Just purchased a 2026 Kia Sportage SX Prestige HEV

Welcome to the forum from a fellow newbie. My son recently purchased a new Sportage SX Prestige by using me as a co-borrower. His credit sucks and I have very good credit. I'm here to learn and possibly help here and there as I've been working on my own cars, trucks, motorcycles and small engines for over 50 years. BUT, I'm not an ASE Certified mechanic and haven't worked in a shop since 1975.

Bought a 2026 Hybrid SX Prestige after checking out all the competition. Features like 10 year warranty, ventilated seats, blind spot display on screen and the fact that it has a spare tire sealed the deal. Returned a leased Alfa Tonale PHEV which I had gotten to explore the hybrid phenomenon. Decided PHEV isn't for me. Can't wait to get some driving time in the Sportage.

Kia Sportage Forum said:

Welcome aboard! And thank you for signing up. I'm glad you found us. Congratulations on your brand new Kia Sportage SX Prestige! I'm a little surprised to hear the Sportage has a quieter interior and smoother engine than the Toyota Crown. But I guess Toyota leaves that sort of thing for Lexus. That's one of the things I love about Kia - there's no "luxury" brand to save the good stuff for. The seating position is definitely going to be higher in the Sportage as the Crown is sort of an in-between kind of vehicle... I'm sure both Sportages will take good care of you and your family for years to come...

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I only have one Sportage--the 2026. 2025 Crown owners are complaining about driver's side wind noise on the Crown forums, but I couldn't hear the wind noise because of the tire noise. That was very noticeable traveling on the Interstates from WV through ME--depending on the road surface; but, the engine noise was also way more noisy than the Sportage when accelerating quickly. Maybe my hearing aids affect both noises, but I'm wearing the same hearing aids in the Sportage that I wore in the Crown...

Just got my 2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid Prestige SX yesterday. I'm not crazy about seeing 27MPG on the screen, but at the dealership we spent a lot of time in the car standing still while programming everything and loading the Kia Apps on the phone. As soon as I figure out how to reset the MPG, I'm hoping it's gets much better. The only thing that my wife HATES is not having a volume control near her and a separate TEMP control near her. I did manage to program the VOLUME knob to the passenger side and also managed to keep the display defaulted to VOLUME but my wife still can't tap the right button on the screen so she can change the temperature. I played around with the voice commands and am able to change Sirius XM stations, volume, temp, and I think fan speed with the "Hey Kia...turn volume to #7" so I think I'm going to love this car!

Just got my 2026 Kia Sportage Hybrid Prestige SX yesterday. I'm not crazy about seeing 27MPG on the screen, but at the dealership we spent a lot of time in the car standing still while programming everything and loading the Kia Apps on the phone. As soon as I figure out how to reset the MPG, I'm hoping it's gets much better. The only thing that my wife HATES is not having a volume control near her and a separate TEMP control near her. I did manage to program the VOLUME knob to the passenger side and also managed to keep the display defaulted to VOLUME but my wife still can't tap the right button on the screen so she can change the temperature. I played around with the voice commands and am able to change Sirius XM stations, volume, temp, and I think fan speed with the "Hey Kia...turn volume to #7" so I think I'm going to love this car!

Purchased a 2026 Sportage Prestige HEV a month ago. Previously owned a 2023 Sportage Prestige HEV. I totally dislike the infotainment system display. Still trying to figure out how to make the first screen the default one. They did away with the annoying beep when in reverse. Apparently, to compensate, the electric motors get a bit louder when in reverse. They also added electronic fold-in side view mirrors. About time! So far, getting 35 mpg around town. Overall, still a great vehicle.