Kia Ireland has completed its all-new Sportage line up with the arrival of a PHEV variant. Since its launch early this year the Sportage has been Kia’s best-selling car in Ireland, with over 2,300 sales to date.
The Sportage PHEV comes on the market in two trims - the K3 at €46,000 and a K4 model at €48,000. The former comes with 19” alloys, dual zone climate control, smart cruise control, highway driving assist, heated front and rear seats, power adjustable front seats and 12.3” infotainment screen with Kia Connect (UVO Connectivity ).
The K4 model adds full leather trim, drivers’ memory seat, ventilated as well as heated front seats, 12.3” driver cluster and phone charger. Both models come with All Wheel Drive.
The packaging for the PHEV model has been carefully arranged to minimise impact on passenger and luggage space. The high-voltage battery is placed centrally between the two axles under the body of the SUV, ensuring a balanced weight distribution and an interior space that is practical, comfortable and versatile.
The PHEV features Kia’s award-winning 1.6-litre T-GDI engine. Along with being sporty, engaging and highly responsive, the advanced four-cylinder unit also features Continuous Variable Valve Duration (CVVD ), a sophisticated technology that controls the duration of a valve lift event to dramatically improve performance, fuel economy and emissions. Both motor and engine are married to the latest-generation six-speed automatic transmission (6AT ).
Kia says that the state-of-the-art battery pack in the Sportage Plug-in Hybrid features a high-tech battery management unit that constantly monitors the state of the battery, including factors such as current, voltage, isolation and fault diagnosis. The pack also has an advanced cell monitoring unit that measures and monitors cell voltage and temperature.
It adds that for the Sportage Plug-in Hybrid, the compact turbo engine is part of an advanced powertrain package that also features a 66.9kW permanent magnet traction electric motor and a 13.8kWh lithium-ion polymer battery pack. This powertrain combination delivers a total system power output of 265PS, with 180PS originating from the T-GDI engine.
