The $48,000 Kia Sportage PHEV Is Half Finished.

Kia engineered a brilliant plug-in hybrid powertrain for the 2026 Sportage PHEV, successfully hiding the handoff between the 1.6-liter turbo and the 72 kW electric motor. But to do it, they dropped an extra 309 lbs of battery mass onto a suspension that was never properly recalibrated for the weight. In this review, we diagnose the $48,000 Kia Sportage PHEV X-Line Prestige to see if the highly sorted 6-speed automatic transmission makes up for the severe lack of rear rebound damping. We evaluate the TMED mechanical layout, test the 13.8 kWh traction battery, and explore how Sport mode forces the internal combustion engine to cycle on and charge the pack. We also dig deep into the owner forums to uncover the catastrophic 12-volt battery failures, the lack of a winter heat pump, and the premature rear shock replacements happening at 20,000 miles. Does this plug-in crossover make sense against the competition, or did Kia stop engineering halfway through the platform? 2026 Kia Sportage Review: Better Than $80K German SUVs? https://youtu.be/Pjni1KP2eh8 /// THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY GOCLEAN I’ve been using GoClean Waterless Car Wash in my cleaning kit for the last 2 months to get cars camera ready before shoots. Use code MAKSE15 for 15% off. Free shipping on orders over $100. Available in the US & Canada at https://www.goclean.ca/ and tell 'em I sent ya! ——————————————————————— // MY AMAZON STORE with my favorite things for drivers https://www.amazon.com/shop/influencer-4cc174af (this is an affiliate link) /// MERCH Pick up some sweet merch in our store! https://brian-makse-shop.fourthwall.com/ /// SUBSCRIBE Subscribe NOW to Brian Makse's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=brianmakse /// SOCIAL Instagram: http://Instagram.com/BrianMakse Twitter: http://Twitter.com/BrianMakse Facebook: http://Facebook.com/MakseAttack Spotify: https://sptfy.com/brianmakse Link In My Bio: https://makse.com/linkinbio/ /// MORE About Brian: http://makse.com/about /// WHAT I'M LISTENING TO Real AF With Andy Frisella https://andyfrisella.com/blogs/realaf-podcast Be sure to let us know what you think about this video and smash the subscribe button if you haven’t already! Test vehicles are provided by the respective manufacturers for review purposes, unless otherwise noted, and all opinions are our own. Music © 2026 Russell Soares (russellsoares.com), used with permission, all rights reserved. #KiaSportage #SportagePHEV #BrianMakse #CarReview #PHEV