Over the past few weeks, we’ve gotten to know the 2026 Kia Sportage HEV. Here is the fourth and final chapter of our long-term test of the compact SUV with hybrid powertrain and all-wheel drive.
See also: 2026 Kia Sportage HEV Long-Term Review, Part 1: A Best-Seller, in Three Formats
See also: 2026 Kia Sportage HEV, Long-Term Review, Part 2: Plenty of Heart
See also: 2026 Kia Sportage HEV, Long-Term Review, Part 3: The Look and the Drive
As we bring to a close our more in-depth test drive of the 2026 Kia Sportage HEV, we focus on the cabin, where all the impressions gathered from road behaviour and more are concentrated and experienced daily.
The 2026 Sportage SX HEV is packed with driver assistance technologies that you are all familiar with because every somewhat modern vehicle includes them. Or at the very least, offers them as options. In this regard, the SX, at the top of the hierarchy, incorporates them all as standard equipment.
Does OTA mean anything to you? Let's try Over-the-Air. It means the 2026 Sportage is capable of receiving updates for several electronic systems (infotainment, the battery, steering, suspension, even the engine), all via the vehicle's cellular connection. Think of the software updates your phone regularly suggests installing as soon as you agree. Same here.
That of course saves you trips to the dealer, but it does requires a subscription to Kia Connect.
Fortunately, when you buy the Kia, you get three years of Kia Connect at no cost. After that, you can choose to subscribe ($8 to $30 per month depending on services) or not. With this app on your phone, you can remotely start/stop the Sportage, lock/unlock it, pre-activate the heating or air conditioning if the car is an oven or an igloo, benefit from OTA updates and check any number of other things.
Happy humans, numerous suitcases
I’ve driven thousands of kilometres behind the wheel of the HEV SX these past weeks, and I never had a sore back because the seats are so comfortable (they come covered in synthetic leather in all three trims of the Sportage). I never felt cramped. In fact, the interior dimensions of the Sportage are generally to its advantage against the competition. There’s more space for passengers on the 60/40 bench seat and more cargo volume for suitcases than in the Honda CR-V or the Toyota RAV4. The floor under the hatch even has two elevation levels.
Broadly speaking, the 2026 model-year has further improved the Sportage interior.
But all that "luxury" can bring its share of small "problems". For example, no matter how much I cleaned the camera lenses inserted into the bumpers, this winter’s overriding slushiness meant the parking assist system just couldn’t work continuously. The central screen gave me blurry images that I couldn’t rely on. It was better to twist my neck like in the old days to pull off a safe reversing manoeuvre.
You might say: "Use the collision avoidance assistance!" I did. But I am still looking for ultrasonic sensors in the industry that don’t drive you batty with their constant alerts even when there’s still plenty of space to back up. I wish for a day when the beeps in these systems are replaced by a voice telling me with "You have one metre left... half a metre... 10 centimetres... You have... ah, no, sorry, you have nothing left. But here’s the contact info for an excellent body shop."
Remote parking assistance can be useful. Space is so tight you don’t trust yourself to park? Get out of the vehicle and use the smart key to remote control it. Though between you and me, you really have to be desperate for a parking spot to want that one that badly.
Hands-free and trouble-free
When out on the road, I made extensive use of the latest HDA 2 semi-autonomous driving system. Not only does it master basic functions like negotiating a turn hands-free without frightening the driver, but I was also treated to extras I would have thought reserved for more expensive models.
For example, you only need to activate the turn signal for the car to decide for itself when the best time is to change lanes. Without human intervention. The fact that a camera (another one!) shows you the traffic behind to prevent a bad blind-spot surprise is also reassuring.
And when trapped in heavy congestion, I could let the smart cruise control took care of everything for me, as long as we stayed under 30 km/h. It braked, accelerated and maintained a safe distance from the vehicle in front. The car wasn’t quite giving me carte blanche to take a nap... but almost!
A middle ground
This is the first time I’ve come across a row of dashboard commands that change functions with the push of a button. Press the top part and you control the sound system (a Harman Kardon in the case of the SX). Press the bottom part and you’re at the controls of the climate system. It takes some time to get used to – there’s nothing like suddenly cranking the Metallica to 11 when you meant to turn the A/C up a degree! - but you get there.
The current trend in car-cabin design has physical buttons going the way of the dodo. Some automakers have gone all out by eliminating them altogether (hello Tesla), while others are compromising due to customer feedback (ie complaints). Especially regarding popular switches like those for radio volume and heating. Despite the proliferation of screens, those physical buttons hang stubbornly on. By opting for the doubling of functions, Kia is trying to please everyone.
And yet, such beautiful screens Kia has here: a 12.3-inch central screen and another of similar dimensions for the instrument cluster in the SX (it’S a mere 4 inches diagonally in the EX). To be honest, it looks like a single generous tablet. The head-up display (for speed, battery and navigation), exclusive to the SX, is another premium feature that is well received.
Eloquent figures
Last year, Kia sold 23,906 Sportages in Canada; incredibly, 38 percent of those sales - 9,129 units – were in Quebec. No wonder they’re as ubiquitous in my home province as Canadiens fans at a Toronto or Winnipeg home game!
Also according to Kia Canada (thanks Susan and Madison!), in 2025, 16,307 Canadians chose the conventional naturally aspirated engine version (68 percent), 5,532 turned to the hybrid (23 percent) and 2,067 preferred the plug-in hybrid (9 percent).
If I had one main wish for Kia's Korean headquarters, it would be to ensure that the Sportage hybrid engine can consume less more quickly than it currently does. As we’ve seen, I achieved 6.2L/100 km, but it takes too long to get there.
Then all we’d need is a tiny elf to keep all the cameras clean through the winter!
