First the HEV for 3 months, then the PHEV, which one was the best?
The Kia Sportage is back. The previous model suffered considerably in the Netherlands from the popularity of brother Niro. The latest generation has an equally fresh Niro next to it, but now distinguishes itself more clearly. We first drove the new Sportage as a hybrid and then as a plug-in hybrid.
We came to the conclusion about the right to exist when we put the Sportage and the new Niro side by side for a comparison test. We knew what the arrival of the first Niro meant for the previous generation Sportage: it was hardly sold in the Netherlands anymore. In the new generations, the mutual relationships have changed. The Niro is a crossover and the Sportage is a distinctly larger SUV. The latter even applies in all respects. You sit high and therefore have the ‘on the goat feeling’. We compared the plug-in hybrid Niro with the Sportage 1.6 T-GDI PHEV. This was the second version we drove during the six-month endurance test; the first three months we moved in the normal hybrid, which is known as the 1.6 T-GDI HEV.
Kia Sportage as a normal hybrid drives better, so the HEV
The HEV is the better driving car. This hybrid has a 180 hp four-cylinder turbo engine, coupled to an electric motor. The combined power is 230 hp. The plug-in hybrid does it with the same petrol engine, but the electric power source delivers more power. That means 265 horsepower combined. But because the PHEV has a plug-in rechargeable battery pack, it weighs an extra 256 kilos. And you feel that. That is why the HEV drives better. If you have your own charging station and you can charge with self-generated power, for example, then the choice for the PHEV is obvious. Even under winter conditions, an all-electric journey of 50 kilometers is still possible. If the battery is empty, the consumption is about as good as that of the normal hybrid.
Average 1 in 16.1 for the HEV
With the HEV we came to an average of 1 in 16.1 and with the PHEV, including plugs, that was an average of 1 in 21.9. But that does not say everything, because with the previous update the average was still 1 in 20.8. Because we covered many more kilometers entirely electrically in the last 2,000 kilometers, fuel consumption fell sharply. In the cold, wintery aftermath of the endurance test, the average consumption increased, because you then drive more on petrol alone. In the milder September we recorded a neat 1 to 15.2, which is comparable to what we achieved with the Sportage HEV under the same conditions. At the end of the period, fuel consumption increased to 1 in 14.5 due to the low outside temperatures. The price difference between the HEV and the PHEV is €2,500 to the disadvantage of the plug-in car. The choice for the plug-in hybrid is justified if you make many daily trips that are less than 50 kilometers long and you can easily charge the car at home and at work. You should definitely take the electricity rate that you can expect into account in your considerations.
Sportage HEV in figures
Starting position 8.146
Standings 15,125
6,979 kilometers driven
Tanked liters 433.81
Average consumption 6.2 l/100 km (1:16.1)
Fuel costs* €975.64
Sportage PHEV in numbers
Starting position 13,393
Standings 19,287
5,894 kilometers driven
Tanked liters 269.41
Average consumption 4.6 l/100 km (1:21.9)
Fuel costs* €507.15
Average consumption without plug 6.9 l/100 km (1:14.5)
Electric range of 55 kilometers
*= petrol only, it is impossible to keep track of all costs for charging due to different charging points.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl