The Hybrid For Budget-Conscious Buyers Who Need Space And Range

Hybrids (HEVs) are some of the best vehicles you can buy right now, and that isn’t just some sales pitch. The automotive industry has been shifting more and more towards electrified vehicles, and many consumers have made it apparent that they are not ready for the change. As always, the car world is filled with opinions and personal preferences, and that’s what makes this field such a great place. It isn’t right or wrong to be against electrification, but if you’re trying to dip your toes in a new platform but still get a car that feels like a non-electric vehicle, your best bet is a hybrid.

On average, hybrids typically cost a couple of grand more than their non-electric counterparts. An example of this is that the 2025 Toyota RAV4 starts at $29,250, and the hybrid version is only $3,050 extra. That may seem like a lot, but hybrids tend to save you money in the long run in areas such as fuel costs. Speaking of efficiency, another area that hybrids capitalize on is offering long-distance ranges. So, if you’re in the market for an affordable hybrid with long ranges and even a spacious interior, the good news is there are plenty of options, but starting with just one is the best route to go down.

The 2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid Specializes In Affordability, Space, And Range

If you were to ask, “What hybrid is the best in terms of spaciousness and long-distance driving?” there is technically one answer, aka, whoever offers the most, but the runner-ups are just as impressive. This isn’t a discussion over the best; rather, it’s over one that does it incredibly well. The car world is constantly evolving, and it’s best not to throw titles onto vehicles because it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for a new car to take the crown the next day.

Today, the hybrid that is priced well with space and range is the 2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid. You may have heard of Kia in recent times, and that’s because this Korean car brand has been dominating the automotive industry. This may be due to its parent company, Hyundai, lending them a hand and creating a great partnership. Nonetheless, the 2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid is a solid steal and gets even better when you learn about its MSRPs.

A Starting Price Of $28,790

It’s hard to be even more budget-friendly than a 2025 hybrid SUV that’s listed at $28,790. The LX is the base model of the Sportage Hybrid, and the next step up is the EX Hybrid, which is listed at $32,590. The highest trim is the SX Prestige, which, as the name suggests, is the most elevated with all the upgraded features and technology.

2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid Trims And Prices

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The Two-Row Hybrid SUV That Accommodates Passenger And Cargo Space

The hybrid market offers all sorts of vehicles; whether you’re looking for a sedan, two-row SUV, three-row SUV, sports car, or truck, you name it, there’s one. The 2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid is a two-row SUV that offers accommodating space for both passengers and cargo. For passengers, the Sportage Hybrid provides 39.5 inches of headroom in the front and 39.6 inches in the rear.

2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid Interior Dimensions

The legroom is just as impressive, coming in at 41.4 inches in the front and 41.3 inches in the rear. Stepping outside and making your way to the rear, the Sportage Hybrid offers 39.5 cubic feet of cargo space. With the rear seat folded down, you’ll get a maximum cargo capacity of 73.7 cubic feet.

Loaded With Incredible Standard Features

Heading back inside, the Kia Sportage Hybrid is filled with top-of-the-line features. The starting trim showcases Kia’s base standard features, while the two higher trims upgrade various areas. The LX Hybrid comes with a six-way manual driver’s seat and a four-way front passenger seat, whereas the higher trims receive a 10-way with power-adjustability for the driver and an eight-way power-adjustable seat for the front passenger.

Sticking with passenger seating, the Sportage Hybrid offers heated and ventilated seating, which pairs nicely with the available heated steering wheel. Kia, throughout the years, has demonstrated their level of practicality and convenience through standard features such as the sound-absorbing windshield glass, which prevents outside noise from seeping into the cabin. For upholstery, the LX receives woven cloth, the EX gets SynTex, and the SX Prestige upgrades it to a premium SynText material. Kia offers plenty of other features, but the real showstoppers are the technology.

Equipped With Hyundai’s Latest Technologies

Over the years, people believed that base models would be lackluster and that car brands would cheap out on features, but this is becoming a thing of the past. The 2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid demonstrates that base models can shine as well, with features like an 8-inch touchscreen display and a 12.2-inch instrument cluster. These displays can be upgraded on the higher trims, with a 12.3-inch touchscreen display with navigation and a 12.3-inch instrument display. No matter what setup you opt for, all displays allow for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity. For audio, the base and middle trim houses a standard six-speaker audio system, while the SX Prestige utilizes an eight-speaker Harmon Kardon Premium Surround Sound System.

Kia Driver Assistance Technology

• Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist-Parallel Exit
• Blind-Spot View Monitor
• Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist w/ Pedestrian, Cyclist, And Car Detection
• Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist w/ Pedestrian, Cyclist, And Junction Turning Detection
• Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist
• Park Distance Warning (Front and Rear)
• Lane Departure Warning
• Lane Keeping Assist
• And More.

Wrapping back to convenience, the Sportage Hybrid keeps everyone online with multiple USB-C ports spread throughout the cabin, along with the available wireless phone charging station at the front of the cabin. Those are just some of the noteworthy technologies, and the one that shouldn’t go unnoticed is Kia’s Driver Assistance Technologies. The higher the trims, the more you get, but all assistance systems offer high levels of protection and convenience.

