Volkswagen ID.4 vs Kia Sportage Hybrid

Thanks to a new, more powerful rear-drive motor, increased maximum driving range up to 468 kilometres, a next-generation infotainment system with substantial user-experience improvements, and a handful of comfort and convenience upgrades, the 2024 Volkswagen ID.4 is a better electric SUV than before. In Canada, it also includes complimentary DC fast charging for four years or 1,400 kWh with Electrify Canada.

Verdict: With the technology better sorted, improved comfort, an impressive sound system, and more power, performance, and range, VeeDub’s ID.4 electric SUV need not make apologies.

The Kia Sportage is the automaker’s longest-running nameplate in North America. It started out as a no-frills off-roader, but today the Sportage competes in the red-hot small crossover SUV segment against big names like the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, and Toyota RAV4, as well as the Hyundai Tucson from Kia’s parent brand. All of those nameplates have added hybrid variants recently, so Kia followed suit as part of a 2023-model-year redesign. This segment slots in size-wise below mid-size SUVs such as the Kia Sorento (also offered as the Sorento Hybrid and PHEV) and Kia Telluride.

The 2023 Kia Sportage Hybrid will be offered alongside non-hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of the new Sportage, which represents the nameplate’s fifth generation. The hybrid model is part of an effort to create more space between the Sportage and the smaller Kia Seltos, which also brought increased interior space, more tech, and radical exterior styling.

The Sportage Hybrid is offered in Canada in EX and SX trim levels. We drove the U.S. equivalent of the SX trim for this review. Note that this isn’t the same lineup as the non-hybrid Sportage, which is offered in Canada in five different trims (LX, X-Line, EX, EX Premium, and X-Line Limited).