corvette E-Ray Handle Road Trips?
Austin’s tight, overdeveloped and shockingly fractured roads are even worse than Dallas’ grid for exercising a 655-hp, low-nose speed shard, but taking the long way there cut through the heart of the Texas Hill Country. True to its name, this region offers a tableau of evocative Southwestern landscapes, ranging from tree-speckled savannahs to clusters of those eponymous hills. It’s a countryside teeming with active ranches, nature preserves, resorts and limestone manses, and it’s also where you’ll find the state’s finest driving roads, a roiling network of long, lean two-lane blacktop that eventually tangles itself into a dense knot in the hills.
From my family home in Dallas, our chosen route presented us with a solid six hours of driving, the first four of which saw us blaze a trail through a North-Central Texas expanse of featureless grasslands cut suddenly by random pockets of suburbia. It’s hardly exciting, but the E-Ray made planning and preparation as painless as possible with its long legs and large trunk — and, uh, frunk. Chevy remains tethered to the requirement that any Corvette must fit at least one full-size golf bag and its associated accoutrement, and the E-Ray’s stowage is no different from a standard Stingray — outside of an ever-so-slightly narrowed frunk aperture.
The E-Ray’s 12.5 cubic feet of combined cargo capacity, split between the large compartment behind the mid-mounted engine and the small (but usable) frunk, was more than enough for two folks on a three-day adventure. Its controversial split-cabin layout won’t win high marks for proper feng shui, but I’m consistently impressed by how upmarket and reasonably luxe the C8’s interior appointments are. At least in the high-spec configuration of my E-Ray test car, it’s a genuinely primo place to burn through highway miles, with great materials and enough creature-features (including ventilated seats, wireless device charging and Apple CarPlay) to offset both boredom and the early summer heat …
2025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, engine | Cars.com photo by Conner Golden
How Quick Is the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray?
… Or at least the initial summer heat. Piercing sunshine soon gave way to a typical Texas rainstorm, with sheets of fat, grape-size drops nearly flooding the highway and cutting visibility down to a few car lengths. The E-Ray’s massive, low-tread-rating summer steamrollers meant hydroplaning was initially a real concern, but all-wheel drive and the car’s Weather mode meant we cut through the rainstorm with little drama save a very soggy bathroom stop that brimmed our shoes and slicked our clothes.
That has to be the most boring way to set up the E-Ray’s piece de resistance, as the lone electric motor on the front axle exists for stoplight and on-ramp subjugation, not foul-weather hardiness. Chevy claims a ridiculous 0-60 mph low-orbit launch of 2.5 seconds en route to a 10.5-second quarter mile — enough “git” to enter any American highway at speeds best reserved for a banked oval.
Shame, we were fresh out of those. All we could manage was a stretch of rain-free country interstate for our chance to blow-dry the rain streaks — though I’m not sure a hair dryer is an applicable metaphor here. Maybe afterburners? Either way, a full-throttle blast in the most aggressive and alarmingly named Maximum Discharge mode wallops your lower back and striates your neck muscles, and the firehose of power doesn’t drop off until the digital speedometer is deep into [redacted] territory.
Shop the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray near you
New
2025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray RWD Convertible 2LZ
$146,160 MSRP $149,160
New
2025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray RWD Convertible 1LZ
$113,972 $1,398 price drop
View all 2025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray models for sale near 60606
About the make
Chevrolet
Chevrolet is GM’s mainstream brand. Its lineup ranges from subcompact to full-size SUVs, and the Corvette sports car is its halo vehicle.
Latest news
News
Cheaper Tesla Model Y Expected to Debut Oct. 7
By Jared Gall
October 6, 2025
News
What Does Half-Ton, Three-Quarter-Ton, One-Ton Mean When Talking About Trucks?
By Aaron Bragman and Joe Bruzek
October 6, 2025
News
Pickup Trucks 101: Gas Vs. Diesel, Which Is Better?
By Aaron Bragman and Matt Barnes
October 6, 2025
Learn more
Shop the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray2025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray specs and reviewsCompare the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray
What Engine Does the Corvette E-Ray Have?
The E-Ray’s moonshot speed might be a smidge jarring for those already accustomed to the standard C8’s LT2 soundtrack, as the E-Ray’s 6.2-liter V-8 is unchanged versus a Stingray equipped with the Z51 Performance Package. Expect a tidy blend of Z06 pace and visual menace, with the all-American, cheeseburger-and-apple-pie small-block thunder most longtime Vette votaries prefer.
