The Kia Sportage Turbo Hybrid SX is a compelling value offering in the segment

It’s a great time to be in the market for a compact crossover. Legacy nameplates from Japan and Korea are making their return in electrified forms to fight the likes of plug-in hybrid crossovers from China (like the BYD Sealion 6 DM-i), and one of these is the Kia Sportage Turbo Hybrid.

After a notable five-year absence from the local market, Kia Philippines has finally brought it back with a price tag that undercuts most of its competitors. Starting at Php 1.978-million for the EX variant, it’s already pretty fairly well equipped to begin with, with the top-of-the-line SX that costs Php 2.098-million.

READ: Is the Kia Sportage coming too late or just at the right time?

We’ve already driven the vehicle in Korea before the model’s official launch in the Philippines, but this would be our first time experiencing the vehicle on local roads as Kia Philippines let us experience the Sportage in its top SX variant on a media drive that would take us through scenic backroads in Nasugbu up to Tagaytay.

Setting off from Ayala Malls Manila Bay in Pasay City meant that instead of the usual quick expressway route via SLEX and CALAX (that would come later), we would be going through some of the craziest, pockmarked roads in the Philippines in the form of Cavite. This was essentially a true-to-life stress test with the insane congestion and on-and-off torrential rains that happened last August 13, 2026.

Firstly, the electrified powertrain utilizes a 1.6-liter turbo gasoline Gamma-II engine and an electric motor, pushing out 235 horsepower and 367Nm of torque to the front wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission. It’s paired with a 1.49kWh lithium-ion battery, which promises up to 35km of all-electric range and up to 1,040km combined range.

Because of the fairly unique conditions we experienced— the massive potholes, the rain, the huge undulations-it was easy to see how the suspension and chassis would handle these worst-case scenarios.

The ride is on the comfortable, supple side of things, just with a little bit of wallowiness in the corner. This is a trait that’s more in line with crossovers from China, as it gives off the sensation of “a magic carpet ride”, but it’s executed a lot better as it still manages to control the excess motion to prevent giving the occupants motion sickness.

The 235/60R18 rubber and suspension damping soak up the ruts and deep potholes very well, and when push comes to shove, it can actually handle some mild off-roading with its 181mm of ground clearance, just as we found out with some unpaved roads on our route up having turned into slick mud trails where motorcycles and other vehicles would have difficulty traversing.

The Sportage actually does live up to its name by being a capable crossover in the backroads. On the switchback back roads of Nasugbu, the lower center of gravity from the hybrid battery gives it way less body roll than your usual crossover. In fact, steering feel and response lean on the sportier side, provided that you select “Sport” steering in the vehicle’s “My Mode” settings.

The Sportage’s powertrain proved to be genuinely powerful, especially on the uphill sections, too. It managed to effortlessly accelerate uphill, with the electric motor’s instant torque filling in at low-range speeds, with the turbocharged engine kicking in at higher RPMs for a linear powerband that makes overtaking a breeze and spirited driving fun.

Of course, should you want to drive this more conservatively and efficiently, it will comply. Being one of the lighter offerings in the country with this parallel hybrid powertrain combo from the Hyundai Motor Group (Kia’s mother company), this allows it to prioritize using electric power more often, leading to excellent fuel economy.

The result? Kia Philippines was able to eke out a result of 21.27km/L on that trip from Manila Bay to Tagaytay via the uphill Nasugbu road, where conditions weren’t favorable. The return leg back to Manila Bay via the various expressways actually saw us get up to 25.9km/L, and the more impressive result was only about two bars of fuel consumed over the past two days, and that includes idling when shooting for content.

As for the in-cabin experience, it was fairly pleasant. The cabin sports decent insulation that didn’t make the interior sound like a tin can in torrential rain, and road and tire noise were well controlled (even if still audible), allowing for easy conversations.

Sporting a wheelbase of 2,755mm meant that there was plenty of space to go around, especially if you found yourself in the second row of the car. Theoretically, in my most comfortable position as a front passenger, slightly reclined, my other vertically gifted colleague had enough space and did not feel claustrophobic in any way.

The tech is also a strong point for the car, with the 12.3-inch infotainment screen being smooth and responsive like in every other modern Kia—with two aspects that shined through being the Kia DriveWise ADAS suite and the Harman/Kardon sound system.

The suite of advanced driver assistance systems did make expressway driving more effortless with the adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist (which did get slightly annoying), but in lower visibility situations, you could say that the blind-spot monitoring and the forward collision avoidance system proved to be a godsend, especially in the wild, wild roads of Cavite.

And the cherry on top for me is the Harman/Kardon sound system. At a price point of around Php 2-million, it’s rare to see a branded sound system in a crossover, let alone one that sounds as good as this one with punchy bass and crisp highs after some tweaking in the equalizer. This is usually one of the first few features that’s on the chopping block to reduce costs, and it actually makes spending time in the car a more comfortable and enjoyable affair.

As they all say, first impressions matter. And while this may have been a fairly brief encounter with the vehicle, the Sportage makes you do a double take with its looks and reels you in with its price tag, especially for the top-of-the-line SX model.

Granted, other competitors may offer slightly more in terms of features or other selling points, but Kia’s offering is value-packed compared to the competition. We’ll give you our full thoughts when we get to reviewing it properly, and perhaps even give a comparison to its similarly-priced rivals like the Nissan X-Trail and Toyota RAV4 ADV.

^{Photos by Sam Surla}