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A Maximum Driving Range Of 589 Miles

Now that you know the 2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid offers adequate space, the next area to dive into is its range. Of course, it wouldn’t make sense to look at the range without popping the hood and seeing the unit that delivers it all. The 2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid is powered by a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder hybrid engine.

This powertrain delivers a respectable 227 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. Kia offers it front- or all-wheel drive, along with a six-speed automatic transmission. The Sportage Hybrid doesn’t fall in line as the best hybrid to offer impressive towing, maxing out at 2,000 pounds. Nonetheless, that capacity is enough to slap on a small trailer and go camping.

2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid Specifications

Due to Kia offering the Sportage Hybrid in two drivetrains, you’ll see that the all-wheel drive (AWD) setup drops a bit in efficiency and range compared to the front-wheel drive (FWD) models. It isn’t drastic, but if you’re trying to get the best fuel economy out of the Sportage Hybrid, you’ll want to opt for a front-wheel drive one. The 2025 Sportage Hybrid FWD provides 42 MPG in the city, 44 MPG on the highway, a combined fuel economy of 43 MPG, and a maximum driving range of 589 miles. For the Sportage Hybrid AWD, it doesn’t trail too far, offering 38 MPG all across the board (city, highway, and combined). Its driving range stays above 500, topping out at 521 miles.

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How It Stacks Up To Its Competition?

The 2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid seems to do well in all categories, and to see how it performs overall, it’s best to compare it to its competition. All fields in the automotive industry are competitive, but if you were to look at all of them, the hybrid industry seems to make a compelling case as to it being the most competitive.

Mainstream 2025 Hybrid SUVs: Interior Dimensions, Fuel Economy, And Range

If you just take the leading players, such as Lexus, Toyota, Honda, Kia, and Hyundai, you’ll notice that these are some of the most reliable car brands. Not only that, but new players have started to join up, such as Mazda and Subaru, debuting their first hybrids this year. Other brands won’t make it easy on the Sportage Hybrid, but based on its portfolio, the Sportage Hybrid looks to put up a fight.

2025 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid

The 2025 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid is up first and actually shares many of the same components and a similar setup to the Sportage Hybrid. This isn’t surprising because the majority of Kia and Hyundai models are built on the same platforms but boast different designs, features, and sometimes, some tweaked mechanics.

The 2025 Tucson Hybrid is listed at $33,465 to $41,295 and offers a little more space than its “cousin”. You’ll see that Hyundai lends most of the homework to Kia, but Hyundai typically adds more on top, such as efficiency, range, and performance. The Tucson Hybrid does the opposite, offering a lower fuel economy and shorter range.

2025 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid

Next up is arguably the most popular hybrid SUV, which is the 2025 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. Toyota doesn’t need an introduction to why it’s dominating the hybrid industry, and possibly even being the best brand in this field.

The RAV4 Hybrid demonstrates what a reliable hybrid SUV should look like and carries price tags that range from $32,300 to $40,605. Its interior space is slightly smaller than the Kia Sportage Hybrid, which is the same for its fuel economy and range. You’re looking at a variant of America’s most bought SUV, and while it doesn’t come out on top in these categories, it caters to other areas such as design, features, and technology.

2025 Mazda CX-50 Hybrid

The 2025 Mazda CX-50 Hybrid is one of the newest hybrids on the market and is actually Mazda’s first HEV. For starters, this Japanese hybrid SUV is noticeably smaller than the other hybrid SUVs that are listed. Not everyone is aiming for the most spacious two-row hybrid SUV, and similar to the RAV4 Hybrid, the CX-50 Hybrid makes up for it in other areas, such as its features and looks.

When it comes to its fuel economy, it stays in the same ballpark as the others, and its driving range has yet to be rated. If you’re looking for a hybrid SUV that just hit the streets this year, you can pick one up for $33,970 to $40,050.

2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid

The last major competition to the 2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid is possibly its highest rival in terms of interior space and driving range, which is the 2025 Honda CR-V Hybrid. Honda starts their flagship hybrid SUV at $34,650 and goes up to $41,100, offering interior dimensions that are nearly identical to those of the Sportage Hybrid.

The CR-V Hybrid also does incredibly well in terms of range and efficiency, but the Sportage Hybrid still offers more in these categories. The Honda CR-V Hybrid has been around for some time and cemented itself as a well-rounded hybrid SUV you can stand behind.

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The 2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid Seems To Be A Steal

As mentioned earlier, this isn’t to crown the hybrid SUV that offers the best range along with the most spacious interior. As you can see from all the competitors, all the hybrid SUVs seem to be a solid choice for a new SUV, and that’s one thing that’s more unique about the hybrid industry to the rest: it’s hard to find a bad model. It’s almost as if you can put every hybrid on a roulette wheel, and whichever it lands on, your chances of going home with an amazing one are high.

The 2025 Kia Sportage Hybrid demonstrated how it competes to the highest degree in range, efficiency, and passenger/cargo space when compared to its competitors and ends up being the most affordable one (by a mile). It’s apparent that this two-row Korean hybrid SUV is a solid steal and well worth the buy.