As you probably guessed, we made short work of the longer, emptier sections of road we found, reveling in the LT2’s exceptional ability to settle into a distant rumble when not roused to crack the sound barrier — speed or otherwise. The E-Ray’s long-legged character contrasts with both its appearance and capability, offering a real-world cruising range somewhere in the low 400-mile realm if you stay out of the accelerator.
Then the landscape changed — subtly at first, with the empty grasslands now undulating and speckled with ancient live oaks. Having turned off the interstate, our tarmac was now a coarse, sun-baked two-lane road with frequent cattle guards offering a modest amount of curvature as it meandered through big-buck ranches. Out of Tour and into Sport mode, the E-Ray’s Magnetic Ride Control system stiffens up enough to sharpen composure and cut chassis wallow, but not so much that the cattle guards powdered our spines.
The cadence here was more country than canyon, with much of my energy spent hauling the explosive E-Ray down from long, long straights for a brief section of S curves. It wasn’t until we made it to the legendary Twisted Sisters that the E-Ray felt challenged. The road trio of Texas State Highway Loop 335, 336 and 337 are roundly considered the state’s finest; it’s on these three trails that the Hill Country earns its name, the same heat-treated tarmac now soaring through a series of dramatically rolling knolls that swell to proportions just beneath a small mountain.
2025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, profile | Cars.com photo by Conner Golden
How Does the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray Drive?
Directional changes were now on par with what you’ll find in your average California canyon, and the E-Ray’s mile-wide track and (optional) gluey Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires were on full — OK, mostly full — attack. The car feels the sum of its parts; face-rippling Z06-light grip with teeth-clenching low-end pull, all with a sense of mass that’s greater than anywhere else in the Corvette lineup. Thanks to its hybrid system, the E-Ray coupe’s base curb weight is nearly 3,800 pounds, some 400 pounds up on a base Stingray coupe. Still, outside of some subtle shift in “background” mass, it’s well offset by the electric motor’s additional 160 hp and standard carbon-ceramic brakes.
Dynamically, there’s not much to say here that I wouldn’t say of a Z51-ified Stingray. It ripped, dipped and zipped through the Twisted Sisters with the incredible approachability and immediate confidence found in all C8s, though certain segments of road were a tad narrow for the squat E-Ray. Still, it doesn’t really drive like a hybrid, particularly when contextualized against hot greenery like the new BMW M5 and Mercedes-AMG C63 S E-Performance. Where most performance hybrids cut the combustion engine at every chance in day-to-day driving, the E-Ray’s relatively tiny 1.9-kilowatt-hour battery offers up around 3-4 miles of silent surface-street cruising before the small-block V-8 sounds-off (unlike a plug-in hybrid, there’s no port to charge the E-Ray’s battery pack).
1 / 202025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, front row | Cars.com photo by Conner Golden
What’s the Gas Mileage of a Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray?
During standard commuting, you’ll only notice the hybrid system during the impressively smooth spin-up of the engine stop-start system, a feature that can be toggled off (as I did) by a physical button near the driver’s right knee. That, and the V-8 enters and sustains “V4” mode noticeably more than the standard LT2, wherein certain conditions deactivate half the cylinders for a thriftier (and fleeting) four-cylinder cruise.
Wider tires, extra weight and a diminutive battery mean the E-Ray’s EPA-rated fuel economy of 16/24/19 mpg city/highway/combined is slightly worse than a Stingray, dropping 1 mpg on the highway versus the gas-only car. Fair enough, but my indicated 17.7 mpg average over 850 or so miles of highway driving and wanton backroad abuse was modestly impressive, and we were never frustrated at the E-Ray’s thirst.
In fact, we were never frustrated with the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray in the slightest outside of having to return the keys at the end of the week. For general purpose grand-touring thrills, the E-Ray is my pick of the diverse C8 Corvette lineup for its approachability, oppressive acceleration and sky-high capability. Once you spec yours, might I suggest you take delivery in Central Texas? There are a few routes I reckon you should check out.
More Chevy Corvette News From Cars.com:
- Chevrolet Reveals Updated 2026 Corvette Interior
- Chevrolet Announces Pricing, New Package for 2026 Corvette ZR1X
- 233-MPH Bargain: 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Priced From $174,995
- 2024 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Review: Sensational Screamer
- Chevrolet Corvette CX and CX.R Vision Gran Turismo: Concepts You Can Buy, Virtually
Related Video:https://players.brightcove.net/1578086878/HyOJ1bP6_default/index.html?videoId=6363656291112
Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.
