2024 Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige

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19Crib

@19Crib

Aug 30, 2024

I'm still experimenting, but IMO, Sport Mode, mimics the general "no nonsense" feeling of a normal gasoline car.
Do I want ECO today?
Well, it's hilly. Should I use Sport for a more authoritative and firmer ride like a race car?
Lots of people buy a hybrid and drive the crap out of it just like a normal car: "Green light = floor it"
ECO is for enviro-weenies.

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WNJeffers

@WNJeffers

Aug 30, 2024

My last car was a Honda S2000 that I had for 20 years. It cornered like it was on rails and could do speeds in excess of 150 MPH. It is often literally used as a race car. I aged out of driving it mostly due to its low seat and my arthritis and bad knee.

I am more than satisfied with the performance of the Kia Sportage hybrid in ECO mode. I live in the mountains of WV and few other places have hills like we do. Our mountains are not as high as the Rockies, but they are steeper. The Kia handles them fine in ECO.

I chose the Kia in large part because of its promised fuel economy. I probably would have bought a Chevy Equinox from my local dealer except for the fact that its fuel economy was really little better than my pickup truck.

Wayne

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greg

@greg

Jan 18, 2025

daveshel said:
I should point out that I'm an experienced hypermiler - I was able to get up to 40 MPG out of a Chevy HHR on back roads at 50 MPH in my highest gear. But it was old and wasn't good for towing, so the Sportage.

Mine is a 2024 LX Hybrid, so the base model in the same line as your SX. It's also just FWD - I had no need for AWD and it dings you 5 MPG.

The first weekend I had my car, I took a back roads cruise of 175 miles or so, with a light foot and keeping the speed around 50. When I got done my accumulated MPG was 47.

Over the next few weeks of driving short trips around town, I was still above 44 MPG.

I've found over the next few thousand miles, several factors that influence my mileage. The first was speed. My back road 47 MPG at 50 MPH dropped to more like 43 at 70, but maybe came back up to 44 at 65 - hard to tell with short samples. Another thing that makes a difference is hills. I live in Tucson where the city is flat, but on a recent trip I found that the mountain passes were having an impact. The last thing is your load. My early readings were with just me and no cargo. Of course I take a major hit when towing my 950 lb. trailer, and you could see a considerable effect from several passengers and their baggage.

But all in all, I've been pretty happy with my fuel economy.

There's also some technique involved in braking to maximize your regenerative recharge. I do not have a good grip on this yet.

Hi, this is very informative. I have the same Lx. But our average mpg is arond 36 overall. Small trips can get around 42, at 45 - 50 mph. Always in eco mode. It had 180 miles on it when we bought it new. It showed accumulated at 32 mpg. We had a long trip & averaged 32 mpg. We have a 2020 Niro averaging around 50. From youd description, we are doing something wrong or something is wrong with the car maybe. What do you think please?

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richman99

@richman99

Jul 10, 2025

I just drove a long highway trip(220 miles) from NY to Cape Cod in smart mode and I averaged 42 mpg. In ECO mode, I usually only average around 37 on a trip of this length. My car is a 2024 EX hybrid.

I think that in SMART mode, the electric is always on and supplements the 1.6 turbo for power on the hiway.

Anyone know for sure how this works?

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WNJeffers

@WNJeffers

Jul 10, 2025

I, too, would like to better understand the difference between Eco and Smart modes. My 2023 EX Hybrid defaults to Eco when I start it. For a good while, I switched to Smart mode but eventually stopped because I could see no difference in performance or economy. I now leave it in Eco mode unless winter conditions dictate Snow mode. (I am retired and rarely go out in bad road conditions.)

Several months ago, I took the Kia to the dealer for some sort of software update. Since then, the mileage has noticeably improved. I was already getting close to the 38 MPG the EPA predicted. After the update, I am consistently getting over 40 MPG per tankful, often over 42 MPG. If anyone got the letter about the software update and have not taken the car in for it, I highly recommend it, There was no cost for it.

I am especially pleased with the mileage I get because I live in the higher mountains of West Virginia. The mountains here are not as high as out west, but they are steeper. Driving up steep hills is tough on fuel economy.

Wayne

24 Replies