Kia Sportage vs Hyundai Tucson

What's the difference?

Okay, this is pretty easy. That SX Hybrid is excellent - it’s fuel efficient, it drives really nicely, it’s practical, but it’s not great value when you consider it’s more than $8000 pricier than the SX petrol. If you want good value, get the GT-Line hybrid. It comes with more features for not that much more money compared to the petrol version. 

Oh, and if you’re reading this in three years time and thinking about buying a second-hand Sportage SX Hybrid, then do it.

As Toyota has found with the RAV4, these types of ‘self-charging hybrids’ are popular with customers because they offer more performance, lower fuel economy and require no change in behaviour - no plugging in or managing battery range.

There’s a very good reason for Hyundai to add the Tucson Hybrid to the local line-up, because it will expand the appeal of what is already a popular SUV. Many buyers have turned off diesel in the wake of the Volkswagen emission scandal, so hybrids such as these have greater appeal.

Especially if Hyundai can keep the price difference between the hybrid and diesel to a similar level to what we’ve already seen with the Santa Fe. In these current times of high petrol prices and cost-of-living pressures, anything that can make driving better financially we welcome.

The Sportage Hybrid SX is almost identical in looks to the petrol Sportage, which is why I mistook somebody else's car for mine. There’s a small badge on the tailgate of the hybrid which says HEV for Hybrid Electric Vehicle, but that’s really the only giveaway.

The Sportage is a more interesting looking SUV compared to less avant-garde rivals like the RAV4. I love the arrow LED running lights, the wide, mesh grille, and the tail-lights.

The cabin is also differently good looking and premium, apart from the blank panels on the centre console - the ones that remind you didn’t get the Sportage with heated seats…

Still, even with the blank panels it’s a premium-looking cabin with the 12.3-inch screen and black materials. It would have been nice if the synthetic leather seats were standard on this SX Hybrid instead of the cloth.

What’s interesting about the design is that there isn’t anything unique about it, at least not overtly different from the rest of the Tucson range. As electrification becomes the norm rather than the exception, car makers have realised car buyers don’t need or want their electrified cars to be styled dramatically differently. 

As Toyota's decision to drop the Prius in Australia and instead relying on the Corolla to cater to buyers looking for a hybrid model demonstrates, buyers have evolved with their tastes. 

Instead both outside and in, the Tucson Hybrid is a regular-looking SUV that will appeal to anyone looking for a fuel-efficient model. 

The Sportage is a mid-sized SUV - it’s not as big as a Kia Sorento, but it is larger than a Kia Seltos. 

There’s plenty of room up front with storage in the centre console, cupholders and door pockets.

The second row has directional air vents and great legroom and headroom even for me at 189cm tall. My nine-year old son reckons the window sill is too high to see out of.

He’s out of his booster seat now but he’s a tall kid and doesn’t have this visibility issue very often as we move from test car to test car.

The boot is also big at 586 litres (VDA) behind the second row. It’ll fit the three-piece CarsGuide luggage set with room to spare.

Despite the addition of the hybrid powertrain elements the Tucson remains a practical family car. While it’s not the biggest SUV in its segment it offers adequate room for a family of four or five.

The front seats are comfortable and there’s good small item storage, as you’ll find in the existing Tucson range, with cup holders, a wireless smartphone charging pad, lidded console box and deep door pockets. The rear bench is good too, with enough room for my 180cm frame to fit in relative comfort, as well as cup holders in the fold-down armrest and a bottle holder in the door.

Crucially, the boot capacity is the same in both the petrol and hybrid Tucson in US specification, which means it should translate to the same 539-litres offered here. The boot floor is flat, which will make loading and unloading easier, but it’s worth noting that the US-spec model we drove had no space for a spare tyre and instead relied on a puncture repair kit.

While Hyundai may have confirmed the impending arrival of the Tucson Hybrid, the details are still under wraps. That’s likely because the hybrid will coincide with an as yet unseen mid-life refresh of the Tucson that was first revealed back in 2020.

Because of that there’s no public confirmation of pricing and specification for this new addition, but we can extrapolate what to expect based on the rest of the Hyundai line-up. Based on the recently added Kona and Santa Fe Hybrids, it’s a safe bet there’s likely to be two variants of the Tucson Hybrid. Expect an entry-level model - likely just called Tucson Hybrid - and a more luxurious variant - probably carrying the Tucson Hybrid Premium name, or possibly the Highlander badge.

Precisely what specification they will include and how much they will cost remains to be seen, but again we can probably take an educated guess based on what we’ve seen with the Kona and Santa Fe. The Kona Hybrid carries a $4000 price premium over its petrol-powered equivalent, while the Santa Fe Hybrid costs $3000 more.

So if the 2024 Tucson prices stay flat (which is possible but not guaranteed) expect the Tucson Hybrid to start around $46,900 and the Tucson Hybrid Premium/Highlander at $53,900.

Normally we cover the design and practicality before we get under the bonnet but you’re on a fact-finding mission and I’m your guide, your guide to cars. That would be a good website name.

Okay, the Sportage SX Hybrid has a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol sporty and fuel-efficient engine making 132kW and 265Nm. There’s also an electric motor producing 44kW and 264Nm. Their combined output is 169kW/350Nm.  

The hybrid variants are front-wheel drive only and have a six-speed automatic transmission. 

It’s a great engine, smooth transmission and the way the motor interacts is almost seamless. 

This isn’t a plug-in hybrid, either. The batteries recharge automatically through regenerative braking. Really, for Australia, this type of hybrid is the way to go, offering superb range and no anxiety about charging.

This is the heart of the matter, with the Tucson Hybrid combining a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with a small electric motor. The petrol engine makes the same power as the ‘SmartStream G1.6’ in the current Tucson, 132kW/265Nm. But the addition of the 44kW electric motor takes the total powertrain output to 168kW/349Nm.

The powertrain is paired to a six-speed automatic transmission as standard as well as Hyundai’s HTRAC all-wheel drive system.

Kia says that after a combination of open and urban roads the Sportage SX Hybrid will use 4.9L/100km. The petrol SX with the 2.0-litre engine and front-wheel drive uses 8.1L/100km.

In our own fuel test we recorded 6.9L/100km which was mostly urban with a couple of motorway trips during the week.

Getting back to our earlier question regarding the money you’ll save in fuel. I’ve worked it out using actual maths.

So, using Kia’s official fuel economy of 4.9L/00km, that’s 3.2L/100km less than the 2.0-litre petrol SX and if fuel is $2 per litre you’re saving $6.40 for every 100km you drive in comparison.

Now, $6.40 goes into $8400 (the extra you’ve paid for the hybrid) 1312.5 times. Multiply that by 100 to get the number of kilometres you’ll need to travel. So, that’s 131,250km you’ll need to go to save the $8400 in fuel. 

Most Aussies do 10,000 kays a years on average. That means you’re looking at over 13 years. Tell you what, the person who buys it second hand will get the best deal because they really will save money on fuel. 

It’s true the Sportage Hybrid is fuel efficient and I’ve scored it very well for that, but if it was me I’d be looking to buy one second hand so I wasn’t getting hit hard with the new car hybrid price premium.

Hyundai USA rates the Tucson Hybrid fuel economy at between 6.1L/100km and 6.3L/100km depending on the variant. It must be noted that US fuel economy figures do alter to Australian numbers, but as a guide those figures are competitive without being class-leading.

The X-Trail e-Power returns the same 6.1L/100km, but the RAV4 Hybrid uses just 4.8L/100km so there’s room for Hyundai to close the gap.

But at 6.1L/100km the hybrid would be the most fuel-efficient member of the Tucson range in Australia, with the diesel managing 6.3L/100km and the 1.6 turbo petrol using 7.2L/100km. So there’s reason to think adding this hybrid option would expand the appeal of the Tucson.

The US-spec models have a 51-litre fuel tank which means a theoretical driving range of up to 835km on a single tank.

The Sportage SX Hybrid is better to drive than the petrol SX with the 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engine. It starts silently thanks to the electric motor and will coast away serenely until you need to move faster and come to a hill where you need the power of the engine.

The brake pedal feel is better than I’ve experienced in many hybrid cars and the transition from engine to motor is almost seamless.

The ride is comfortable, there’s no jiggle over potholes and handling isn’t bad for this type of family SUV. 

The only negative point to report is that because the hybrid Sportage is front-wheel drive, there can be a loss of traction if you accelerate hard from a standstill on a wet road or while climbing a steep hill.

If you’ve never driven a hybrid before, you’ll be absolutely fine - the only thing you'll need to get used to is turning the key and not detecting any engine noise.

The extra power and torque makes for a notable improvement in performance over what’s currently offered in Australia. The Tucson Hybrid feels quite punchy off the mark whenever you engage both the engine and motor. While it’s not exactly a ‘N Performance’ model, it does feel sprightly for a mid-size SUV.

Plus there’s the added bonus that the electric motor can do all of the work some of the time.

So if you do a lot of urban driving and can be careful with your right foot you may be able to get close to, or even beat, the claimed fuel economy.

It’s difficult to make a definitive comment on the handling, because the version we drove had the US suspension tune, which felt softer than what we’ve experienced here to deal with America’s very average road conditions. Even so, our test drive did demonstrate that the addition of the hybrid system, and the added weight it brings, doesn’t have a negative impact on the way the Tucson drives. It still feels like a well-balanced and responsive SUV and we’d certainly expect that to be the case of Australian-bound models.

Again, this is an area where we don’t know any specific details, but it’s almost certain that the Tucson Hybrid will follow the same safety features as the rest of the range.

There’s all the usual acronyms you expect these days, such as AEB (autonomous emergency braking), ESC (electronic stability control), BSM (blind spot monitoring) and RCTA (rear cross-traffic alert).

The biggest difference between the current range and the hybrid is likely to be the loss of the full-size spare wheel. Given the unique Australian conditions, if Hyundai can find a way to fit even a spacesaver spare it would be more appealing and safer than the puncture repair kit.

The addition of an all-new engine variant typically requires a new crash testing program under the ANCAP safety ratings, but the rest of the Tucson range is five stars and there's no reason to think the hybrid would be dramatically worse.